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City Pays $25K to Innocent Man Nabbed in Email Snafu
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 21, 2008
Modified Nov 21, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 21, 2008
Modified Nov 21, 2008
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A former library assistant who was arrested in a case of mistaken email identity will receive a little over $25,000 in a settlement with the city.
In April 2007, 24-year-old William Hallowell was accused of sending salacious and threatening emails to Robin Bernsen, his former boss in the library at the Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. Bernsen had sent an email to address that was similar to Hallowell's email address, and the response she received included such gems as, "I want your sweet body against my skin! We could do it in the library. I could spank you with a vintage [copy] of Finigan's [sic] Wake."
There was also mention of a gun, so cops hauled in Hallowell and kept him in custody for 30 hours. His lawyer later excoriated the police for having "absolutely no competence when it comes to understanding email or the Internet." Hallowell says he's just glad the case is finally resolved because now "people will know obviously that I didn’t do this." But who did?
Tagged
bronx
harassment
lawsuit
libary
riverdale country school
settlement
threatening
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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