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Two air controllers arrested for allegedly stealing time from the FAA: U.S. Attorney

By TimesLedger Staff

JAMAICA — Two air traffic controllers at JFK were arrested for allegedly stealing about $165,000 in time from the Federal Aviation Administration, said Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District.

Lynch said the suspects modified payroll system entries indicating they were working at times when they were not.

According to the complaint, the suspects modified the reports on more than 300 occasions between September of 2011 and October of this year.

Lynch identified the suspects as Asif Ali, 38, from South Ozone Park, and Jeffrey Evagues, 54, of Manorville, L.I.

“For three years, these air controllers engaged in a high flying scheme to redirect public funds into their own bank accounts,” Lynch said. “Today they were grounded.”

According to federal authorities, there is security camera footage where allegedly the defendants are in the room where the computer from which the payroll changes occurred is located.

“This is a clear signal that federal employees will be held responsible from maintaining the highest level of integrity,” said Douglas Shoemaker, regional agent for the U.S. Department of Transportation.