Guess Where a Doctor Hid a Camera to Try to Catch a Thief?

A doctor in Syracuse, NY, hid a “spy pen” with a camera in a bathroom at his hospital’s ICU in hopes of catching someone who had stolen his camera and medication. Instead, he ended up being charged by police and fired by the hospital. He could face a sentence of up to four years in prison.

Jeffrey Gould, DO, 32, initially denied he hid the pens in unisex bathroom at Crouse Hospital, but when he was confronted with evidence, he confessed, according to a story posted on Syracuse.com, a web site for Syracuse Media Group in New York. One camera was taped to a toilet paper dispenser, and one was taped to the edge of a trash can, the news report said, quoting police reports. Neither camera was pointed at the toilet, and no private areas of any people can be seen, his lawyer and the police said.

The cameras were discovered by a custodian. A computer forensics detective examined the contents and found a video showing the inside of an apartment. A police officer recognized the apartment as belonging to Gould.

Gould, who was a resident doing a rotation at the hospital, has been fired. He had reported an earlier theft of a camera and the prescription drug Adderall from a bag left in an ICU conference room. His lawyer said the hidden cameras were his attempt to try to catch the thief, who he thought might be a co-worker and possibly could be caught using his Adderall in the restroom.

Gould formerly worked as a TV investigative reporter for three years, which inspired him to use the spy pens, his lawyer said. (For information on how to identify and prevent drug diversion, see our Hospital Employee Health story, “Look for weak links to prevent drug diversion.”)