TRAVIS — A Department of Motor Vehicles employee used his work computer to find a woman's phone number to ask her out on a date, authorities said.
Peter Grosseto, 29, of Graniteville, was arrested Tuesday after he used the state computer to access the customer's personal records in order to ask her on a date, New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott said.
"This defendant set aside any semblance of professionalism and illegally accessed State resources to satisfy his own interests and harass a customer with unwelcome advances," Leahy Scott said in a statement.
"I will not tolerate any government employee’s violation of the public trust or violation of any citizen’s privacy and dignity."
Earlier this month, the woman went into the DMV at 1775 South Ave., where Grosseto saw her being helped by another worker, the inspector general said.
On Sept. 8, Grosseto used DMV computers three times to find the woman's name and phone number before calling her at her home at about 7:45 p.m., court documents said.
He first pretended to be a quality-assurance representative for the DMV, but later on during the phone call admitted that he really called to ask her out, according to the inspector general.
Grosseto was charged with computer trespass, unauthorized use of a computer and official misconduct at his Tuesday arraignment, prosecutors said.
He was released without bail and was suspended without pay from the DMV, according to court records and the inspector general.
His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
