PSA Pilot heading to jail
 

The Associated Press: Pilot who sold drug-test-beating mix pleads guilty

Pilot who sold drug-test-beating mix pleads guilty
By JOE MANDAK (AP) – 11 hours ago
PITTSBURGH — A pilot for US Airways Express pleaded guilty to selling a powdered drink mix over the Internet to help drug users pass federal drug tests for truck drivers, pilots and train engineers and other safety-sensitive positions.
Stephen Sharp, 41, of Port Orange, Fla., was a pilot for PSA Airlines when he also ran the Web site www.yourintheclear.com from November 2006 through May 2008.
U.S. District Judge David Cercone granted Sharp permission Thursday to continue flying out of his base of Charlotte, N.C., until he returns to be sentenced Sept. 3, when he faces a maximum of five years in prison.
PSA Airlines removed the employee from duty and placed him on unpaid administrative leave as soon as they became aware of the court hearing, US Airways spokesman Andrew J. Christie Jr. said.
PSA flies under the US Airways Express banner and is wholly owned by US Airways, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary McKeen Houghton said.
Sharp didn't comment at his guilty plea, beyond answering the judge's questions with yes or no answers.
Prosecutors wouldn't say whether Sharp had used drugs, or his own product, which was advertised as "100 percent" effective in defeating drug testing standards developed by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMSHA tests are used to screen pilots and others by the U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as employees of other federal agencies, including the FBI.
"You simply mix the powder with a large glass of cranberry juice 1-5 hours before your test and then just relax!" Sharp's Web site said.
Federal prosecutors said the product worked.
"There is public testimony by SAMSHA officials to Congress that these products are very effective," Houghton said.
Prosecutors refused to say how many customers Sharp had, or how many of them may have worked in government-regulated industries.
Sharp pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States because his product was specifically designed and marketed to defeat U.S. Department of Transportation drug tests.
Sharp's case is the latest brought by federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh against people who sold products specifically designed to defeat federal drug tests.
Earlier this month, two California men were sentenced after pleading guilty to selling a prosthetic male sex organ called the Whizzinator, that could be filled with synthetic urine.
SAMSHA officials have said the Whizzinator was developed because the agency became adept at finding masking agents — like Sharp's product — in urine samples, so those taking drug tests had to develop a way to smuggle in "clean" samples.
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert Cessar said similar products are still being targeted by federal investigators in Pittsburgh.
"Our office is continuing to investigate these products in our continued effort to enforce federal law and ensure public safety," Cessar said.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Poor guy was just looking for extra income to make up for his regional wage.

Great more good press for PSA.....
We are the next Pinnacle........

"Yourintheclear"?

What an idiot. Can we start having a mandatory grammar test for First Officers? Actually, throw in a paint-by-numbers test too for good measure.

Clearly not good, but shouldn't it say something that there exist products that allow drug users to pass federal drug test? I'm gonna go ahead and say that's bad....
Though maybe not this guys fault, make a better drug test then.

In the future, if you want to sell and market these products, you're going to have to talk in code and use word of mouth to get a client base. The fact that he sold this crap isn't illegal, but apparently marketing it the way he did was illegal. It really seems like a stretch to me, but I guess his lawyer didn't think they could beat the charges. I guess my extreme hatred of the government makes me side with the pilot in this case.

jee thanks timothy mcveigh.

Maybe URINEtheClear was taken.

Helping pilots and other safety sensitive employees to do drugs is criminal in my book, he could be taken out and shot for all I care. My extreme hatred of stupidity makes me side with the government in this case...don't need no dopers on the cockpit.

We obviously need more effective tests. This case shows me how our drug testing is no different than our theatrical security screening. How many false positives are there? How many people who love drugs buy products like this? Sending this guy to jail doesn't change anything.