Two men allegedly posing as private-industry cops almost got on an American Airlines flight out of Philadelphia Thursday night carrying loaded guns.
But thanks to an observant ticket agent and a real city cop they were stopped before they got aboard, the FBI said.
The pair checked in with the agent, who was working the American Airlines ticket counter in Terminal A at Philadelphia International Airport, about 6 p.m., telling the worker they were detectives and needed to take their handguns on the plane, the FBI said in a press release.
Timothy Robinson, 47, of 7th Street near Godfrey Avenue in Olney, and Steven A. Lundy from Roselle (in Northern New Jersey), then went to the security checkpoint and were allowed to continue to the gate with the weapons at their side.
But all along, the ticket agent felt something was up.
The ticket agent told a Philadelphia cop that she thought the two men were fakes. Minutes before they boarded the plane (its destination was not known last night) city and Transportation Security Administration officers held the pair until FBI agents arrived.
Robinson and Lundy are charged with making materially false, fictitious, fraudulent statements and representations, the FBI said.
Authorities released the men yesterday on $10,000 bond.
But the two men insisted they were sworn-in as licensed private investigators in court and could legally carry guns on a plane.
"We weren't carrying illegally; we weren't breaking any laws," Lundy told the Associated Press.
The FBI retold how the pair got so close to flying with loaded guns in their released statement:
The men walked up to the American Airlines ticket counter telling the watchful agent they were private police and needed to travel armed.
The duo showed her a letter stating they were detectives on a highly sensitive investigation and filled out the form for taking weapons on board.
Robinson and Lundy then walked to the security check-point and told a supervisor that they were private police, flashing badges and identification cards.
