Town worker arrested in computer tampering

Richard Tedesco

An employee who worked for former Town of Hempstead Clerk Mark Bonilla was arrested last Thursday and charged with computer tampering after he allegedly deleted more than 5,000 files from the office’s computer system on the same day his boss was removed from office.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Derek Foder, 27, of Malverne, was arrested by county district attorney Investigators and charged with felony computer tampering in the third degree, a felony offense.

At his arraignment in 1st District Court in Hempstead, Foder pleaded not guilty to the charge, according to Chris Munzing, a spokesman for the county District Attorney’s office. 

Munzing said Judge Eric Bjornely released Foder on his own recognizance. He faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison and is due to make a second court appearance on Monday.     

Rice said on Aug. 9 someone in the office discovered that Foder, an office aide in the clerk’s office, had logged on to his office computer the previous day and deleted files from the office’s computer database, including information and forms concerning marriage licenses and death certificates.

On Aug. 8, the day Foder allegedly deleted the files, Bonilla was ousted from office in the wake of his recent conviction on one count of  misconduct. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had ordered Bonilla’s removal for violating his oath of office in a letter to Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray.  

“Mr. Foder deleted sensitive information essential to the operation of an important Town of Hempstead office,” Rice said. “My office will continue to weed out those who abuse the trust placed in them by the public and ensure that they face the consequences of their actions.”

All of the deleted files were recovered and no personal information was compromised, the county district attorney’s office reported. Some of the information Foder accessed and deleted is not available to the public without a court order, according to the district attorney’s office. 

Foder reportedly told Town of Hempstead officials on Aug. 12 that he had deleted the files accidentally. He was fired the following day and the case was referred to Rice’s office. 

“It was discovered that files in the clerk’s database were missing and it was traced back to him,” Munzing said.

Foder, who had been hired by the town in 2003 and became a full-time employee in 2011, had been earning more than $38,000 per year as an office aide before he was fired.

Bonilla, 50, of Bellmore, was found guilty last month on one count of official misconduct for threatening to transfer an employee, Mark Desidoro, unless he gave Bonilla personal photographs of a female employee who had accused Bonilla of sexual harassment.

He was found not guilty of coercion in the second degree, and attempted petit larceny. The official misconduct conviction is a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Bonilla is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 26.

“It is time for the town to move forward, and continue providing excellent services to the public without unnecessary distractions,” Murray said in a statement issued the same day she received Cuomo’s letter.

In the statement, she also said she had instructed Bonilla to vacate his office and return any government property in his possession to the town by the close of business on Aug. 8.

First Deputy Town Clerk Phil Guarneri will take the town clerk position for the remainder of Bonilla’s term, which ends this year, according to town spokeswoman Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky. The position will be filled with a permanent replacement for Bonilla in the November election.

Bonilla was appointed town clerk by the town board in 2003 after Murray left the post to become town supervisor.

He was elected to the position later that year and won his fifth term in 2011 to the job, which paid him $129,500 per year.

Murray and members of the town board called for Bonilla to resign his position last September in the wake of criminal misconduct charges and sexual harassment allegations made against him.

Murray called Bonilla’s conduct “disgusting and offensive” at the time. But Bonilla refused to resign.

“Mark Bonilla created a toxic work environment with his personal conduct and then tried to smear a young woman who rebuffed his unwanted sexual advances,” Rice said in a statement. “Voters rightly expect elected officials to do their jobs with professionalism and common decency, and my office will continue to hold accountable those who violate the public trust.” 

Rice said that in August 2012,  a 21-year-old female employee in Bonilla’s office filed a sexual harassment claim against Bonilla, claiming that he had groped her and made sexual advances toward her for two years. 

Later that month, Bonilla met with Desidoro, who was in a relationship with the female employee who filed the claim against him. Bonilla asked Desidero to provide him with inappropriate photographs of his accuser, Rice said..

After Desidoro did not deliver the pictures by early September, Rice said Bonilla threatened to transfer him out of his department if he did not deliver the photos while promising the employee a transfer to full-time status if did. 

The case was referred to the DA’s Office by Town of Hempstead officials and Bonilla was arrested on Sept. 21, 2012 as a result of a subsequent investigation.

Mineola lawyer Adrian DiLuzio recently said this week he is considering filing an appeal to request Judge Sharon Gianelli set aside the guilty verdict she rendered against Bonilla on one count of official misconduct in Nassau Supreme Court.

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