Theft of RI Firefighters' Personnel Files Draws Concern
Source The Providence Journal
COVENTRY — The Central Coventry Fire District has asked the Rhode Island State Police to criminally investigate an apparent break-in to a file cabinet and theft of confidential personnel records.
The district also wants the state police to investigate a possible unauthorized accessing of privileged computerized financial information.
David M. D’Agostino, lawyer for the district board of directors, requested the investigation in a letter dated Aug. 9 to Maj. Joseph F. Philbin, state police detective commander. Philbin said Wednesday that he is considering whether to conduct a probe.
The apparent break-in — the file cabinet lock was broken — likely occurred in March or April and was discovered belatedly, according to D’Agostino. Personnel records pertaining to the seven-member board of directors are missing and presumed stolen, he said.
Also missing and presumed stolen or misappropriated is information thought to have been contained in the personnel file of an injured firefighter, D’Agostino said.
The file cabinet, in the fire station at 240 Arnold Rd., has been secured anew with a padlock, he said.
The second part of the requested investigation arises from a taxpayer’s social media posting in late May or early June in which the individual showed specific knowledge about a bank account that likely was obtained by someone with access to the district computer system, D’Agostino explained.
“Somebody had to have accessed that information” without legitimate authority, D’Agostino said.
The state police was asked to investigate rather than the Coventry police, the lawyer said, because it would be potentially awkward to have town police officers inquiring into another local public safety institution.
In other district news, fire Capt. David J. Gorman, president of the firefighter labor union and a key participant in the recent resolution of the district’s severe money woes, has resigned in order to take a firefighter job for the Town of East Greenwich.
Fred Gralinski, president of the district board, characterized the apparent break-in as a side issue in the district’s financial renaissance. Because the district became insolvent it fell under the control of a special court-appointed master and then a state-appointed receiver. The district regained its autonomy in October, however, and, according to Gralinski, is nearing financial stability.
The district is the largest of four such districts in the Town of Coventry, with a population of 17,000, a geographic area of 19.4 square miles, an annual operating budget of about $5.2 million, and 31 full-time employees, according to Fire Chief Peter J. Lamb.
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