August 24th, 2006
Tech consultant rips off PCs, sells them on eBay
Here’s an enterprising school consultant. Donald W. Meritz worked as a tech consultant for the Sachem (NY) School District, where he stole 24 computers and 10 network switches, then sold them on eBay, NewsDay reports.
"This is another sad chapter in the story of Suffolk County schools," State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said in a Hauppauge news conference.
The investigation began in July of last year, officials said, when the comptroller’s office received a tip from an anonymous caller saying that Meritz was peddling stolen goods online. Using records from eBay, Dell, Cisco and the online pay system PayPal, investigators determined that Meritz had sold a total of 34 Dell desktop computers and 30 network switches.
During the investigation, Meritz sold one of the computers to an undercover investigator from the comptroller’s office and one to an undercover investigator in the DA’s office. Of those, 24 computers and 10 network switches have been identified as Sachem School District property. The computers were sold at an average of $350 each, and the switches from $500 to $1,500.
"When you have a rogue employee who you have some basic trust in does this to you, it’s very concerning and disconcerting," Charles Murphy, the school district superintendent, said.
