Calgary 911 calltaker charged following investigation into organized crime

Calgary police say a 58-year-old woman, who was employed by the city's 911 services as a calltaker, faces a number of charges in connection with organized crime.

Officials said the woman is accused of sharing personal information of a number of individuals, who are connected to organized crime, with other individuals who are also known to be connected to organized crime.

Police say her activities were discovered when officers were conducting an unrelated investigation in December 2022, which led to action being taken.

"On Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, a woman was arrested, interviewed and released without charge pending further investigation," police said.

Following that investigation, police worked to gather evidence in the case, including from a number of devices where more than 200 photos of sensitive data were stored.

"The investigation determined that the data was intentionally pulled from searches targeting individuals connected to organized crime activity and was then provided to other individuals involved in organized crime," police said.

Mariana Buonincontri, 58, is charged with breach of trust, fraudulent use of a computer system to obtain, directly or indirectly a computer services and wilfully committing mischief in relation to computer data.

Police say since the accused was employed as a 911 calltaker, the allegations are particularly serious.

"This level of breach of trust impacts all of us in public service, our officers, the public and the people we engage with every day whose private information is closely guarded," said Insp. Shawn Wallace with the CPS professional standards section.

Buonincontri was released from custody and is expected in court on March 7.