Suspended deputy convicted of felony eavesdropping
April 24, 2007, 10:22 PM EDT
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) _ A suspended sheriff's deputy was convicted
Tuesday of felony eavesdropping for his unsanctioned investigation
with computer spyware of a neighbor.
After a non-jury trial, acting state Supreme Court Justice Stephen
Sirkin also convicted Investigator R. Michael Hildreth of misdemeanor
official misconduct. He was acquitted of felony third-degree computer
trespassing against the man he thought posed a threat to young girls
in their suburban Rochester neighborhood.
Hildreth, 45, could face up to four years in prison at sentencing
June 26. In 1999, he became one of the first Monroe County deputies
assigned full-time to a computer crimes unit.
Prosecutors said Hildreth in 2005 sent Penfield neighbor James Missel
an email about potential job prospects with an attachment that, when
opened, planted the spyware program Blaster on Missel's computer,
allowing the investigator to monitor every keystroke, Web site
visited and chat room entered on the computer.
Hildreth also left a computer disk in his neighbor's mailbox,
purportedly from the same potential employer, with the same job
information. When inserted in the computer's disc drive, it also
downloaded the spyware.
Hildreth was been suspended without pay from the sheriff's office
since his arrest in June 2006.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Monaghan said a follow-up
investigation turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by Missel, who had
volunteered for more than 30 years with a private school.
__
Information from: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle,
http://www.democratandchronicle.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World Class, Professional, Ethical, and Competent Bug Sweeps, and
Wiretap Detection using Sophisticated Laboratory Grade Test Equipment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James M. Atkinson Phone: (978) 546-3803
Granite Island Group Fax: (978) 546-9467
127 Eastern Avenue #291 Web:
http://www.tscm.com/
Gloucester, MA 01931-8008 E-mail: mailto:jm..._at_tscm.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We perform bug sweeps like it's a full contact sport, we take no prisoners,
and we give no quarter. Our goal is to simply, and completely stop the spy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:25 CST