Plane Cleaner Stolen: Airport Worker Swiped Liquor & $15,000 Worth Of Goods While Cleaning Planes

A plane cleaner stole a mind-boggling amount of liquor and goods while on the job. Police say the woman worked for Air Serv and was caught after an American Airlines security guard tipped them off.

According to CNN, Juanette Cullum, 48, of Brooklyn, has been arrested and is charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

Cullum stole more than $15,000 worth of goods from planes she cleaned at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The Port Authority says the plane cleaner stole seven iPads, 19 Kindles, two laptops — and “fully” 1,429 bottles of liquor.

Police did an investigation on Cullum after the security officer alerted them to the allegations. In a search of Cullum’s apartment, police found a large stash of items they say didn’t belong to her.

According to the New York Post, authorities found the 1,429 bottles of liquor in Cullum’s closet in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Moreover, the plane cleaner who stole did so on American Airlines planes parked at Terminal 8 over the last three years.

Air Serv is an Atlanta-based company that offers plane cleaning, ground transportation, and other passenger services. Cullum has reportedly worked for the company three years. Police say she made statements openly to them “alluding” to the pilfering of property on the planes she cleaned. Air Serv has confirmed that Juanette Cullum has been terminated from her job.

If convicted of the charges, the former plane cleaner will face up to seven years in prison.

The New York Post recalls an incident in 2012 in which 18 workers at JFK were arrested for stealing $750,000 worth of mini bottles from planes. Three airport security guards and 15 employees of LSG Sky Chefs were involved in the theft. Around 60,000 bottles were discovered at the home of “ringleader” Domingo Duran. He pleaded to guilty to the charges in 2013 and served a prison sentence of 6 months.

The criminals sold stolen spirits to grocers in Queens for $1 and $2 each, according to the report.

In 2003, over 400,000 mini bottles were looted from American Airlines flights. The alcohol consisted of Dewar’s, Courvoisier, and Bacardi brands. They sold them by the case for $240 each. Fifty-milliliter bottles run about $7 for airline passengers.

As the Inquisitr recently reported, a number of airport workers were arrested for stealing luggage from travelers at Miami International Airport. Cameras revealed footage of workers snatching suitcases and other items.

As for the plane cleaner who stole a significant amount of liquor and merchandise, it proves no one is exempt from theft in the travel industry.

[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]