Hey DN,
Kobold is certainly one of the most controversial brands out there. They made quite a splash in their initial entry to the watch scene with some high quality watches at relatively bargain prices. I used to own one called a Kobold Professional B that was a beautiful wind up chronograph. But times have changed, they brought out a new line that was priced in the stratosphere. And the founder Michael Kobold was involved in an embarassing incident at the airport. (see below). I don't think their watches are worth the prices that are being charged now, if you really want one, try getting a used one because the retail prices are staggering. I'd say a Submariner is a bargain compared to a new Kobold. Oh, Kobold has run a series of print ads with James Gandolfini as their new spokesman, one has Gandolfini giving the bird to readers, pretty low class if you ask me.
Impostor beats airport security
Old badge is used to pass checkpoint
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
By Mark Belko, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
A watchmaker breached security at Pittsburgh International Airport Sunday night by flashing a constable's badge at the checkpoint to get to the boarding terminal to see his brother off.
Michael Kobold, 23, a German citizen who lives in Oakland and has a business in Robinson, got to the international gate in the terminal's airside building before a U.S. Customs agent became suspicious and questioned him.
As a result, Allegheny County police have charged Kobold with impersonating a public servant, a misdemeanor, and unauthorized access to a restricted area, a summary offense.
U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said yesterday that her office also is reviewing the incident to determine if federal charges are appropriate.
But Kobold may not be the only one who has some explaining to do. Sgt. Bob Downey Jr. of the county police said airport security procedures were violated when Kobold was permitted into the screening area simply by showing a badge. While law enforcement officers can get into the checkpoint with a badge, they also are required to show photo identifications and are supposed to be escorted to a private screening area to be checked for weapons.
Downey said none of those procedures was followed after Kobold flashed the badge, given to him by Findlay Constable William DeForte Jr., apparently as a memento.
The person who saw Kobold's badge assumed he was a federal sky marshal and let him into the checkpoint without seeing any other ID or requiring him to have an escort, Downey said.
"I guess he thought he was doing him a favor because he wasn't armed," he said.
Federal Security Director Robert Blose, who oversees security at Pittsburgh International Airport, said the person involved was a ticket reader who stands at the entrance to the checkpoint to make sure those passing into the area have a ticket to board a plane. Those without tickets are not permitted through the checkpoint to the airside building or the commuter terminal.
Blose said the ticket readers work for Huntleigh USA, which was hired by the airlines to handle that task. He said they are not part of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration screening detail that staffs metal detectors and X-ray machines at the checkpoint.
Huntleigh officials did not return calls yesterday.
"All I can say is that the ticket reader screwed up, made a mistake," said Blose, who works for the TSA. "I was not happy Sunday night. If it were a screener, he would be unemployed today."
Downey said Kobold, who was not armed, used the badge to get through security because he wanted to make sure his brother got off to Germany. He told police his brother had recently been released from a drug rehabilitation center.
Kobold ended up being questioned after a U.S. Customs agent spotted him standing around the international gate after everyone else had boarded. The agent summoned police and TSA officials after Kobold was unable to produce a ticket, law enforcement identification or a driver's license.
DeForte said he gave Kobold the badge as a memento after Kobold gave him a watch. He added the badge was an old one no longer used by his office.
"That was never, ever, ever intended to be used as a piece of official law enforcement identification," DeForte said.
Kobold, who faces a preliminary hearing Monday, was released on his own recognizance. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
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Mark Belko can be reached at
mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
