LI sleep lab staffer put hidden cameras in bathrooms showers court records

pppppppManage your accountppppA staffer at a Long Island sleep disorder center allegedly installed multiple hidden cameras in bathrooms and showers and may have recorded hundreds of patients and employees in their most intimate moments according to court recordsppThe staffer Sanjai Syamaprased is now facing a criminal case in Nassau County an investigation by authorities in Manhattan and a class action lawsuit filed by a former employee of the sleep center who alleges she was secretly tapedppSyamaprasad who worked at the Northwell Health sleep center in Great Neck was arrested April 25 at his Brooklyn home by Nassau police after he admitted tossing a camera concealed in a smoke detector in the trash to hide his scheme court records showppThe criminal complaint alleges Syamaprasad 47 installed the devices in several patient and employee bathrooms there and at a rehab center in Manhasset also run by NorthwellppThe following day he was barred from Weill Cornells sleep center on E 61st St near York Ave on the Upper East Side a copy of a security bulletin shows If he does attempt to enter the building please call me immediately and shut down any elevator he is attempting to use wrote Kim Canzani a Weill Cornell officialppEmily Tuttle a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed the office is also investigating SyamaprasadppOn Oct 30 Brenda Pelletieri a former employee at the Great Neck sleep center sued Northwell one of the states largest health care networks claiming it failed to prevent Syamaprasad from conducting his sick projectppI believe we were all videotaped by this guy He had video cameras in every bathroom in the sleep lab Pelletieri told The News My biggest concern is where are the videos he recorded and who saw them I am just devastated Its so incredibly violatingppPelletieri said Syamaprasad was an unremarkable colleague at the sleep center State Education Department records show he initially obtained his sleep technicians license in 2016ppOn April 24 a coworker spotted Syamaprasad watching a video of a person in a bathroom on his work computer and reported it to security the complaint states A Northwell security officer determined the video was recorded through a camera hidden in a smoke detector attached to the ceiling of the bathroomppA video obtained by The News shows three round velcro tabs Syamaprasad allegedly used to attach the hidden cameras to a wall and a ceiling in one of the bathroomsppNassau cops then served a search warrant at Syamaprasads Marine Park home During the raid he allegedly pointed at his laptop sitting on his dining room table and said Thats where I downloaded it the complaint statesppI threw out the smoke detector in a garbage can at a CVS on Avenue U I broke up a small CD card and threw it in the same garbage pail he told copsppSyamaprasad was arraigned May 10 in Nassau County court on charges of unlawful surveillance and tampering with evidence but the investigation is continuing said Nicole Turso a spokeswoman for the Nassau County District Attorneys officeppHis lawyer Julie Rendelman declined commentppThis case highlights a shocking and invasive breach of trust said Pelletieris lawyer Joel Rubenstein of German Rubenstein Patients should never have to worry about their privacy being compromised while seeking medical careppPelletieri a 54yearold mom with two adult sons said while Northwell officials held a staffwide meeting after the arrest there was no followupppThat was the last and only time we heard about it she said No one was able to assure us that he hadnt preserved the videoppPelletieri now works at a different sleep center not affiliated with NorthwellppNorthwell spokesman Joseph Kemp said the hospital chain is fully cooperating with Nassau authorities He declined to comment on the lawsuitppNorthwell took swift action when it learned of its former employees deeply disturbing misconduct including promptly reporting the matter to law enforcement and terminating that employee Kemp said Northwell does not tolerate privacy violations or illegal activity of any kindppSarah Smith a spokeswoman for Weill Cornell Medicine said Syamaprasad was barred after the hospital became aware of alleged suspicious behavior by a former parttime employee in AprilppShe said the hospital contacted authorities and has been conducting an investigationppCurrently we are not aware of any patients or employees who have been impacted by the former employees alleged conduct Smith saidp