Secret Service Probing Whether Hart Aide Impersonated Agent

The Secret Service said Thursday it was continuing to investigate whether one of Gary Hart’s aides illegally posed as a Secret Service agent to bar passengers from a commuter flight the candidate took.

Secret Service agents are not assigned to travel with Hart. Impersonating a Secret Service agent is a felony and can carry a three-year prison sentence, a $1,000 fine or both.

Seven passengers were not allowed to board the plane to Manchester, N.H., which took off Wednesday from Newark, N.J., with the Democratic presidential contender and three of his advisers.

Showed a Badge

“One of (Hart’s) party approached our ticket agent at the gate in Newark and showed identification consisting of a badge and a picture identification and said only Mr. Hart and his party would be allowed to board the aircraft and no other passengers would be allowed to travel on the flight,” said Fred Martin, vice president for marketing of Precision Eastern Express, the plane’s operators. “There were seven passengers that were not allowed to board.”

The angry travelers arrived in Manchester, N.H., on a later plane and the airline complained to federal authorities.

“It is an ongoing investigation,” said Rich Adams, a Secret Service spokesman, on Thursday. “There are a number of interviews that will take place.”

In Denver, a press aide for the Hart campaign said she could not confirm details of the incident, but suggested that the man who barred the passengers was a private security agent working for Pinkerton’s Inc. But in New York, a Pinkerton’s spokesman said the company’s security agent stopped at the metal detector and did not accompany Hart and his party to the gate.

No Contact With Airline

“We confirm that we provided two security professionals to the Gary Hart campaign in New York on May 6. One of these individuals accompanied Mr. Hart to Newark Airport, where his assignment ended,” the Pinkerton spokesman said. “This security professional did not have any contact with the airline or airport personnel concerning the flight or baggage arrangements for Mr. Hart or his staff. Further, he did not represent himself to be a Secret Service official at any time.”

Precision Eastern Express is a commuter line affiliated with Eastern Air Lines. Martin said a Secret Service agent from the Manhattan field office interviewed airline personnel connected with the flight Wednesday. Hart was accompanied on the flight by his press secretary, Kevin Sweeney, and aides William Shore and Michael Stratton.