NY - Two Hofstra University students moving into an apartment discovered that the landlord had hidden spy cameras in smoke detectors to wirelessly transmit video of their bedrooms to his personal computer, Nassau police said.
The landlord, Michael Muratore, 44, who lives on the first floor of the house, was arrested Monday at the home and charged with unlawful surveillance.
Muratore, a married financial adviser, told police he had installed the cameras to protect his property, "to make sure there was no damage being done to the apartments," said Det. Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a police spokesman.
The secret installation plan began to unravel when the students asked a friend to check the detectors to make sure they were working properly. The friend tested the devices and realized they were not functioning, police said.
The friend brought one of the detectors to a local firehouse, where a volunteer firefighter realized "the guts were removed from that smoke detector and in its place was a digital video camera and some sort of a transmitter," Repalone said. (more)
