Icarus nominees are never one to live within the law. Smuggling, fighting, stealing and groping are all common. Some of this week’s nominees committed real crimes, but others are pandering to press. Judge the real crimes from the publicity frenzy and vote for the worst offender in the poll below.
And tell Peter about your Icarus stories in the comments. If you find a bigger failure, we’ll make you the winner of an exclusive Peter Greenberg prize.
Brass Knuckle Brawler
The Boy Scouts preach that it’s always good to be prepared and Jason Aramburu, a 26-year-old from San Antonio, did just that for his flight to Istanbul from New York’s JFK. Aramburu didn’t just pack a knife and brass knuckles. Instead, he armed himself with a trench knife, a large folding blade with a brass-knuckles handles. The weapon is designed so that one uses both the knife and the brass knuckles in one swing—a necessity for all transatlantic travel or warfare. The trench knife was found by X-ray scanners, and Aramburu is now charged with misdemeanor weapons possession, which is punishable by up to a year in jail.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host the State Dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton, via Wikimedia Commons)
Real House Thief
Nothing says scorned lover more like a publicity-hungry Real House Husband who has just been burned. Tareq Salahi, former White House party crasher and soon to be ex-husband of Real Housewife of DC, Michaele Salahi, is selling off all of his ex’s possessions on the website 9021go.com. The auction, designed to offer Salahi closure after his wife left him for Journey guitarist Neal Schon, features approximately 50 hotel bathrobes. In a statement to the press, Salahi details his ex’s bathrobe nabbing scheme. Whenever the couple arrived at a hotel, Michaele would call the front desk to get a fresh bathrobe, saying there was one missing. That way when they checked out, they would not be charged for taking a robe.
7 Things You Can’t Bring on a Plane
Remember that old George Carlin bit “Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say on Television.” This past week a criminally inclined passenger decided to offer up his own take on the subject packing seven weapons you shouldn’t bring on a plane. Flying from JFK airport in New York to Paris, the passenger tried to carry on four sets of brass knuckles, two stun gun flashlights and a sword. Port Authority Police promptly confiscated the weapons and arrested the man on a state charge.
Last Licks
A Las Vegas horror shows designed for a 17 and up audience aims to offer up a variety of adult frights, but the Creel family got more than they bargained for. Parents Brad and Beth Creel went to the press after employees at the Gates of Hell haunted house in Las Vegas threatened their 17-year-old daughters with sexual assault, called them degrading names and even licked one of them. The attraction’s owner, Duke Mullner, denies the story and noted that guests are required to sign a waiver that discloses what takes place inside the attraction. The police were contacted but choose not to pursue the case because they had no means to prove a crime had been committed.
Bathroom in a Bag
The Dutch national railway has come up with a rather peculiar solution for their train lines that are not equipped with bathrooms: plastic bags. The bags were introduced today but are only for emergency use. Politicians and the public are not happy about the “Sprinter” trains’ bathroom-less design, and the plastic bag program has done nothing to change public opinion. It is worth noting that the bags are kept out of sight in the conductor’s booth. No word about where on the train passengers are supposed to use the bag.
The pecker packing passenger won last week’s Icarus Award. Check out past winners in our Icarus Award section. And vote here for this week’s most worthy contender:
[polldaddy poll=”5566032″]
By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com
Related links: NY Post, Overhead Bin, MSNBC, Huffington Post
