Nassau DA: Ex-CPS worker misused confidential database

A former Nassau Child Protective Services worker was arrested Tuesday on charges that he used the state's confidential child welfare database in an attempt to discredit a police officer who had written him a speeding ticket, prosecutors said. Glen Tuifel, 40, was fired April 29 after a Nassau Commission of Investigations probe found the 13-year CPS veteran had improperly used his access to the database to dredge up a 5-year-old, unfounded child welfare complaint against the officer. The case was referred to the Nassau district attorney's office, which Tuesday charged Tuifel with official misconduct and illegally disclosing confidential information, misdemeanors. Tuifel, of Glen Cove, pleaded not guilty in First District Court in Hempstead. He was released with no bail, but the court issued an order of protection prohibiting Tuifel from contact with the officer, who was not named. He faces up to a year in jail if convicted. Tuifel's attorney, Robert McDonald of Mineola, did not return calls. Tuifel could not be reached. According to prosecutors, Tuifel was pulled over and given a ticket for speeding in September. On Oct. 6, Tuifel logged in to the Connections database - a statewide child welfare information system maintained by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services - and discovered that the officer had been investigated by CPS in 2004. Child welfare investigators had dismissed the complaint, but Tuifel tried to use it in court to have his speeding ticket dismissed, prosecutors said. The motion was denied and Tuifel paid the ticket, prosecutors said. Later, the Old Brookville officer complained to authorities about Tuifel's use of the CPS probe information. Tuifel denied that he used his account to access confidential information, said county investigators, but the database showed his user name gained access to the officer's file. Karen Garber, a spokeswoman for the Nassau Department of Social Services, declined to comment about Tuifel, but said supervisors can obtain details just on probes handled by their units.