3 SFO luggage handlers convicted of stealing SAN FRANCISCO

Three baggage handlers at San Francisco International Airport have been convicted of stealing from luggage during an undercover sting begun after the theft of a retired police sergeant's gun, authorities said Friday.

Andrew Balamiento, 28, John Emil Victoria, 21, and Tauailapalapa Laulu, 27, pleaded no contest to embezzlement for stealing from passenger luggage while working for Servisair, a ground handling company that serviced Delta Air Lines.

The case began in September when a retired San Francisco police sergeant checked his custom-made handgun with his luggage for a Delta flight. The weapon disappeared after check-in and was the latest in a spate of thefts from luggage, said Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County's chief deputy district attorney.

A sting operation was launched in which three bags were checked on two different flights. A game system and an Apple laptop computer were stolen from one bag, and a gold watch and foreign currency were taken from the second bag, Wagstaffe said.

Some of the stolen items were found in Balamiento's work locker, while the stolen handgun was found at Victoria's home. The computer was found in Laulu's possession, Wagstaffe said.

Balamiento will be sentenced Sept. 10. Victoria was sentenced to three months of jail and three years of probation. Both were convicted of felony embezzlement. Laulu was sentenced to a month in jail and two years of probation for misdemeanor embezzlement.