Key official at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport suspended by city after security incident
CLEVELAND, Ohio October 28 2018 – Fred Szabo, one of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport top leaders, was suspended from his job Thursday following a security incident at the airport, two sources told cleveland.com.
Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration would not reveal Friday who was suspended. But two sources at the airport in a position to know told cleveland.com on the condition of anonymity that it was Szabo.
The incident involved two city officials, one of whom is now out of town, the Jackson administration said in a news release.
Dan Williams, a spokesman for the mayor, would not reveal either person’s name, citing the ongoing investigation. Nor would he provide details of what the incident involved.
When contacted Friday by cleveland.com, Szabo said he would have no comment on any aspect of the incident.
A spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, which screens passengers and baggage at the airport, said TSA takes all violations of security protocols seriously. But TSA would not divulge the names of either city official.
“We will be working with the city and the airport to complete the investigation,” she said.
Security and access to areas of the airport is highly controlled. Only passengers are granted access to the concourses and not before clearing a TSA security check.
Airport staff, as a function of their jobs, have access to secure areas. But even with that security clearance, they could not, for example, simply escort people around TSA security.
According to the two airport sources, the second city official had cleared security to catch a flight before realizing that a laptop computer had been left in the car.
After the laptop was retrieved, Szabo sought to help the second official return to the flight area more quickly by bypassing security, they said.
Szabo has been in a leadership role at Hopkins for nearly two decades.
He was appointed Hopkins commissioner in August 2001, responsible for operations, security, and maintenance at the airport, including airport compliance with federal security directives and FAA regulatory requirements.
After the departure of former director Ricky Smith, Szabo was appointed interim director in August 2015. He remained in a leadership role after Robert Kennedy became the director of port control for the Cleveland Airport System.
Prior to his work at the airport, he served three decades in law enforcement, including stops as assistant director of public safety for Cleveland, in various administrative roles in the police department and as acting commissioner of Cleveland’s EMS service.
In its statement, the administration said security clearances for the suspended official – identified by the sources as Szabo — were revoked in accordance with airport and TSA policies.
The second official may also face discipline. That person’s status will be addressed upon returning to Cleveland.
In the meantime, an investigation into the incident continues, the administration said.
Cleveland.com
