Officers Racked Up Travel Vouchers

Police Lt. Michael Lista and Officer Joseph Chicano have been walking the beat at the Philadelphia International Airport for five years each. Now, however... they may well be on the other side of the law.

The men are accused of obtaining almost $10,000 in airline vouchers, by purchasing refundable tickets on sold-out flights... then volunteering to be bumped. And here's the rub... the Philadelphia Police and District Attorney's office want to know if Lista and Chicano did so while on taxpayers' time.

"They would show up for the flight, get bumped, get a round-trip flight credit and also get a refund," US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Both officers retired within the last couple of months, and both strongly deny the charges... saying US Airways is lying when it accuses them of trying to cash in.

But US Airways workers say they got suspicious last year, when they spotted the two in line at a crowded gate... waiting for a flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. And sure enough, when passengers got the word that the flight was overbooked... Lista and Chicano volunteered to get bumped.

They were... and then, airline executives say, Chicano -- wearing his uniform -- offered to get bumped from another flight -- his second of the day. Lista, they say, was in line at yet another gate, offering to be bumped. Suspicious airline workers refused to bump either officer, but they later processed their tickets for refunds.

US Airways executives say the two had been running the scam for a year -- but the officers say they were just trying to get out of town ahead of the crowds headed to Philly for a big concert. They describe themselves as frequent traveling companions whose wives don't mind if they take short trips out of town.

A Philadelphia Police internal affairs investigation is now underway. Legal experts say the DA's office could file charges of theft by deception.

FMI: www.ppdonline.org, www.usairways.com