A Hempstead town clerk employee has been arrested for deleting more than 5,000 files, including information concerning marriage licenses and death certificates, from an office computer last week, Nassau County prosecutors said.
Derek Foder, who testified in the trial of recently convicted and ousted Town Clerk Mark Bonilla, was charged with computer tampering, a felony.
Prosecutors said the 27-year-old Malverne man, a former office aide in the clerk’s office, had logged on to his work computer Aug. 8 and deleted the files from the office’s computer database, including official town photos.
That came after Bonilla was convicted of official misconduct for threatening to transfer an employee unless the employee turned over compromising photos of a former female staffer who has accused Bonilla of sexual harassment.
Foder, who earned $38,000 annually, told the town Aug. 12—the day before he was fired—that he accidentally deleted the files, which were recovered, although some are not available to the public without a court order, authorities said.
He was released without bail and is due back in court Monday. He faces up to four years in prison, if convicted. Bonilla will be sentenced next month.
