Lyndhurst firefighter, coach accused of videotaping people in bathroom

LYNDHURST, N.J. (WABC) -- Police say a volunteer firefighter and football coach videotaped people as they used the bathroom in his Lyndhurst, New Jersey home during a pool party.

Mitchell Morreale is accused of invasion of privacy after four young women discovered that he had been video recording people as they used the bathroom at his house during the Friday night party.

Morreale allegedly thought he was going to see some revealing video of some of his 19-year old son's friends.

His scheme to have an Ipad in a closet was discovered when one young lady found the device recording video of people using the bathroom.

After one of the 18 and 19-year old women saw what was happening, she called other friends to show them.

"They all got together, they looked at it, they viewed approximately 30 minutes of video," said Lyndhurst Police Captain John Valente. "They actually used their own cell phones to videotape what was on the Ipod itself."

The young women decided to report the incident to police on Monday night. Morreale has served as a volunteer firefighter in the town and a youth football coach for a recreational team.

Now computers have been removed from his home.

Authorities will be looking to see if they can find anything suspicious. Since the victims are not juveniles, the charges are considered third-degree crimes.

"What was caught on video was nothing of a sexual nature. Otherwise the charges would have been different, would have reflected that. It was just what it was, an invasion of privacy," said Valente.

Valente says Morreale recorded himself setting up the device. Detectives confiscated the device and computer equipment.

Morreale, who is 45 years old, has been suspended from the department in the wake of the accusations.