New York, USA - A whistle-blowing Wiccan is fighting to regain her federal airport security job, claiming she was the target of a witch hunt by her bosses.
Carole Smith, 51, worked at Albany International Airport before she was swept out of her Transportation Security Administration job in June 2009.
While TSA officials say the firing was based on performance issues, Smith said it was retaliation for her complaints about lax airport security and her pagan beliefs.
A co-worker even complained that Smith cast a disabling spell on the heater of her car one snowy evening, according to a report on MSNBC.com.
Smith - who was a probationary worker with just seven months on the job - told the web site she was "dumbfounded" when asked by a supervisor about the purported heater hex.
"I told him, 'That's not what Wicca is. We don't cast spells,'" she told MSNBC.
"To put a spell on a heater of a car, if I had that kind of power, I wouldn't be working for the TSA, Smith said. "I would go buy lottery tickets and put a spell on the balls."
Smith fought the firing, but lost her first challenge when an administrative law judge ruled against her last December. She's planning an appeal of that decision.
The TSA told FOX23 News in a statement that they stood behind their decision.
"Smith was given due process before an administrative law judge who, based on the evidence and testimony by all parties involved, ruled in TSA's favor, noting that her termination from TSA was non-discriminatory," the statement said.
"Ms. Smith has filed an appeal of this decision and because TSA policy precludes comment on pending litigation, the agency cannot comment further."