A City of Calgary 9-1-1 employee has been charged following a year-long investigation by the Calgary Police Service Sensitive Investigations Unit. The individual, identified as Mariana Buonincontri, 58, has been accused of intentionally sharing protected information for organized crime purposes.The investigation, initiated in December 2022 during an unrelated case, unveiled the deliberate release of protected information. After a thorough inquiry into the source, the police arrested Buonincontri on Thursday, January 26, 2023. Following an interview, she was released without charges pending further investigation.Police, armed with search warrants, later discovered more than 200 alleged pictures of sensitive data on Buonincontri's devices. The investigation revealed the data was intentionally extracted from searches targeting individuals linked to organized crime activities, subsequently shared with other individuals involved in such criminal enterprises.Buonincontri, employed as a call taker for police at Calgary 9-1-1, is believed to have exploited her position to access the sensitive information. However, investigators maintain that no other employees at Calgary 9-1-1 were aware of or involved in these illicit activities."This level of breach of trust impacts all of us in public service, our officers, the public and the people we engage with every day whose private information is closely guarded," stated Insp. Shawn Wallace of the Calgary Police Service Professional Standards Section.On Thursday, Buonincontri was officially charged with:Breach of trust contrary to section 122 of the Criminal CodeFraudulently use or cause to be used directly or indirectly a computer system with intent to obtain, directly or indirectly a computer service contrary to section 342.1(1)(c) of the Criminal CodeWilfully commit mischief in relation to computer data, contrary to section 430(5) of the Criminal CodeShe was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, March 7 2024.
