Latest news with #SvetlanaDali
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Stowaway Found Guilty of Hiding in Plane Bathroom on Flight from N.Y.C. to Paris Faces Up to 6 Months in Prison
Svetlana Dali, 57, was found guilty of a federal stowaway charge by jurors in a Brooklyn court on Thursday, May 22 Dali could face up to six months in prison after being convicted On Nov. 26, 2024, she slipped past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and boarded a Delta Airlines flight to Charles de Gaulle Airport in France without a ticketA woman who stowed away in the bathrooms of a Delta Airlines flight from New York City to Paris in November 2024 has been convicted of a federal stowaway charge. Jurors determined in a Brooklyn court on Thursday, May 22 that Svetlana Dali, 57, was guilty of slipping past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport in N.Y.C. and boarding a Delta flight to Charles de Gaulle Airport in France on Nov. 26 without a ticket, according to NBC News, ABC News and Associated Press. Dali — who has been in custody for more than five months — could face up to six months in prison, according to sentencing guidelines, per the outlets. The judge presiding over the trial has not yet set a sentencing date. Dali's attorney, Michael Schneider, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. The 57-year-old's trial lasted about two days with jury selection and opening statements having been made on Tuesday, May 20. Dali, who is a Russian citizen with U.S. residency testified a day later that she had gone to "where the people were boarding the flights," and then she "just walked into the airplane," according to ABC News. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. She said airline staff did not ask her for a boarding pass and admitted that she did not have one, per the outlet. Surveillance video shown during the trial showed Dali blending in with a group of airline passengers and walking past Delta Airlines staffers checking tickets, per AP. She then said, per NBC News and ABC News, that she stayed in the bathroom "almost the duration of the flight, almost from the beginning to the end" because she felt sick. Prosecutors cited charging documents in court, saying Dali initially failed to get through a TSA security checkpoint around 8:24 p.m. on the day of the flight because she did not have a boarding pass, but successfully made it through a few minutes later via "a special lane for airline employees masked by a large Air Europa flight crew." After being screened, Dali boarded the flight around 10:03 p.m. while Delta agents were "busy helping ticketed passengers board," according to court documents. The plane departed around 10:37 p.m., but before landing in Paris, she was discovered by the flight crew, who "notified French law enforcement" after she couldn't provide a boarding pass. Authorities in France then met her at the gate at Charles de Gaulle Airport on Nov. 27, where she was "detained before she entered customs." According to the complaint, Dali flew back to New York on Dec. 4 and was "escorted" to an interview room before admitting to "flying as a stowaway." Prosecutors said, per NBC News, that Dali was initially released from custody with an electric monitoring system, but she was detained again after allegedly cutting it off and attempting to enter Canada. They also noted that she had tried to bypass security measures at two other airports prior to this incident, including at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn., but was unsuccessful at getting on a plane and eventually left the airport, the outlet reported. TSA Administrator David Pekoske told NBC News in December that Dali was "screened," and that bypassing security checkpoints was "not that easy" and "rarely happens." He added that she was trying to evade checkpoints during an "incredibly busy day" of Thanksgiving travel. A TSA spokesperson told ABC News that in light of the incident, 'additional security measures are now in place." The spokesperson added, "TSA's security measures are always evolving to ensure this type of incident does not happen again.' Read the original article on People
NBC News
23-05-2025
- NBC News
57-year-old stowaway who flew from New York to Paris found guilty
A jury on Thursday convicted a woman who sneaked onto a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass by slipping past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport last year. The short trial of Svetlana Dali concluded with a guilty finding on a stowaway charge by jurors in federal court in Brooklyn. Jury selection and opening statements were both Tuesday, and Dali took the stand Wednesday. The judge did not immediately set a sentencing date. Dali faces up to six months in prison, according to her sentencing guidelines. To date, she has been in custody for more than five months. Dali's lawyer, Michael Schneider, declined to comment to The Associated Press following the verdict. Surveillance video shows Dali, a 57-year-old Russian citizen with U.S. residency, glomming onto a group of ticketed passengers as they pass two Delta Air Lines staffers who were checking tickets and didn't appear to notice Dali. She then strolls with the group onto an air bridge to a plane bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. In court, Dali said she walked onto the plane without being asked for a boarding pass, though acknowledged she did not have one. Prosecutors said Dali had initially been turned away from a security checkpoint at JFK by a Transportation Security Administration official after she was unable to show a