CBS News Investigation into Photocopiers Raises Questions in Buffalo

On the heels of CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian's investigation into documents stored on digital photocopier hard drives, CBS affiliate WIVB reports that fingers are being pointed in Buffalo, NY.

Two of the four copiers - randomly purchased by CBS News from a used copier warehouse in New Jersey - happened to be from the Buffalo Police Department.

The copiers were loaded with confidential documents, from police reports to lists of wanted sex offenders.

Buffalo City Byron Mayor Brown said he would refrain from commenting on our report until the hard drives we found in the copiers were returned, telling a WIVB reporter, "I think we're gonna wait for the information to get back."

Added the mayor's spokesman, Peter Cutler: "It's in the hands of legal right now."

Our report prompted Buffalo Common Council President David Franczyk to ask some questions of his own. 

"City of Buffalo doesn't want to be on national news for something like that, and I guess my question is, did [copier manufacturer] Toshiba make the City of Buffalo aware that those hard drives were there?" Franczyk asked.

City Attorney Diane O'Gorman told WIVB it's still unclear whether Toshiba or the city's purchasing department was responsible for erasing the data.

In addition to the two Buffalo copiers, we bought two others: one from a Bronx construction company, which still had a list of employees names and social security numbers on its hard drive, and the other used by a New York-based Insurance company, Affinity Health Plan, which had patients' medical records and prescription information on the hard drive.

Watch Armen Keteyian's Video Below