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(NNC) - Since the passing of the Patriot Act, the public has witnessed a marked increase in the number of unconstitutional invasions of privacy at the hands of government employees. But the most recent case of abuse by Homeland Security employee Ron Berman has illustrated just how potentially invasive such power can be.

Mr. Berman had been working for Homeland Security since the Bush administration assumed office in 2001. As a worker in a computer forensics department, Berman spent much of his time investigating suspicious online activity.

But when he was assigned to track down a suspect communication, it led him to the home computer of 27 year old Donna Summers, a stay-at-home eBay retailer. Though it was swiftly determined to be a false lead, Mr. Berman continued to monitor Ms. Summer’s PC for months, perusing her iTunes and even reading short stories she had written, eventually nurturing a feeling of closeness to Summers.

This closeness is what led Mr. Berman to go as far as establishing communication - in the form of a pop-up error message. When Donna first received the message, she claims to have thought it was a joke.

“It was so bizarre. At first I thought it was fake so I closed it,” said Summers. But soon afterwards, another message came that was a bit more revealing.

“I know this seems really weird, but I’m not a hacker. I work with Homeland Security and I noticed we have a lot of the same tastes,” read the message. And after complimenting a short story of hers, he reveals his intentions by saying “I wanted to know if it was possible that I could ask you out on a date sometime,” before giving out the phone number to his department.

But Donna was not interested in a date and immediately notified the authorities. A brief investigation concluded that Mr. Berman has indeed abused his power and he was swiftly fired. When asked to comment, he told the press:

“You think you know somebody, but then they go ahead and stab you in the back like this,” Berman said in a recent statement. “I loved that woman… and now I’ll never get to meet her.”

Ron Berman has since moved to Washington D.C. and assumed the position of head of digital forensics for the Department of Defense.

POSTED BY GIN FRANKLIN, 09:23:54 NEW YORK, NY

Technorati Tags: Patriot Act, Homeland Security, Department of Defense, stalker