The former police chief of Golden Meadow was arrested after he reportedly deleted several years of police records immediately after he lost the election to keep his job, the attorney general’s office reports.
Tony Dufrene surrendered himself to authorities Wednesday once a warrant for his arrest was issued, Attorney General Liz Murrill said Thursday in a news release.
The former chief admitted to deleting more than 12 years of data and records, according to his arrest affidavit. He was charged with malfeasance in office, injuring public records and computer tampering.
Dufrene’s lost his re-election bid Nov. 5 to Michelle Lafont in a race decided by nine votes. The day after his loss, investigators said Dufrene began deleting files and deactivating modules on Central Square, the police department’s report management system. He continued doing so through Dec. 31 when his time in office came to an end, according to his arrest affidavit.
More than 30 Central Square “reports/modules” were affected, investigators were told. The records affected include calls for service to the police department, fuel use data, Taser reports, thefts, warrants, sick leave and overtime, the affidavit detailed.
State agents interviewed a Golden Meadow police officer who said they had a discussion with Dufrene about his actions on Central Square.
“In conversation, the officer stated that Dufrene told them that since he lost the election he would be deleting files and it was up to the offices [sic] to memorize anything they needed for daily operations,” the affidavit said.
Because certain modules were not available, police were forced to keep handwritten records instead of entering information into Central Square. During the course of the investigation, Central Square was able to recover the removed modules and 12 years of records Dufrene removed.
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