Laptop Holding Trump Tower Floor Plans, Hillary Clinton Email Investigation Info Stolen From Secret Service Agent

By Staff Reporter
Posted on 03/17/17 | News Source: nydailynews.com

A laptop computer containing floor plans for Trump Tower, information about the Hillary Clinton email investigation and other national security information was stolen from a Secret Service agent's vehicle in Brooklyn, police sources told the Daily News.

Authorities have been frantically searching for the laptop since it was stolen Thursday morning — and are trying to determine if the thief knew what he was taking or randomly targeted the agent’s vehicle.

NYPD cops were assisting in the investigation but had scant information on exactly what’s on the laptop, sources said.

"The Secret Service is very heavily involved and, citing national security, there's very little we have on our side," a police source said. "It's a very big deal.”

"There's data on there that's highly sensitive,” the source said. “They're scrambling like mad.”

The information on the laptop cannot be remotely erased, sources said.

Other items stolen include “sensitive” documents, an access keycard, coins, a black zippered bag with the Secret Service insignia on it and Secret Service lapel pins from various assignments — including ones involving Donald Trump, the Hillary Clinton campaign, the United Nations General Assembly and the Pope’s visit to New York, sources said.

Some items, including the coins and bag, were later found. But other items, including the laptop, were still being sought.

"The U.S. Secret Service can confirm that an employee was the victim of a criminal act in which our Agency issued laptop computer was stolen,” Secret Service spokesman Shawn Holtzclaw said in a statement.

“Secret Service issued laptops contain multiple layers of security including full disk encryption and are not permitted to contain classified information. An investigation is ongoing and the Secret Service is withholding additional comment until the facts are gathered.”

The agent, Marie Argentieri, could not be reached for comment.

The thief stepped out of a dark-colored car, possibly an Uber, and stole the laptop from Argentieri's vehicle, a 2015 Bajaj, which was parked in the driveway of her Bath Beach home, sources said. Neighbors said the thief struck about 3 a.m.

The crook, a man dressed in black, didn’t get back in the car. He was seen on surveillance video walking away from the scene with a backpack holding the laptop, sources said.

Neighbor Jaime Palazzi, 40, saw the thief but was unaware until later the backpack belonged to the agent.

"I was smoking a cigarette on my balcony,” Palazzi said. “I looked at him, he looked at me, and he kept on going. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary.”

Another neighbor, Mike Mignuolo, 73, believes, based on the video police showed him, that the suspect moved quickly and with a purpose.

“It showed somebody running to the car and running back out,” he said. “They knew what they were doing, absolutely. They knew what they were hitting.”

Mignuolo said he was excited by the intrigue and theorized the thief is from nearby Brighton Beach, a Russian enclave.

“What’s going on is crazy,” he said, “with the Russians and the President.”

Argentieri told investigators the laptop contained floor plans for Trump Tower, evacuation protocols and information regarding the investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email server, according to sources.

While nothing about the White House or foreign leaders is stored on the laptop the information on there could compromise national security, she said.

After walking off the suspect turned onto Cropsey Ave. and dumped the bag in the snow outside a private home. Residents there had no comment.

Other items were found by a teacher at Poly Prep Country Day School, in neighboring Bay Ridge, and turned over to security. The school’s head of security notified Argentieri Friday morning, sources said.

“The NYPD is working along with the United States Secret Service,” the NYPD said in a statement. “If anyone has information that can assist in the investigation of this incident they are encouraged to contact the NYPD or the US Secret Service Field Office.”