Peeping "Michael" Arrested Over Cameras at School

Okay, our commenter hashashin was more than right: The scary thing about the Staten Island man who was arrested for secretly installing a camera in the Long Island bathroom of a friend he was doing some bathroom renovation work for was not that he secretly installed the camera - it's that he's a Department of Education employee. Because now he's been arrested for installing spy cameras at high schools in Brooklyn. Oh, yes: Michael Conte, a janitor's assistant/part-time machinist at Westinghouse and Brooklyn Tech High Schools, installed cameras in a women's faculty bathroom and a girl's locker room. Ew ew ew ew ew! Suffolk County police let the NYPD know they were investigating Conte, and then NYPD found "800 cassettes and DVD's; pinhole cameras, high-powered lenses and other surveillance equipment; and a shotgun and ammunition" in his Staten Island home. Sweet Jesus. Then the police searched the high schools, finding the secret peepholes. And the Long Island woman alerted police when she found the hard drive that was taking pictures of her in the bathroom! Gothamist wonders if lawsuits from the teachers' union and parents of students will be far behind.

Conte is held on $75,000 bail and was suspended from his job (but the Department of Education is looking to fire him).

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on January 26, 2006 9:42 AM

Comments [rss]

Larry Littlefield

I wonder if the Board of Education will be able to fire him while he is in jail, or if his contract rights will require the city to pay him there.

homeopt

Your mom sounds like an idiot.

Tom Snyder

You can be sure if it\'s Westinghouse!

threetoedsloth

A few years ago the father of one of my childhood friends was arrested for doing pretty much the same thing, though on less of a grand scale! He was secretly videotaping women in dressing rooms at Macy's. My mom was kind of thrilled, because his wife was this holier-than-thou shrew who stuck her nose up at everybody and wouldn't quick yammering on about Jesus.

S.D.

I'm just glad they caught this guy.

Makes you wonder about what else people are getting Away with...

Adam

I heard on the radio this morning that he had been secretly taping in the schools for 17 years! Imagine the technological advances he's seen and taken advantage of since then. He probably went from bulky VHS equipment to mini spycams and tiny hard drives. The computer/Internet revolution must have been a godsend for this creepazoid.

smitty

I wonder what the jail time is for something like this. I hope it's a lot. You have to wonder if he's also perpetrating sex crimes. Eek.

J

Have you ever noticed that a large number of guys who get caught for crimes like this happen to live with their mothers? I say if a 40-something man lives with his mother it's a big RED FLAG.