Airport worker fired
for anti-gay message
PalmBeachPost.com
from the Web, May 8, 2007
The skycap called it a prank.
His bosses didn't find it funny. And now he is no longer working for them.
Jethro Monestime, 23, was fired Monday for a stunt he pulled six days earlier —
broadcasting an anti-gay message over the public address system at Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
A gay couple collecting their luggage heard the message and filed a complaint.
The county leadership was mortified. Broward's mayor, Josephus Eggelletion,
issued an apology.
The Broward Sheriff's Office investigated and Monestime confessed.
Because he worked for a private contractor, Broward officials could not fire
him.
But his employer, Superior Aircraft Services, did.
"This action in no way reflects the views of Superior, its owners nor its
employees," said a statement from the company.
He will not face criminal charges, BSO said.
The recording played over the PA system was actually a verse from the Old
Testament book of Leviticus, condemning homosexuality.
Monestime told BSO he downloaded the message to his cellphone and played it over
the loudspeakers — not once but twice — about 1 a.m. May 1.
Anthony Niedwiecki and Waymon Hudson, a gay couple from Oakland Park, had just
stepped off a late-night United Airlines flight from Chicago.
Niedwiecki and Hudson said they felt threatened by the message.
"It was dark. There was hardly anybody around," said Niedwiecki.
"This was the last thing we wanted to hear at the airport."
Not wanting to compromise security at the airport, Broward authorities declined
to comment on how they zeroed in on Monestime.
What they did say: Monestime was working in the terminal where Niedwiecki
and Hudson landed that night.
Monestime had a security badge.
A badge is needed to get into the area and an employee code is needed to make an
announcement over the speakers.
Monestime's security badge has been taken away, as has his job.
"Broward County has a zero-tolerance policy for these types of offenses,"
Eggelletion said.
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