Air Traffic Controller in the news - wonder if union or private?

cointyro

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WHEELING, Illinois (AP) -- A woman was found severely beaten, wrapped in duct tape and inside a plastic garbage can in her ex-husband's storage unit on Sunday, a day after she called 911 from the back of his truck saying he had abducted her.

Teri Jendusa-Nickolai, 38, was in serious but stable condition at a Park Ridge hospital, Wheeling Deputy Police Chief John Stone said.

Jendusa-Nickolai, of Wind Lake, Wisconsin, was found in a storage facility near the airport where her ex-husband, David M. Larsen, works, Stone said. An employee of the facility found her after walking past Larsen's unit and hearing a muffled sound, he said.

Jendusa-Nickolai had been wrapped in duct tape and placed inside "a big plastic garbage can," Stone said. She had been severely beaten, Racine County, Wis., Sheriff Bob Carlson said at a news conference.

Larsen, 39, was arrested Saturday when he reported for work as an air traffic controller at Palwaukee Municipal Airport. He was in custody Sunday on an initial charge of false imprisonment.

Jendusa-Nickolai's rescue was a relief to her family, who were terrified Saturday with the disappearance not only of her but of her two young daughters. Amanda Larsen, 6, and Holly Larsen, 4, were found with a baby sitter Larsen had left them with.

"When we got the good news that Teri had been located, we again rejoiced and we thanked the Lord for all of our prayers being answered," said Jan Johnson, a friend of Jendusa-Nickolai's family.

Multiple jurisdictions are involved in the case because Jendusa-Nickolai apparently was abducted in Wind Lake, about 50 miles northwest of Wheeling.

Authorities said it was not immediately clear where official charges against Larsen would be filed. Stone said federal charges would be filed in the case, but the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago had no comment on the case Sunday and the FBI could not immediately be reached.

Jendusa-Nickolai had last been heard from when she made a 911 call from her cell phone Saturday afternoon, saying Larsen had bound her hands and placed her in the back of his truck.

A neighbor said they saw Larsen driving away from his home in his pickup truck Saturday morning, towing a trailer with his ex-wife's car on it. Jendusa-Nickolai's empty 1994 silver Camry was later found parked on a Milwaukee street, near a rental property owned by Larsen, Carlson said.

Jendusa-Nickolai had obtained a restraining order against Larsen for domestic abuse on January 22, and the two were in court recently for a child custody hearing, according to sheriff's officials.

Officials said Sunday that Amanda and Holly Larsen were safe and healthy in Wisconsin with Jendusa-Nickolai's family.

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source: http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/02/01/abducted.family.ap/index.html
 
Why does it matter if the guy is union or not? If you're hinting that every union guy is like the Teamsters under Jimmy Hoffa Sr, for every single union thug you can point out, I can point out more thugs who aren't in unions.

Personally, I think that everyone ought to unionize these days, with the way that corporate America is shafting their employees. At least with a union, they can't just offshore your job at the drop of a hat.
 
I agree, I think everyone should unionize. I'm a pround Teamster myself. I will say that Hoffa Sr. did some good things for workers even though he was involved with the mob.
 
Hey, I seem to have touched a nerve here... no offense intended. I was surprised to see that a serious criminal was an ATC - those guys seem more professional, calm, and collected than that.

Of course, I guess anyone can "snap."
 
Have you ever noticed that? The serial killers are never the guys who are raging at every perceived offense that they experience on a day to day basis. Nope.

It's the quiet guys who nobody thinks anything of who end up being the serial killers.

And everyone is always like, he was a quiet guy, kept to himself.
 
I think less than a year ago a controller in the Bay area did an armed robbery at a bank. Don't remember all the details but it was a pretty big deal at the time.
 
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I was surprised to see that a serious criminal was an ATC - those guys seem more professional, calm, and collected than that.

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As that is my primary airport, this really surprised me. It made me wonder how many times this guy had told me which runway to land on, where's the traffic, etc.

Especially b/c the Controllers at PWK are such top notch folks--I'm often impressed with the traffic jams they'll untangle, and they're usually quick with a joke.

This guy was probably a good dude who just lost it. Whole thing's just sad.
 
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I think less than a year ago a controller in the Bay area did an armed robbery at a bank. Don't remember all the details but it was a pretty big deal at the time.

[/ QUOTE ]

I remember reading about that. If I remember correcly it was like his second job.

Drunk pilots and now criminal controllers....whats next?
 
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