Posted on 02/25/2005 8:56:37 AM PST by NormsRevenge
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Secretary of State Kevin Shelley told police that a handheld computer device containing sensitive information was taken from his San Francisco home.
Shelley, who announced his resignation earlier this month and will leave office next week, reported the incident Sunday morning after discovering a window ajar in the study of his home, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. He told police he had left the window open overnight, but that it appeared someone had opened it farther.
He also said he had wiped a smudge from the window that could have been left by an intruder. Police said they have recovered other evidence but wouldn't elaborate.
Shelley, 49, told officers that other valuable property in his home in the city's Glen Park neighborhood was left behind, police Lt. Tom Buckley said.
"We are taking it seriously," Buckley said. "We did a survey of the area, and that indicated no other break-ins occurred."
He said the California Highway Patrol security detail has been notified of the reported burglary.
Shelley's state-issued personal digital assistant was said by employees to be one of his most prized possessions. He reportedly bragged to them about using it to raise $3 million in donations for his 2002 campaign for secretary of state, the Chronicle reported.
Buckley said the digital device contains information that is considered confidential by the state. It is capable of accessing the Internet and state-secured Web sites but has been shut down by remote by state officials.
Shelley told police the reported break-in happened the day his wife, Dominique, had a run-in with a former campaign worker on a San Francisco street. The man told her he was happy Shelley was resigning.
Buckley said that person has cooperated with police and is not considered a suspect.
Shelley, facing state and federal investigations on several fronts, announced his resignation Feb. 4 during a news conference outside his home. He faces allegations that his office misspent federal voting funds, that his 2002 campaign received illegal contributions and that he broke hiring rules to help friends.
A telephone message left at his Sacramento office Friday was not immediately returned.
He also said he had wiped a smudge from the window that could have been left by an intruder. Police said they have recovered other evidence but wouldn't elaborate.
Shelley, 49, told officers that other valuable property in his home in the city's Glen Park neighborhood was left behind
What idiot wipes away "smudges" after a break-in? You're right Norm, doesn't pass any test!
They need to jail this man for filing a false police report and for theft of state property. What a crock.
Huh. Damn strange, innit.
And tampering with evidence. Who wipes smudges off a window sill prior to the arrival of police unless to conceal any possible evidence of what had really happened?
I wouldn't be surprised if there was some chance that the PDA contained information that could incriminate many people. Totally erasing the flash memory storage on such a device so that police agencies cannot retrieve such information is a job beyond the abilities of most people.
Yup. It raises the question about tampering with state issued equipment, even if it was for business purposes only, it may have contained some interesting personal info as well that could shed light on a lot of shelley's less than stellar performance.
the feds may want to add this to the list of stuff to ask 'What's up with that? about.
This sounds like a blatant violation of the law -- using government property for personal campaign fundraising. That PDA could put him in the slammer for a long time.
And you're right, Shelley is probably not technically competent to thoroughly erase all traces of that information. Nor, at this point, does he dare try to find someone more expert to do the job.
No one would believe that he had "lost" his prized PDA; that would be far too convenient. Hence it had to be "stolen", which is still pretty hard to swallow. But at least it has the tiniest shred of plausibility, since someone (a reporter? a blackmailer?) might have specifically been after the data it contained.
The thief is probably the same guy who stole John Kerry's military records from that liberal "journalist" a few miles north in Corte Madera, no doubt. He gets around, and he has it in for Democrats. Must be a Rush Limbaugh employee. ;)
Oh my. Good one.
You're in the running for drawing prize of an industrial sized roll of tin foil. lol
Thanks!
Shelley told police the break-in happened the day his wife, Dominique, had an unpleasant run-in with a former campaign worker on a street in San Francisco. The man told her he was happy that Shelley was resigning.
Both Shelleys told police they thought the former campaign worker could be a suspect in the burglary. However, he has not been implicated and has cooperated with police, Buckley said.
"We fully investigated it and gave it the attention that it deserved,'' Buckley said. "At this point, based on his cooperation, we don't consider him to be a suspect.''
oh , what wicked webs we weave, when at first we seek to deceive.. or something like that .. lol
developing :-)
Well, wouldn't be surprised if it's at the bottom of San Francisco Bay right now. Do you suppose it could eventually float to the surface - like Lacy Peterson did?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.