Yesterday we named Peter Barta our Lawyer of the Weekend. Here’s what he allegedly did to earn this distinction, according to the NYDN:
A nerdy legal aid lawyer used a spy camera to videotape female colleagues changing their clothes — until the women turned the tables and caught him red-handed, officials said.
Peter Barta, 32, bought a $179 gizmo from Sharper Image that looked like a desk clock but contained a motion-activated camcorder, prosecutors said.
He allegedly planted the clock in co-workers’ offices and downloaded the racy images onto a tape seized at his Queens home.
We solicited information on Peter Barta from people who know him personally. One high school classmate had this to say:
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I guess I’m not surprised that he resorted to these sorts of antics; he always seemed a bit strange. So sad that it’s come down to this in his 30s!
I feel badly. He wasn’t a bad guy, but I guess he was a bit off.
Peter Barta was described in news accounts as a master debater (hehe) at New York’s elite Stuyvesant High School. Another ex-debater chimed in as follows:
Please point out to your readers that Peter Barta was a POLICY debater. Those of us who did L-D [Lincoln-Douglas] debate do NOT want the good name of our event tarnished.
If you have firsthand information about The Bartameter, please email us (subject line: “Peter Barta”). Thanks.
Update: More about Peter Barta appears here.
Earlier: Lawyer of the Weekend: Peter Barta