The coroner of Lancaster County, Pa. has been charged with illegally giving newspaper reporters a password to access the emergency 911 system's confidential web site. Dr. Gary Kirchner, 73, is also charged with conspiring with the reporters to commit computer crime.
The Pennsylvania attorney general's office has charged Kirchner following an investigation that involved searching four computer hard drives in the newsroom of the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal.
Prosecutors say five of the paper's reporters testified to a grand jury after being granted immunity from prosecution.
According to the grand jury's report, the security breach became evident after a story about a woman's death appeared in the Intelligencer Journal on August 22nd, 2005.
The story did not include a byline identifying the writer but attributed details about the death to the Lancaster countywide communications web site. That led reporters from the competing Lancaster New Era to inquire about getting the same information.
Investigators say they found 57 instances in which the 911 site was accessed from newspaper offices with Kirchner's username and password, and a few dozen unsuccessful attempts after Kirchner's password was canceled.
Kirchner said he invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination when subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury.
Kirchner says he was unaware that the charges had been filed, and he referred questions to his lawyer, Emmanuel Dimitriou, whose office says he is not available.
The newspaper's lawyers, George Werner Jr. and Bill DeStefano, say they will comment after reading the court documents.
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