I-Team: 4 Stolen Metro Laptops Still Missing

Four Laptops From Separate Buildings Stolen Since 2005 Reported By Jeremy Finley POSTED: 12:12 pm CDT April 28, 2008 UPDATED: 6:18 pm CDT April 28, 2008 NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The I-Team has uncovered evidence of more stolen Metro laptops and new questions about private information security. In December, two laptop computers were stolen from the Metro Election Commission that contained the personal information of all residents registered to vote in Davidson County. The election commission laptops were found later without any private information being lost, but the thefts raised a slew of questions. After that incident, the I-Team found out what kind of private information can be kept on city computers and also about past thefts of city-owned laptops. Everything from Social Security numbers to private financial information were contained on four stolen laptops that were taken in 2005 and 2006 from separate Metro buildings. The election commission thefts were the first real crisis of Mayor Karl Dean’s administration. "The taxpayers, the voters deserve better," he said at the time. The crime exposed holes in Metro’s security with poorly guarded buildings and poor practices like storing sensitive information on hard drives and writing passwords on Post-it notes. Most people thought the thefts were a one-time thing, until the I-Team started digging. According to police reports and city documents from the past five years, the I-Team found that four more Metro laptops and other valuable equipment was stolen from Metro offices and none of it -- including the four laptops -- has been recovered. "Well, you know, seeing this, there's a problem," said Metro Councilman Michael Craddock. The I-Team reported that the laptops were easily taken from Metro offices, and security failed to catch the thieves in action or recover any of the computers. Two laptops were stolen from the Metro Finance Department in 2005, a laptop was stolen from the Metro Southeast Building in 2006 and a laptop was stolen from the Metro Arts Commission in 2006. All of the computers are still missing. The Metro Arts Commission is also in the same building as the Metro Election Commission, which means the election commission building had experienced a laptop theft just a year before the most recent break-in. "From looking at these past incidents, there seems to be a pattern of our buildings being somewhat non-secure," Craddock said. "If I had even one laptop missing from my company, I would be deeply concerned," said computer specialist Joe Irrera. As far as what was on the four stolen computers, city officials said not to worry. Dean’s spokeswoman Janel Lacy said the user of the Metro finance computers didn't save anything to her hard drive. Officials said the missing laptop from the Metro Southeast Building was blank. And the laptop stolen from the Metro Arts Commission had nothing on it, according to Metro Arts Commission Director Norree Boyd. "I don't believe it," Irrera said. Irrera said he has his doubts after the election commission incident because employees there did save Social Security numbers on the hard drives. "The whole mentality of just ‘trust us’ went out the window when that catastrophe happened," he said. Irrera said that even if the Metro employees using the stolen laptops believe they worked entirely off a server that it's nearly impossible not to save some documents to a hard drive. "How many of us receive e-mails with those attachments? Where do you save them? You save them to your computer," he said. "Do you feel there should be an investigation into these four other laptops that went missing?" I-Team reporter Jeremy Finley asked Irrera. "After what happened at the election commission? Absolutely," Irrera said. Dean’s office said there's simply no way to know for sure what was on the computers, but all the users said they didn't store anything on the hard drives. The I-Team has also learned that no one had to break into those buildings to get the other laptops. More on that part of the story will be reported Tuesday night on Channel 4 News at 6. Previous Stories: March 18, 2008: Mayor Demands Better IT Security For Metro March 6, 2008: Metro To Audit Building Security March 3, 2008: Lawmakers Look To Control Costs Of ID Theft January 22, 2008: Police: No Personal Information Taken From Laptops January 21, 2008: Police: More Arrests Likely In Laptop Thefts January 17, 2008: Suspect In Election Break-In Turns Self In January 16, 2008: Lawmakers Search For Answers After Election Theft January 10, 2008: I-Team: Wackenhut Uses Ex-Subcontractor's Guards January 9, 2008: Wackenhut: Subcontractor Responsible For Break-In January 8, 2008: Metro: Company Bills City For Unperformed Services January 7, 2008: Mayor Speaks About Election Building Break-In January 4, 2008: Fired Guard Says He's Break-In Fall Guy January 4, 2008: Some Say Metro Should Pay For Credit Risk Fix January 4, 2008: Passwords Taped To Election Computers January 3, 2008: Guard Fired After Election Commission Thefts January 3, 2008: Voters Given Advice After Computers Stolen January 2, 2008: Metro Security May Have Stopped Election Office Break-In January 2, 2008: City Criticized For Poor Computer Protection January 2, 2008: Metro To Send Letter To At-Risk Voters January 1, 2008: Security Of County Buildings In Question December 31, 2007: Residents Demand Answers After Computers Stolen December 29, 2007: Stolen Laptops May Contain Social Security Numbers December 27, 2007: Laptops Containing Voter Information Stolen Copyright 2008 by WSMV.com. 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Sounds cover all the bases to ready ballpark for opener

