Personal information of 80,000 NYPD officers stolen
A NYPD pension telecommunications director swiped backup tapes that contained addresses, Social Security numbers, medical records, and direct-deposit information on nearly 80,000 current and retired police officers
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is sending out letters to nearly 80,000 current and retired police officers after a civilian employee allegedly stole their personal information from a secure police back office located in a warehouse on Staten Island, New York. Anthony Bonelli, the NYPD pension telecommunications director, allegedly swiped backup tapes that contained addresses, Social Security numbers, medical records, and direct-deposit information on nearly 80,000 current and retired police officers on 21 February, the New York Post reports. The information could be used to steal the officers’ identities. Police later found the stolen tapes in Bonelli’s home and arrested him.
What is more interesting is how Bonelli allegedly bypassed the back office’s layered security. According to news reports, Bonelli bypassed the security guard on duty by flashing an expired ID card. His name was also not on a list of authorized personnel. “This individual was not authorized to be there, yet the guard let him in,” Anthony Garvey, the fund’s executive director, told the Staten Island Advance. “We think it was poor judgment.”
Next, Bonelli allegedly pulled the plug on the back office’s camera system before stealing the eight tapes. The Advance reports that Bonelli is charged with felony counts of third-degree burglary, fourth-degree grand larceny and computer trespass, and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. He faces a maximum of 13 years in prison if convicted.
Letters have been sent to 36,000 active and 43,000 retired police officers notifying them of the breach. While the NYPD says the information was not compromised, its pension fund is offering those affected a year of free credit monitoring just in case.
