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‘Really Shocking’: Confetti Created From Confidential Police Records Thrown at Macy’s Parade

Nov. 25, 2012 8:19am Liz Klimas

Thanksgiving Parade Confetti Includes Nassau County Police Document Shreds With SSNs and Other Private Information

This strip shows part of the Nassau County Police Department’s logo. (Image: WPIX screenshot)

Tiny strips of paper rained down from the sky during Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but it appears some confetti might be part of a recycling effort gone awry. Bits of information seen on the strips included Mitt Romney’s motorcade, social security and license plate numbers and other private information of the Nassau County Police Department’s own employees.

WPIX reported parade goer Ethan Finkelstein, a Tuft’s University freshman home for the holiday, saying he noticed a strip of paper with what looked like a social security number on a friend’s coat. Considering it “bizarre,” he and his friends began looking at the rest of the confetti around them:

“There are phone numbers, addresses, more social security numbers, license plate numbers and then we find all these incident reports from police.”

One confetti strip indicates that it’s from an arrest record, and other strips offer more detail. “This is really shocking,” Finkelstein said. “It says, ‘At 4:30 A.M. a pipe bomb was thrown at a house in the Kings Grant’ area.”

[...]

Most significant, the confetti strips identified Nassau County detectives by name. Some of them are apparently undercover. Their social security numbers, dates of birth and other highly sensitive personal information was also printed on the confetti strips.

(Image: WPIX screenshot)

This piece shows information from when Mitt Romeny was in the state for one of the presidential debates. (Image: WPIX screenshot)

The confetti also revealed private information of some of the department’s detectives. (Image: WPIX screenshot)

Watch the WPIX report for more:

Newsday reported police spokesman Insp. Kenneth Lack saying in a statement that the department is “very concerned about this situation.” The police department is conducting an investigation into the incident as well as its disposal procedures of confidential information as a whole.

Macy’s told WPIX that this confetti was not part of its official parade. Its spokesperson said they use commercially produced, colored paper pieces for its finale.

A woman dressed in an elf costume sprinkles spectators with confetti in Times Square during Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on November 24, 2011 in New York City. (Photo: Michael Nagle/Getty Images)

It is still unknown who threw the confidential confetti.

Keeping shredded confidential documents from the wrong hands is something the military has been researching. The defense department’s research arm DARPA last year offered a $50,000 reward to anyone who could piece together the shreds in its challenge in an effort to learn more about document security.

(H/T: Gawker)

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Comments (34)

123456beatriz
Posted on November 27, 2012 at 12:48am
Ask to Obama Administration about this, liars!

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ginger3350
Posted on November 26, 2012 at 1:16am
What a bunch of incompetent maroons!! Hope some of them feel the repercussions of their organizations stupidity. Maybe then they might wake up!! Maybe some union stooges just had a bad day. :(

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- November26
  Posted on November 26, 2012 at 5:48am
  At leastr itcan’t be read. Read fresh political commentary at: http://smallcraftadvisorychronicles.blogspot.com/
  
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KyleD
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 4:36pm
Honestly, new shredders don’t cost a whole lot and shred into diamonds…

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righthanddrive
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 4:18pm
Aren’t I glad I was good this year! Folks who collected this confetti could make a buck: see if you can ID anybody. Then tell them so they can sue Mayor Bloomberg and the two of you can share the loot. How’s that for a great holiday gift idea? PS: Remember you may have to be dealing with a felon so tread lightly! PPS: Hope the death panels under Obamacare will be a little more careful with their shredding procedures.

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DontStopBelieving
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 11:02am
Move along, nothing to see here folks……keep in mind these are the same people who will be making life and death decisions concerning your health, yeah, nothing to see here.

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- G-WHIZ
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 12:54pm
  The DNC-COMMIE-PINKO’S are at it again…throwing-out the “LEAKS” AGAIN for anybody to pickup and read!!
  
  Report this comment
- 83plus
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 1:21pm
  I feel better already.
  
  Report this comment
ares338
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:36am
Why worry about unimportant stuff like confidential records when you can keep people from drinking those evil over 16 oz. sugary sodas. Geez people..Get your priorities in line.

