By Associated Press
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — A Woonsocket officer is accused of tampering with a police department computer to embarrass a workplace rival.
Steven Fairley is charged with three counts of illegal computer access and one count of illegal computer access causing damage. He has not yet entered a plea.
A spokesman for Attorney General Patrick Lynch said Fairley formerly ran the Woonsocket Police Department’s evidence room and apparently became upset when he was replaced.
Working from a computer at home, Fairley allegedly accessed an evidence room computer and changed its passwords to prevent his successor from using it.
Prosecutors said Woonsocket had to pay more than $2,500 to fix the damage.
A man who answered the phone at a telephone listing for Fairley said the officer would not comment.