Stolen Davidson County Election Commission Laptop Hard Drives Recovered

[DeSwiss]

"Stolen Hard Drives Were Sold At Downtown Coffee Shop"

WKRN - Channel 2
January 19, 2008, 10:02 am]

Metro police say that voters’ personal data is safe, after inspecting the hard drives from the computers stolen from the Election Commission last month. Officers recovered the hard drives on Thursday. Sgt. Tony Blackburn of the Metro police department said, “It does appear that no one has monkeyed with this information, has accessed it, has any information concerning this hard drive.”

It's good news for Davidson County voters, whose names and social security numbers were stored on that hard drive. “I feel pretty safe, especially since they did recover the hard drive," one voter said. On Thursday, suspected thief Robert Osbourne turned himself into police and confessed to taking the laptops from the Election Commission's office. He led officers to a business on 4th Avenue South called The Muse, where he says he sold the laptops immediately after stealing them on Christmas Eve.

During their search of the business on Thursday police found the missing laptop hard drives containing voter's information. So what was Osbourne's payment for these two stolen laptops? Police believe he handed them over in exchange for $80 and a six-pack of beer. Investigators don't think Osbourne knew what was on the laptops and was just looking to make a quick profit.

“These laptops actually changed hands 3 or 4 different times until we were able to locate them," Sgt. Blackburn said. Police tracked down the actual laptops to a purchaser in Goodlettsville. Now, they're taking a hard look at the 4th Avenue coffee shop, especially since the stolen hard drive wasn't all they found inside. Sgt. Blackburn said, “Pieces of computer hardware and software all over the entire business throughout, and that shows there's something going on that needs to be looked at.” Investigators say more charges are likely on the way.

As a result of the December theft, the Davidson County Election Commission has taken steps to ensure that voters' information is secure. Election Commissioner Ray Barrett said, “Social Security Program's will never be on the lookup program again. We're hoping the building gets a little better security.” The mayor's office said it may have paid for weekend security guards for months, but the guards weren't working. They are still looking through security records to see if that really was the case.

http://www.wkrn.com/nashville/news/stolen-hard-drives-were-sold-at-downtown-coffee-shop/135741.htm

- Whew!!! I don't often do this, but hell....

KUDOS TO THE BOYS IN BLUE OF THE MNPD!!!

Now if they can find the JC Penney data they've lost track of, I might be able to sleep again.....