Cop and PI Charged With Illegal Database Access In Essex County

A Newark police captain and a former officer-turned-private-investigator have been charged with illegally accessing an insurance database and selling the information for $100 per search.

Newark Police Captain Anthony Buono, 60, of Millstone and former Newark Police Officer Dino D’Elia, 49, of Nutley, have both been charged with two counts of computer theft and one count of conspiracy for illegally accessing a private database made available to police departments to investigate insurance fraud.

Prosecutors are alleging that Buono submitted a form to the private company that maintains the database in 2014, falsely stating that the person who previously held the administrator title was now working for another company and that he would be handling those duties.

Buono then allegedly gave D’Elia access to the database, and D’Elia – who took a disability retirement six years ago - then sold the data as part of his private investigation business.

The pair obtained over 900 sets of data from the database, selling the information to “third parties” for $100 per search, prosecutors stated.

Investigators from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Official Corruption Unit and the Internal Affairs Unit of the Newark Police Department began looking into the suspected information breach in December of 2014.

If convicted, both men face five to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison on each count.

“The public should not have to worry that sensitive information will be illegally accessed. These defendants at this juncture stand accused of compromising the public’s trust,’’ stated Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray, who thanked the Newark Police Department for their cooperation in the investigation.

Photos courtesy of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office

Photo 1: Dino D’Elia

Photo 2: Anthony Buono