Hartsfield fires worker after revoking security clearance

ATLANTA - One of seven workers whose security clearances at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport were revoked following disclosures of criminal records has been fired. <br> <br> Airport General Manager Ben DeCosta said Thursday that the employee was dismissed after he refused to be fingerprinted as a routine part of new security checks. <br> <br> The other six remain employed but cannot go into secure areas without supervision. DeCosta said some of those employees are maintenance workers, but he refused to elaborate or identify them. <br> <br> All seven had committed crimes in the past 10 years that violated Federal Aviation Authority rules about security clearance, DeCosta said. <br> <br> A report Thursday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said 43 city Aviation Department employees, more than 10 percent of the staff, had records of crimes ranging from misdemeanors such as drunken driving and shoplifting to felonies such as drug dealing, weapons offenses, forgery and child molestation. <br> <br> DeCosta said all 370 city airport employees will be fingerprinted by Feb. 22, regardless of whether they have unescorted access to secure areas of the airport. The fingerprints will be sent to the FBI and matched against criminal records in other states and the federal courts, he said. <br> <br> Some 44,000 people, mostly airline employees, work at the airport. <br> <br> The new Transportation Security Administration office announced Thursday that Hartsfield Atlanta will be among 15 airports that are the first group to have government employees conduct passenger and baggage screening.