LA County sheriff’s investigators are starting an inquiry into whether employees at the coroner’s office illegally sold or leaked private information pertaining to the investigation of Michael Jackson’s death. Investigators spoke with the coroner’s office on Friday and will conduct the inquiry with the district attorney’s office, according to Steve Whitmore, sheriff’s spokesman. The probe was requested by county supervisors.
“It’s an inquiry, not an investigation, and it is very preliminary,” Whitmore said. “We’ve just made a couple of calls. We want to find out if we need to proceed, if this requires an investigation.”
By that Wednesday, the coroner’s office said that Michael’s death certificate had been impoperly viewed by at least six employees who had no role in the investigation of his cause of death. Improper viewing of the certificate, stored in a state - supervised computer system, is a violation of internal rules and does not break any laws. The employees were warned and it was deemed that no further investigation was necessary.
However, within two weeks, the certificate had been viewed more than 300 times. The electronic death registration system can be accessed by those with a state - issued password, including the employees at the coroner’s office, funeral homes, hospitals and county and state registrar’s offices.
Source: MJFC / AP
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