Aged stadium needed major upgrade to be playable By RACHEL STULTS • Staff Writer (TENNESSEAN) • April 11, 2008 The paint was still drying in the stands. And the sound of hammers and saws echoed through the ballpark Thursday as workers scrambled to get ready for the Sounds' home opener against the Iowa Cubs. Groundskeepers put the finishing touches on the pitcher's mound in preparation for tonight's game. And in the stands, a painter methodically stenciled row numbers on the concrete. It's show time for the aging Greer Stadium. The Nashville Sounds have spent more than $1 million during the off-season upgrading the stadium. Those fixes — a new clubhouse for players, better lights in the field, improvements to restrooms, walkways and seats — will keep it going for another three to five years. By then, the Sounds will need to make major renovations, build a new ballpark or consider moving out of Nashville. "If we had not spent the money we did over the last year it's safe to say baseball would not be played," said Sounds General Manager Glenn Yaeger. "We continue to express our need for a new ballpark, and how important that is for the future of baseball here in Nashville. We're hopeful we can identify a solution," The 31-year-old stadium was not meant to last beyond 30 years, Yaeger said. It seats 10,000 fans, typically draws 400,000 fans per season and is one of the oldest Triple A stadiums in the nation. "It was built as a Double A facility in 1977, and facility standards back then were much different," he said. "It was built on the cheap, and never would have been a facility that would have been approved today." This year marks the beginning of the Sounds' 11th season as a member of the Pacific Coast League and its fourth year as a Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Nashville bucks trend Branch B. Rickey, league president, said Nashville's continued use of Greer Stadium bucks the national trend of building new minor-league stadiums. "There really has been a renaissance in minor-league facilities over the past 15 years," Rickey said. "Many municipalities have recognized (building new stadiums) is an opportunity to help local fans have access to outdoor recreation, access to live professional sports during the spring and summer." Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling said that while city leaders are glad to see the upgrades, a deal to build a new one must be struck under the right conditions, in which the burden is not on taxpayers. "You can't neglect what you have," Riebeling said. "These were necessary improvements, and realistically speaking, we're more than a couple of years away from a (new) stadium under the best of scenarios, even if you started today." The Sounds have campaigned for more than five years to build a baseball stadium south of Broadway, on the west bank of the Cumberland River. A deal for the riverfront ballpark fell through last year, leaving fans wondering about the future of baseball in Nashville. But there are no immediate plans for relocating the stadium, and league officials say they must focus on working with what they have. Rickey said investing the money for improvements wasn't the best option, but one that was needed. "In order to be fair with home team players, visiting team players and with the umpires, something had to be done," he said. Clubhouse was too small Most of the upgrade dollars have gone toward building a new $750,000 clubhouse after Sounds management learned their facility was "unacceptable" by league standards. The old clubhouse, located under the stands, was too small for the players and in constant need of maintenance, especially when it rained and the roof leaked. The stadium's new 48,000-square-foot clubhouse is located behind the outfield and will be used by the home team, visitors and umpires. That clubhouse is still under construction and is expected to be ready by the April 28 home game. In the meantime, the Sounds will use the player facilities at LP Field while visiting teams will continue to use the clubhouse at Greer Stadium. Meanwhile, there are some improvements for the fans as well. Aged walkways and broken seats have been replaced. Lights in the infield and outfield have been upgraded. The scoreboard is fully functioning, and the restrooms have been improved with new fixtures and partitions. But there's still a lot more to be done. "It's a constant uphill battle," said Joe Hart, assistant general manager of operations. "We've been going at it hard since the first of January, but every time you walk through you see something else that needs to get fixed. We've got a things-to-do list about five pages long. But we're trying to be proactive."