A former Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorney pled guilty in federal court today to unauthorized access to information by use of computer.
According to the factual basis (pdf) filed, after a near accident on I-10 near Gulfport, Mississippi, Perry Booth IV copied the license plate number of the other car. When he was unable to find information on the owner via an Internet search, he instructed an investigator in the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office to access a law enforcement computer data base (the NCIC system) to input the license number and obtain the name and address of the person in whose name the car was registered. The investigator believed that the request was for a valid law enforcement purpose. Booth then sent a threatening letter to the other driver’s home which made reference to the traffic incident in Mississippi and which berated, insulted and threatened the victim.
Booth faces a maximum term of imprisonment of one year imprisonment, a fine of $100,000.00 and up to one one year of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for December 21, 2009.