Private vendor info redacted from Hempstead Town's website, officials say

Hempstead officials are redacting confidential information about contractors and consultants they found posted on the town website that left vendors vulnerable to identity theft.

Town Clerk Kate Murray, who assumed office this month with first-term Supervisor Don Clavin, said Tuesday her office has redacted about 100 pieces of private information, such as Social Security and tax identification numbers, from town board resolutions posted online and dating back to 2016. The town will not redact less sensitive information such as vendor names and addresses.

"We can guard against identity theft and still provide full disclosure and transparency," she said in a statement.

Murray in an interview cited a recent phishing plot targeting the Nassau County comptroller's office as evidence of the issue's importance. Nassau police said earlier this month that fraudsters posing as a county vendor scammed the office out of $710,000. The county has recovered the money.

In Hempstead, the unredacted records included public disclosure statements from vendors that listed federal tax identification numbers, according to copies reviewed by Newsday.

How the sensitive information made it on the town website to begin with remains unclear.

Laura Gillen, the town's supervisor from 2018 to 2019, said it was the responsibility of the town attorney's office to review such documents for redactions.

Town attorney Joe Ra did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

Anthony Santino, who was supervisor from 2016 to 2017, said he had been unaware such information was on the town website.

"That should not have happened," he said. "The buck stops with me."

Murray, who herself served as supervisor before Santino, said the clerk's office is responsible for redacting documents.

Clavin thanked Murray for catching the exposed information.

"It is our duty as a municipality to be proactive when it comes to protecting the personal information of residents and anywhone who does official business with the town," he said in a statement.