Man who had gun on planes fears for future

[Times photo: Thomas M. Goethe]

Barry Brunstein sits next to a stack of moving boxes and a picture of his granddaughter at his new home in Valrico. "I would never hurt anyone," he said. "It was a stupid mistake."

He worries about his career and that he could go to prison. How he got through security at TIA remains unclear.

Even worse, the former Boy Scouts leader and federal agent could land in prison for up to 10 years. And that thought is unbelievable to a man who, until last weekend, had never been arrested.

"I don't belong in jail," said Brunstein, 55, sitting on a brown leather couch in the new dream house he and his wife of 30 years haven't much enjoyed lately.

Brunstein's charge: carrying a loaded .380-caliber handgun in his black leather briefcase aboard Delta flights from Tampa to Atlanta and on to Memphis.

In that sense, Brunstein embodies what every airborne traveler fears most these days: a man with a gun on a plane. In the wake of Sept. 11, passengers are jumpy, and they want assurance that airline security measures are rigorous.

Brunstein says no evil designs shaped his crime. Since the attacks, there has been a hand-sized American flag taped to the windshield of his blue Ford Explorer.

"I'm not a wacko. I had no criminal intent. I would never hurt anyone," he said. "It was a stupid mistake."

He insists that he utterly forgot where he'd stashed the handgun, that he is guilty, really, of being absent-minded.

But the national mood can only make things bad for him, he worries.

"It has to have some effect," said Brunstein, a grandfather and avid mako fisherman.

Two weeks ago, Brunstein was in Orlando on business when he slipped his .380-caliber Beretta into the back pocket of his black leather briefcase instead of inside his waistband, its usual place.

Ten days later, on Friday, Brunstein boarded a round-trip Delta flight for Memphis via Atlanta to qualify for a Delta Air Lines frequent flier program. He expected to be home by dinner.

The loaded gun passed through the scanner at Tampa International. Brunstein stayed within the secure area in Atlanta and Memphis. It wasn't until he was about to board a flight home that a startled security agent doing a random search pulled the gun from the briefcase.

FBI agents arrested Brunstein, handcuffed him and drove him to the federal building, where he said he worked for a couple of years in the 1970s as a U.S. Department of Transportation special agent.

He was fingerprinted and questioned. He was so nervous, he said, his hand shook too much to drink a cup of tea while talking to investigators.

"They were very courteous," Brunstein said about the FBI agents, airport security, even the man from Delta who later told him he could no longer fly with the airline.

A federal judge set bail at $5,000. Brunstein promptly put it on a credit card.

In fact, Brunstein has done nothing particularly original. There are numerous examples nationwide of passengers inadvertently or intentionally toting guns in their carry-on luggage. Sometimes the offenders were charged in county courts. Other times, they faced federal charges with monetary penalties attached.

Among the more notable arrests:

Actor Martin Lawrence tried to carry a 9mm semiautomatic pistol onto a plane in Burbank, Calif., in 1996. He said he thought it was legal. Lawrence was issued a misdemeanor citation and released.

Missouri state Treasurer Wendell Bailey in 1992 tried to carry a bag containing a loaded pistol onto a plane. The U.S. Attorney's Office investigated and decided not to prosecute, saying it determined that Bailey did not intentionally try to board the plane with the gun. The Federal Aviation Administration fined him $2,500.

Federal regulations on passengers toting guns in carry-on luggage were strengthened in 1996, and the maximum penalty for handgun possession on an airplane jumped from one year to 10.

Might prosecutors be more inclined to throw the book at offenders after Sept. 11?

Prosecutors would not address Brunstein's case Monday, but David Rhodes, an assistant U.S. attorney in Tampa, said, "It's not Sept. 10 anymore."

Until 1972, it was legal to carry handguns onto airplanes, said Kelly Figley, a TIA spokeswoman. Since then, passengers generally have been allowed to pack them in checked luggage, but they must be declared and unloaded, she said.

The FAA has the power to level fines against airlines and security firms for violating federal safety procedures. Figley said the FAA has determined that nothing was wrong with the scanners Friday.

"They're still checking into personnel and procedures," Figley said.

Mike Ferrua, CEO of Worldwide Security, the Los Angeles-based security firm for Delta at TIA and 12 other airports, said its investigation so far has turned up no wrongdoing on the part of employees.

"We did not find any anomalies," Ferrua said. "At this point in time we have no reason to believe there would be any suspensions."

Brunstein said he started carrying the handgun five years ago after finally getting around to applying for a concealed weapons permit. Self-employed, Brunstein investigates truck crashes. He said his work often takes him to seedy neighborhoods; thus, the gun.

He said a lot of his work involves testifying in court, and he worries about the impact of the arrest on business.

"When you're on the stand, it's not a good idea to have, quote, skeletons in the closet," he said. "And this is a big skeleton."

His hearing, in federal court in Memphis, is set for Jan. 16.

"It's all a nightmare," he said. "A horrible nightmare."

-- Kathryn Wexler can be reached at (813) 226-3383. Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

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