CLEVELAND — Channel 3 News has learned that two of Mayor Frank Jackson's top officials are under investigation on allegations regarding a breach of security at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
A well-placed airport security official has told WKYC Investigator Tom Meyer that Assistant Director of Hopkins Fred Szabo and the Mayor's Chief Operating Officer Darnell Brown are both under investigation.
The Mayor's office issued a press release saying one official was placed on immediate suspension, but they didn't identify the individual. Sources told Meyer that person is Szabo. The mayor's office said the second person is out of the office and his status will be addressed when he returns.
Channel 3 News learned that Brown had passed through a TSA checkpoint but forgot something in his car which was parked in an airport lot. Szabo, we're told, met Brown at the checkpoint and allegedly escorted Brown to his car and allowed Brown to bypass the checkpoint on his return with the unidentified item not being screened by airport security.
It's not known what Brown had carried on to the plane.
The Mayor's spokesman, Dan Williams, declined to identify, saying only that they've released all information available at this time.