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V-MindMeld
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:25am
Its that wonderfull leadership in Ny under Bloomberg…..his recycling agenda, so what” if a few under cover cops are exposed…..no big deal Im sure,,,,more where they came from…

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- Xyskalla
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 11:34am
  I used to work for the federal government in a position where a lot of note-taking was necessary. At one point, management decided it could cut costs if they stopped buying those pads of scratch paper for us to write on. To replace it, they took forms they were going to discard anyway, and they cut them up, stapled them together, and those became our new scratch pads. It seemed harmless at first, but it wasn’t long before an employee turned his scratch paper over and found that the discarded form contained the social security number of a fellow employee. He raised such a stink that they confiscated all the scratch paper and went back to buying the pads for us.
  
  Report this comment
blanco5
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:21am
My personal shredder is a fire pit. Good luck reading the ashes.

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jungle J
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:17am
who leads us? oh, yeah, the enemy within.

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Oldphoto678
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:01am
Yet agian, another non-news story the extremist right will use to manufacture a scandal. FAIL!!! AGAIN!!!

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- V-MindMeld
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:23am
  huh? what the hell are you talking about….apparently you don’t know either
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 10:32am
  Yet again, another non-comment the extremist OLD PHOTO will use to manufacture feigned outrage. FAIL!!! AGAIN!!!
  
  Report this comment
- OkieDokie
  Posted on November 26, 2012 at 9:22am
  I guess you wouldn’t mind your SS# be thrown at strangers
  
  Report this comment
AbrahamsSheepdog
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:36am
Heads will roll. Lifelock anyone? This doesn’t seem like a accidentally thing.

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Liberalismsamentaldisorder
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:34am
and the libs want government in charge of every single aspect of your life. they can’t even properly handle confetti…..

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- FedUpAlready
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 4:04pm
  Believe me that wasn’t shreaded by any machine used in Government they use cross shreading machines that would shread a piece of paper so small you’d only get 4, size 12 font letters in one tiny square. Good luck piecing a sentence with that small a piece. Appears that was done on purpose, for whatever reason.
  
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AbrahamsSheepdog
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:33am
You give a crackhead a 20 rock and garbage bag full of shedded paper. Hey puts papers back together he gets a 50 rock. Like puzzles! And guess how easy this really is.

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- AbrahamsSheepdog
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:56am
  My buddy is a guard he told me that in 2007. Tom you were right.
  
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- AbrahamsSheepdog
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 1:11pm
  I bet you just make little piles. Find a pattern. This may even be a business. Trash for cash. Easy hunting. Any bum will do.
  
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SycamoreFan
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:22am
This is the government that will soon be making all your medical decisions for you.

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Thornyrose13
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:20am
The military, state department, and state and local governments haven’t learned from the Iranian hostage situation over 30 years ago??!!?? And did anyone else begin collecting this “confetti”, but didn’t turn it in or report it? @Jackthetoad. Interesting coincidence at that. There is definitely a story there we haven’t had explained.

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JACKTHETOAD
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:58am
…and John Glenn cries in Heaven…

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matt_c
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:45am
Well I’m sure the environmental mental cases wouldn’t like it, but I say shred it then incinerate it. Pretty sure that would render it unreadable.

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- Walkabout
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:11am
  Shredding before burning might make economic sense. It would give more surface area for combustion to take place.
  
  I can’t believe these people did not “cross-cut” it much less used it as confetti.
  
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- Xyskalla
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 11:44am
  Apparently their shredder doesn’t have the ability to cross-cut. I’m guessing that their policy probably places restrictions on how office supplies are purchased, and they had to get the cheapest shredder they could find since the taxpayer was paying for it. At least that’s how it was when I worked for the Feds, and it wasn’t rare for the lowest-price to end up costing more in the long run.
  
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N37BU6
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:33am
Shred papers lengthwise so there are no intact words… it’s not that hard.

And once you’ve done that, don’t sprinkle the pieces across the city.

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- Walkabout
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:14am
  I had assumed they had crosscut it as well. Once I saw the pictures I cringed.
  
  Maybe there is something that our pre-agricultural revolution ancestors were more intelligent. If only they could see there descendants!
  
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Berfie
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:30am
I wonder if Obama’s birth certificate is among the shredded confetti? =)

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JACKTHETOAD
Posted on November 25, 2012 at 8:24am
Fire at the State Department anyone?

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- Liberalismsamentaldisorder
  Posted on November 25, 2012 at 9:35am
  nope, promoted
  
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