Couple Says Their Privacy Was Violated Inside Their Hoboken Apartment Building
HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey couple says a call to get something fixed in their apartment ended with some very disturbing footage captured on their surveillance cameras.
On Wednesday, CBS2's Meg Baker was outside The Rivington apartment building on Grand Street, where the couple said they saw something extremely creepy going on in their bedroom.
Alex Sacchetti said the camera he has in his bedroom is one of the best investments he's made. It allegedly caught a maintenance worker going through his fiance's belongings.
"The man was kind of going through the underwear drawer and other places in the apartment he spent time in -- the master bedroom, the master bathroom," Sacchetti said.
The couple said it put in a maintenance request to fix a leak in their closet. Sacchetti said they were aware of the management policy that allows workers to enter their unit without notice if a request is filed.
"I talked to police and, unfortunately, it's not a crime. The actions taken there, he had right to be in the unit," Sacchetti said.
Police told Baker under the law the worker did not commit a crime because he did not take anything or record anything.
FLASHBACK: Residents: Brooklyn Building Super's Body Cam Is An Invasion Of Privacy
His fiance, who did not want to be named for this story, is no longer staying at the apartment because she feels violated, Sacchetti said.
Baker reached out to the building management company, Equity Apartments, but did not immediately hear back. Sacchetti said the worker quit after he was questioned by police.
Others who live in the area were visibly upset by the story.
"That's creepy!" one resident said.
"I think I would probably get some surveillance cameras of my own," another resident said.
"I would be horrified. That's a complete violation of privacy and I guess better screening needs to be done of people hired," another person said. "Maybe they need to have two people go in at a time. The building manager should probably be there with the maintenance worker."
Sacchetti said he wanted to get the word out about this alleged violation of privacy to alert other families in the building.
