LOS ANGELES, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A former American Airlines flight attendant trainee was sentenced in Los Angeles Monday to 18 months in prison for making bomb threats against United Airlines.
Patrick Cau, a 41-year-old German citizen living in Los Angeles, was fired in May and placed on the "no fly" list by the Transportation Security Administration.
He admitted in August to calling in eight bomb threats all targeting Chicago-based United Airlines flights while he was in training to be a flight attendant for competitor American Airlines, which has its headquarters in Texas.
U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II sentenced Cau to 18 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay an estimated $305,000 to United and $9,000 to the Los Angeles Police Department, KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, reported. He also could face deportation.
The hoaxes cost United an estimated $267,000 in flight delays and cancellations.
