Nursing Assistant Hacks Sheriff's E-Mail

This story was written by Local Editor Alex Tiegen.

Diedre Fitzgerald, a certified nursing assistant,  at the Land O’ Lakes jail, recently boasted to her colleagues that she could get into the e-mail accounts of high-ranking officers in the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. 

She also backed up her claim.

Fitzgerald, 24, accessed the email accounts of Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, Medical Services Director Dali Hernandez-Gibson and Maj. Ed Beckman, the head of detention services, on Aug. 25. 

Witnesses told a detective she did so from an agency laptop at the nurse’s station. Records showed that the command staff’s e-mails were accessed from that computer while Fitzgerald was logged into her own e-mail account.

When asked about it, she admitted she got into staff e-mail accounts to try and get confidential agency material, according to an arrest report. She even showed the deputy how she did it.  

So, Fitzgerald, a Spring Hill woman who worked at the agency for 1 year and 10 months, was arrested  Aug. 27 and charged with three counts crimes against a computer user.

Nocco issued a statement the same day saying:  “The Pasco Sheriff's Office will hold its members accountable for their actions. The integrity of our agency is critical in maintaining a high level of trust with our citizens who we serve. "