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Former Local 17 Business Agent Pleads Guilty to Misusing DMV Database
BUFFALO, N.Y. – In a shocking turn of events, Jeffrey A. Peterson, 51, of Freedom, NY, pleaded guilty to exceeding authorized access to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYS DMV) database before Senior U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny.
Peterson, a former business agent with Local 17 of the Operating Engineers International, AFL-CIO, had been accused of misusing the database for personal gain. As a business agent, Peterson was authorized to access the NYS DMV database for the limited purpose of determining if current Local 17 members had up-to-date commercial drivers’ licenses.
However, on April 25, 2005, Peterson accessed the database to determine the registered owner of a vehicle that appeared at a Local 17 picket line outside Portville, NY four days earlier. This inquiry was outside the scope of the agreement between Local 17 and the NYS DMV.
The vehicle in question belonged to the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and was being driven by a Department of Labor Special Agent. This incident was just one of multiple violations of the agreement which resulted in the NYS DMV denying Local 17 further access to the database.
Peterson’s sentencing is scheduled for July 15, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. before Judge Skretny. The charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Special Agents of the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Garcia of the New York Regional Office.
For more information, please contact Barbara Burns at (716) 843-5817 or (716) 551-3051.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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