Fired Rochester New York 911 Operator Nadire P. Zenelaj Charged With Illegal Searches Of Driving Records, State Police Databases, And FBI’s So-Called Terror Watch List
May 12th, 2008
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK - A former city 911 operator faces multiple felony counts for illegally searching state driving records and state police databases that included the FBI’s terrorist watch list, officials said Wednesday.
The fired employee, Nadire P. Zenelaj, 32, of Rochester insists she did nothing wrong and is being singled out because she is Muslim.
“I feel they targeted me because of my religion,” said Zenelaj, who worked at the 911 center for nearly six years. “I have no criminal history. I have never gone against the law.”
Richard Vega, director of the city’s Office of Public Integrity, said Zenelaj was “running personal information on herself, on her family and on friends. I think it went beyond curiosity. … We think she was accessing this information to pass it on to others.”
At least one of the 227 names that Zenelaj searched for was on the terrorist watch list, according to police. She was fired in December, arrested Tuesday and pleaded not guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor official misconduct and 232 felony counts of computer trespass — one for each allegedly illegal search.
As for knowing someone on the watch list, Zenelaj said: “Regardless of that person, I’ve seen many people on many lists.”
In a telephone interview, she said that when she was trained on the database systems, instructors told her that she needed to practice and that was all she was doing.
“It was a common practice in the office,” she said of nonofficial searches, adding: “I never disseminated any information to anybody. I kept my obligations to my employer.”
The databases, according to the city, include “highly sensitive” confidential information, such as outstanding arrest warrants and restricted law enforcement records.
Zenelaj became the fourth city employee in three weeks to face criminal charges, all stemming from investigations by the city’s Office of Public Integrity. Other arrested employees worked in the city’s library and parking meter operations and were accused of theft.
Vega said the investigation of Zenelaj was triggered after an employee saw something that looked suspicious and went to a supervisor. The police complaint states that all or most of the allegedly illegal searches occurred on Jan. 2, 2006, and on Oct. 26, 2007. Zenelaj did not have the ability to add to or delete information from the records, Vega said.
She was fired in December for various violations regarding unauthorized access of computer information and violations of the City of Rochester Ethical Standards of Conduct. Since then, local authorities have been working with state officials to build a criminal case, Vega said. No additional arrests or charges are expected.
Vega said misconduct was the sole reason for Zenelaj’s termination. He added that the city even went back through training materials and records to try to find any support for Zenelaj’s claims. However, anyone who went through the training signed a document agreeing not to search personal information, he said.
Trainees also had to take a test, which included a question that specifically addressed the prohibition against personal searches. “She got that question right,” Vega said.
Zenelaj was sent home on pre-trial release Wednesday, and is due to return to City Court at 9:30 a.m. May 21.