boarding pass. But she was able to join a special security lane for airline employees and, masked by a large Air Europa flight crew, made it to an area where she was screened and patted down. Then she went to the Delta gate. On the plane, prosecutors say she hid in a bathroom for several hours and wasn't discovered by Delta crew members until the plane was nearing Paris. Dali told the court she went in there because she was feeling sick. Crew members notified French authorities, who detained her before she entered customs at the Paris airport, according to court documents. She was eventually flown back to New York. During two hours of questioning by an FBI agent, Dali said she flew to France because she had to the leave the U.S., where she said police refused to protect her from people who were poisoning her, according to court documents. Dali was initially released after her arrest with electric monitoring. But she then was arrested again in Buffalo, New York, after she cut off the monitor and tried to enter Canada. Prosecutors said Dali evaded security measures at two other airports before the JFK incident, and they believe she may have stowed away on another flight. Two days before she sneaked on the Paris flight, she was able to get through TSA, identification and boarding pass checkpoints at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, by hiding among other passengers. Authorities said she unsuccessfully tried to get on a plane and then left the airport. In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered Dali hiding in a bathroom at Miami International Airport, prosecutors said. Dali, who was found in a secured area in the international arrivals zone, was fingerprinted, her baggage was checked and she was escorted out of the airport, after the agents couldn't confirm her story that she had just arrived on an Air France flight and was waiting for her husband, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said federal agents did not make any findings that Dali had illegally traveled as a stowaway to Miami, but her statements to law enforcement after her arrest in Paris appeared to indicate that she had flown into Miami illegally. Dali told authorities that she returned to the U.S. in February 2024 after spending time in Europe, but there were no records of her being admitted to the U.S. within the past five years.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jury convicts New York-Paris flight stowaway who slipped past gate agents
NEW YORK (AP) — A jury on Thursday convicted a woman who sneaked onto a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass by slipping past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport last year. The short trial of Svetlana Dali concluded with a guilty finding on a stowaway charge by jurors in federal court in Brooklyn. Jury selection and opening statements were both held on Tuesday, and Dali took the stand on Wednesday. The judge did not immediately set a sentencing date. Dali faces up to six months in prison, according to her sentencing guidelines. To date, she has been in custody for more than five months. Dali's lawyer, Michael Schneider, declined to comment to The Associated Press following the verdict. Surveillance video shows Dali, a 57-year-old Russian citizen with U.S. residency, glomming onto a group of ticketed passengers as they pass two Delta Air Lines staffers who were checking tickets and didn't appear to notice Dali. She then strolls with the group onto an air bridge to a plane bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. In court, Dali said she walked onto the plane without being asked for a boarding pass, though acknowledged she did not have one. Prosecutors said Dali had initially been turned away from a security checkpoint at JFK by a Transportation Security Administration official after she was unable to show a boarding pass. But she was able to join a special security lane for airline employees and, masked by a large Air Europa flight crew, made it to an area where she was screened and patted down. Then she went to the Delta gate. On the plane, prosecutors say she hid in a bathroom for several hours and wasn't discovered by Delta crew members until the plane was nearing Paris. Dali told the court she went in there because she was feeling sick. Crew members notified French authorities, who detained her before she entered customs at the Paris airport, according to court documents. She was eventually flown back to New York. During two hours of questioning by an FBI agent, Dali said she flew to France because she had to the leave the U.S., where she said police refused to protect her from people who were poisoning her, according to court documents. Dali was initially released after her arrest with electric monitoring. But she then was arrested again in Buffalo, New York, after she cut off the monitor and tried to enter Canada. Prosecutors said Dali evaded security measures at two other airports before the JFK incident, and they believe she may have stowed away on another flight. Two days before she sneaked on the Paris flight, she was able to get through TSA, identification and boarding pass checkpoints at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, by hiding among other passengers. Authorities said she unsuccessfully tried to get on a plane and then left the airport. In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered Dali hiding in a bathroom at Miami International Airport, prosecutors said. Dali, who was found in a secured area in the international arrivals zone, was fingerprinted, her baggage was checked and she was escorted out of the airport, after the agents couldn't confirm her story that she had just arrived on an Air France flight and was waiting for her husband, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said federal agents did not make any findings that Dali had illegally traveled as a stowaway to Miami, but her statements to law enforcement after her arrest in Paris appeared to indicate that she had flown into Miami illegally. Dali told authorities that she returned to the U.S. in February 2024 after spending time in Europe, but there were no records of her being admitted to the U.S. within the past five years.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- CBS News
