Employee guilty of eavesdropping? We are always warning our clients about this. Establish clear privacy policies, let everyone know, then check your work. With the proliferation of devices being sold, the temptation to eavesdrop is soaring (everybody wants to be a spy).
Regular proactive sweeps should be scheduled for all sensitive locations, and be wary of any suspicious activity in the workplace.
Here are accounts of two recent incidents of employee eavesdropping.
Henrietta, NY:
A Town of Henrietta employee has been accused of recording coworkers’ conversations.
Marlene Youngman, 57, of Henrietta was charged on May 3 with eavesdropping, a felony, and possession of an eavesdropping device, a misdemeanor, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Employees told Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies that when Youngman’s bag was jostled at work one day, a recording device tumbled out, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. John Helfer. The device was reportedly actively recording at the time, he said.
Defense attorney Mark Foti explains charges like this in our state are uncommon. “This charge is extremely rare in New York State, and part of the reason for that is because when you review the law and the statue, and the way it’s written, it’s really designed for situations involving wiretapping and obviously equipment to conduct that type of eavesdropping is somewhat rare an difficult to obtain.”
Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies say Youngman recorded coworkers’ conversations when she was not present.
Youngman was assigned to the Henrietta Court Clerk’s Offices and that the recorded conversations took place in those offices. Youngman was only assigned to the court for the last three months.
Foti says conversations in those offices are meant to stay behind closed doors. “If there was something being recorded in the clerks office that could include conversations about pending cases, private information regarding warrants and other information that is not intended for the public.”
Youngman is due back in Henrietta Town Court later this month. The case may be moved to another court to avoid any potential conflict of interested.
Not just in small towns though-
NYC Fires Top Jails Official After Eavesdropping Charge
The New York City Correction Department’s top internal affairs official, who was demoted after accusations that he eavesdropped on telephone conversations between city investigators and their jailhouse informers on Rikers Island, was fired this week, reports the New York Times. Gregory Kuczinski, deputy commissioner of investigations, was initially stripped of his duties on May 8. The jails agency took that action after the Investigation Department made the accusations in a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio. The accusations of spying on city investigators as they were conducting undercover anti-corruption operations, along with a city report about the misuse of agency vehicles by correction commissioner Joseph Ponte, Kuczinski and other top staff members, as well as the disclosure that the commissioner had been out of state for 90 days last year, prompted Ponte to announce that he would resign.
The troubled jails agency was under intense scrutiny well before the Investigation Department’s allegations surfaced. The charges prompted further questions about the management of the agency from the City Council and city and state oversight boards. Yesterday, Correction Department spokesman,Peter Thorne said that, “Following several days of careful evaluation, Commissioner Ponte determined termination [of Kuczinski] was appropriate.” the statement said. Ponte had earlier defended Kuczinski.
All telephone systems are vulnerable to eavesdropping. Don’t let this happen in your company. Call us to discuss any concerns you may have.