A man that pretended to be a legitimate TSA agent at the Beaver Valley Area Airport has been offered a salaried position with the Transportation Security Administration.
Josh Overfelt, 36, has landed a job with the TSA following his arrest by local authorities. The Beaver Valley police department was contacted on May 3 by a Nora Hodge, who claimed an unauthorized person was manhandling her 86-year old mother, Mavis Taggert. Hodge related she and her mother arrived at the airport at around 9 AM to say goodbye to friends boarding for a flight to Florida. Hodge told officers she and her mother then went to the gift shop to see a friend that works there. According to witnesses, as the women left they were followed by a man (Overfelt) wearing a jacket embroidered with the TSA logo, who ordered them to "Halt!" near the airport entryway. Here, the woman says, Overfelt refused to present proper TSA identification, but proceeded to order Mrs. Taggert to remove her jacket and shoes. Hodge maintains that after submitting to this request Overfelt proceeded to roughly fondle Mrs. Taggert's colostomy bag. This is when Hodge called 9-1-1 and requested emergency police aid. When the police arrived they were stopped at the main airport entryway by TSA agents who ordered them to show identification. While the police argued with the agents, Hodge says Overfelt was overwhelmed by three pedestrians who said they were sickened by his treatment of her mother.
By 4PM that day the TSA realized Overfelt was not a genuine agent and turned him over to police custody. Overfelt was charged with criminal impersonation, aggravated assault and two charges of illegal confinement of an individual. He was released on bail and still awaits trial.
Yesterday, a BVO reporter recognized Overfelt working alongside TSA agents at the Beaver Valley Airport. Further inquiry confirmed that Overfelt had been trained and hired by the agency in late May. Although Overfelt refused to answer questions, the reporter tracked down Overfelt's girlfriend, Frannie-Jo Morris, who works as a ticket agent for Quest International Airlines. She says that Overfelt has already received high marks for work performance from the agency.
"They say Josh is just the kind of worker they need," Morris revealed. "Thorough, insensitive and intimidating. I just wish my disabled parents appreciated his professionalism as much as our government does."