Sheriff: Chicago woman missed Florida flight and falsely said bomb was on plane
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A Lincoln Park woman was upset that her son would miss school when she falsely claimed a bomb was on a plane at a South Florida airport after missing her flight, her family says.
"It was a mistake," said a relative who asked not to be named. "She was nervous about the son needing to go to school. It was a mess but it was definitely not meant to be."
Marina Verbitsky, 46, was with her husband and son Monday night at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when they arrived at the gate and were told they missed their flight, according to a court document from the Broward County state’s attorney’s office.
JetBlue employees told them the plane with their checked luggage aboard had already begun taxiing, prosecutors said.
Verbitsky yelled profanities at the employees and said a bomb was in her luggage, prosecutors said in the document.
The plane was rerouted from the taxiway to the gate. Passengers were evacuated and the plane was searched but no explosives were found.
Verbitsky was arrested and charged with falsely reporting a bomb. A judge set her bail at $10,000 and ordered her to undergo a mental health evaluation, according to the state’s attorney’s office. She posted bond Tuesday.
Verbitsky has relatives who live in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, just south of the airport, records show. She gave authorities a home address in Lincoln Park.