JFK stowaway suspect Svetlana Dali convicted
The woman accused of sneaking onto a flight from New York City to Paris last year was found guilty Thursday on a federal stowaway charge. Sveltana Dali's sentencing guidelines call for up to six months in prison. She's already been held without bail for five months. The judge did not immediately set a sentencing date. A grand jury indicted Svetlana Dali for sneaking aboard a a Delta flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport back in November. She flew to Paris, and was taken into custody by French authorities once she landed. An attempt for her to be sent back to the U.S. ended when she had to be removed from her return flight for a disturbance before takeoff. In December, she returned to New York and was re-arrested in Buffalo after allegedly removing her GPS monitor and trying to cross the border into Canada. She's since been held at the Brooklyn Detention Center, which is also where Sean "Diddy" Combs and suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione are being held, as well.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- The Independent
Jury convicts New York-Paris flight stowaway who slipped past gate agents
A jury on Thursday convicted a woman who sneaked onto a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass by slipping past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport last year. The short trial of Svetlana Dali concluded with a guilty finding on a stowaway charge by jurors in federal court in Brooklyn. Jury selection and opening statements were both held on Tuesday, and Dali took the stand on Wednesday. The judge did not immediately set a sentencing date. Dali faces up to six months in prison, according to her sentencing guidelines. To date, she has been in custody for more than five months. Dali's lawyer, Michael Schneider, declined to comment to The Associated Press following the verdict. Surveillance video shows Dali, a 57-year-old Russian citizen with U.S. residency, glomming onto a group of ticketed passengers as they pass two Delta Air Lines staffers who were checking tickets and didn't appear to notice Dali. She then strolls with the group onto an air bridge to a plane bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. In court, Dali said she walked onto the plane without being asked for a boarding pass, though acknowledged she did not have one. Prosecutors said Dali had initially been turned away from a security checkpoint at JFK by a Transportation Security Administration official after she was unable to show a boarding pass. But she was able to join a special security lane for airline employees and, masked by a large Air Europa flight crew, made it to an area where she was screened and patted down. Then she went to the Delta gate. On the plane, prosecutors say she hid in a bathroom for several hours and wasn't discovered by Delta crew members until the plane was nearing Paris. Dali told the court she went in there because she was feeling sick. Crew members notified French authorities, who detained her before she entered customs at the Paris airport, according to court documents. She was eventually flown back to New York. During two hours of questioning by an FBI agent, Dali said she flew to France because she had to the leave the U.S., where she said police refused to protect her from people who were poisoning her, according to court documents. Dali was initially released after her arrest with electric monitoring. But she then was arrested again in Buffalo, New York, after she cut off the monitor and tried to enter Canada. Prosecutors said Dali evaded security measures at two other airports before the JFK incident, and they believe she may have stowed away on another flight. Two days before she sneaked on the Paris flight, she was able to get through TSA, identification and boarding pass checkpoints at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut, by hiding among other passengers. Authorities said she unsuccessfully tried to get on a plane and then left the airport. In February 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered Dali hiding in a bathroom at Miami International Airport, prosecutors said. Dali, who was found in a secured area in the international arrivals zone, was fingerprinted, her baggage was checked and she was escorted out of the airport, after the agents couldn't confirm her story that she had just arrived on an Air France flight and was waiting for her husband, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said federal agents did not make any findings that Dali had illegally traveled as a stowaway to Miami, but her statements to law enforcement after her arrest in Paris appeared to indicate that she had flown into Miami illegally. Dali told authorities that she returned to the U.S. in February 2024 after spending time in Europe, but there were no records of her being admitted to the U.S. within the past five years.
