New York- Hancock Airport staff rushed to the JetBlue Airways counter Tuesday to investigate a report that a man tried to bring a handgun on an airplane.

Transportation Security Administration workers and police rifled through the man’s suitcase and confirmed what X-ray machines had shown. Inside the suitcase lay a black gun belt holding what appeared to be a revolver.

But Gregory A. Rowe, 44, told police things weren’t as they seemed. Rowe told officers the gun was a disabled starter pistol he uses for his job – as an exotic dancer.

“It was a big brouhaha over nothing,” Rowe said Wednesday from his home in Henderson, Nev.

Rowe, who grew up in Central New York, was in Syracuse this week to perform at several bachelorette parties, he said.

“I use a cop costume to gag the bride-to-be,” Rowe said. “To make it more realistic, I put the toy gun in the holster.”

Syracuse police allowed Rowe to catch his flight and bring his prop home – but only after he bought a $35 lockbox for the pistol.

The lockbox wasn’t enough for police in New York City. Rowe said he got stopped a second time Tuesday after baggage screeners at John F. Kennedy International Airport saw the X-ray shadow of Rowe’s “gun.”

“The cops took me downstairs for questioning,” Rowe said. “Then they figured out that it was just a toy gun. It made my trip more stressful. I didn’t think I had to declare it since it’s not a firearm.”

Delen Goldberg can be reached at [email protected] or 470-6070.