A Rockland man says it was all a misunderstanding over paperwork.
The U.S. Attorney begs to differ.
Rockland resident Stephen Grant, 48, was able to bypass Logan Airport security and board an American Airlines plane by doing little more than showing an assistant harbormaster badge to airport security personnel, then checking the wrong box on a federal form, authorities say.
Grant of 48 Berlin St., was charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court with impersonating a federal agent and making false statements.
Authorities say Grant boarded a flight to San Diego Jan. 1, 2007 without first passing through security by telling ticketing agents, a state trooper and flight personnel that he was a Department of Homeland Security agent and that he was �flying while armed,� according to an affidavit filed in court.
Three days later, Transportation Security Administration personnel in San Diego considered having his plane, which was returning to Boston, make an emergency landing, concerned that Grant �might be an imposter who had somehow snuck aboard the plane armed,� the affidavit said.
Grant said in a phone interview Tuesday that the whole episode was a result of a misunderstanding and that he did not bring a gun onto either flight.
�I had just gotten a firearms permit, and I had taken a course an attorney had put on about firearms and travel. My understanding was I had to let them (the airline) know I was able to carry a firearm, not that I had one on a plane,� Grant said.
�I filled out a form an checked a box I shouldn�t have checked because I had misunderstood,� he said.
As a result of a TSA investigation following the episode, Grant said he had paid a $4,000 fine and that he had not been charged with any crimes.
He said he was surprised when the TSA called him Tuesday and asked him to meet them at the U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan�s office in Boston.
�My lawyer said to me somewhere along the line someone did not get the paperwork,� said Grant, who is director of sales for YSI Life Sciences, which manufactures scientific instruments.
The affidavit says Grant, who was an assistant harbormaster in Chatham, was co-chairman of the Coast Guard�s Cape and Islands Homeland Security Subcommittee, which is made up of about 50 volunteers with maritime safety jobs.
Grant obtained a license to carry firearms on Oct. 16, 2006 from the Rockland police department, stating on his application that his occupation was �homeland security,� the affidavit said.
He bought a SIG Sauer .40-caliber handgun on Dec. 21, the affidavit said. Because of the airline incidents, Rockland police have since revoked his license.
When leaving Boston on Jan. 1, 2007, Grant filled out a flying-while-armed form listing �DHS (Port Security)� as the agency he worked for.
A ticketing agent sent Grant to meet a state trooper in Terminal B where he showed his assistant harbormaster badge and a picture ID bearing the words �Maritime Law Enforcement - Harbor Patrol,� his driver�s license and the flying-while-armed form.
Grant was then allowed to pre-board his flight, along with two armed federal air marshals without passing through airport security. A flight attendant told Grant that the pilot was armed as well.
On the return trip, Grant boarded the plane without filling out any paperwork and told a flight attendant who had been on his plane from Boston and recognized him that he was armed, a TSA investigator said in the affidavit.
Grant was introduced to the pilot, who following protocol, informed him that he was armed as well, and asked to see his paperwork.
Grant told him that he was with the Department of Homeland Security and that he was a harbormaster. He also said he was not always required to fill out paperwork, the affidavit said.
The pilot had Grant leave the plane, and an American Airlines gate agent gave him a flying-while-armed form, looked at his assistant harbor master badge and let him back on the plane.
Contacted Tuesday evening, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said she could not comment until she looked into the incident.
Grant is free on $50,000 unsecured bond.