Calgary Police 911 operator charged with sharing information with organized criminals

Mariana Buionincontri, 58, was a 911 operator for Calgary Police and was sharing information to organized criminals.

Buionincontri 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.

Following a year-long investigation by the Calgary Police Service Sensitive Investigations Unit, an employee of The City of Calgary 9-1-1 has been charged for intentionally sharing protected information for organized crime purposes.

In December 2022, during the course of an unrelated investigation, police became aware that protected information had been released. An investigation into the source of the information began. On Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, a woman was arrested, interviewed and released without charge pending further investigation.

Police sought search warrants for the woman’s devices and throughout the remainder of 2023, worked with the CPS Digital Forensics Team to gain access to the devices. More than 200 pictures of sensitive data were located on the devices. 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.

The accused is employed by Calgary 9-1-1 as a call taker for police. Investigators believe she used her position to access the information. No other employees of Calgary 9-1-1 are believed to have known or have been involved with this activity.  

“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. We take allegations such as this very seriously and are thankful to our partners at Calgary 9-1-1 for their swift response and co-operation throughout this investigation,” says Inspector Shawn Wallace, Calgary Police Service Professional Standards Section.

On Jan.25, Buonincontri was charged with breach of trust, fraudulently use or cause to be directly or indirectly a computer system with intent to obtain, directly or indirectly a computer services, and willfully commit mischief in relation to computer data.

She was released from custody and will next appear in court on Thursday, March 7, 2024.