State attorney general busts JFK pay-to-play scheme

Travelers line up for a security checkpoint at JFK Airport. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan.

By David Brand

Executives from a major airline and ground shipping company were charged Tuesday with allegedly participating in a yearslongs bribery and money laundering scheme at John F. Kennedy Airport.

Former British Airways Executive Steven Clark, 61, and former Ground Services International CEO Jeff Kinsella, 59, were indicted by the state attorney general’s office on felony charges related to allegations that Kinsella paid Clark roughly $5 million in bribes when Clark led British Airways operations at JFK Terminal 7.

Under a contract with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, British Airways selects the service providers that work at Terminal 7. 

“Today’s indictment sends a clear message to airline companies and airport vendors: pay-to-play schemes will not fly in New York,” said Attorney General Letitia James.

Kinsella allegedly routed the money to Clark through shell companies the two men owned in exchange for promoting GSI at the terminal. Kinsella also allegedly gave Clark a 5 percent ownership stake in GSI. During the alleged scheme, Clark helped GSI obtain ground-handling contracts at JFK Airport and other major airports, according to the attorney general’s office.

Clark also allegedly received $500,000 from another airport vendor between 2011 and 2017, according to the indictment.