The TSA has a cute phrase for this: "surrendered property." Anyway, if it doesn't end up on eBay, it stands a good chance of ending up as the property of a supervisor.
In my experience, the TSA will try to run out the clock on complaints lodge against it. For example, it took the TSA 10 months to reimburse a passenger who was the victim of screener theft: <http://tampatrib.com/businessnews/MGA3AXGFMND.html>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by whirledtraveler:
....there is no accomodation for return of confiscated property.</font>