NEW YORK THEFT OF COMPUTER FROM NEW YORK CITY GOVERNMENT HEALTH DEPARTMENT New York Post Online Edition: news

March 4, 2006 -- City workers were warned to be on the lookout yesterday for identity fraud after a laptop containing the personal details of the entire Health Department was stolen from a government office, The Post has learned.

Cops are investigating the theft and at least one worker has been demoted after the lap top disappeared from the offices of the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene about two weeks ago in lower Manhattan, sources said.

The worker, from whose office the computer was stolen, was demoted after department bigwigs discovered the staff database had been downloaded to the laptop in a breach of official city rules.

It was unclear whether the thief was after the personnel information or the laptop.

DOH staffers were warned by e-mail yesterday to advise financial institutions to be on the lookout for fraud because their names, addresses, Social Security numbers and salaries were contained on the computer.

"Like it's our fault we can't keep our own information secret," one angry worker told The Post.

DOH spokeswoman Sandra Mullin confirmed the theft.

"This was against agency policy to have this kind of information on a laptop computer," she said. "We have certainly reminded employees about that policy."