A Suffolk County employee was arrested for allegedly running a cryptocurrency mining operation on the taxpayers dime.
District Attorney Tim Sini said Suffolk IT Manager Christopher Napels installed — in a government facility — 46 cryptocurrency mining computers, which require a large amount of electricity to run and cool. Sini said the machines were hidden under floorboards and inside electrical wall panels.
“He now faces charges of public corruption, grand larceny in the third degree, computer misconduct, and computer trespass. If convicted on the top charge he faces a maximum of five to 15 years in prison,” Sini said.
Sini said county workers had complained about slow internet and warm temperatures. When investigators turned off the crypto miners, they said the temperature in the room dropped 20 degrees.
