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Updated: Tuesday, 03 May 2011, 7:36 AM EDTNEW YORK - Dawdling JFK Airport security waited 40 minutes before calling cops after a man told a ticket agent that he was Usama bin Laden and was carrying a bomb, furious law enforcement officials said Tuesday.Christian Boncorps, 61, told an Air France ticket agent, "My name is bin Laden, and I have a bomb in my bag."But by the time cops were called, luggage belonging to the boozed-up suspect was already aboard a Paris-bound jet that he planned to get on, sources said.The incident began around 10:20pm local time Friday, when Boncorps showed up drunk at the ticket counter to get his boarding pass, sources said.An Air France reservation clerk asked him what he had in his bag, thinking he might be trying to smuggle more booze aboard, one source said, prompting the irked Boncorps to make his comment about the now-dead terror chief.But instead of calling Port Authority cops immediately, the clerk escorted him to a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening site, where workers simply put him through standard pre-flight screening procedures."When a cop finally shows up, [Boncorps] was putting his shoes back on," said a Port Authority police source.An Air France rep did not reply to an email about what occurred. Ann Davis, a TSA spokeswoman, said the incident was being reviewed."TSA continues to look into the circumstances surrounding this matter,'' she said. "However, travelers can be assured that every TSA and airport employee is trained to take any and all threats seriously and notify law enforcement to ensure the safety of the airport and air travelers," Davis added.But Paul Nunziato, president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, was furious."We got lucky that this passenger wasn't a serious threat," he said.Boncorps, from Yonkers, N.Y., could not be reached for comment but was charged with filing a false report. He wound up pleading guilty to disorderly conduct at his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, a violation for which he paid a $250 fine.
"We got lucky that this passenger wasn't a serious threat," he said.
