Man charged with tampering with red light cameras in Ronkonkoma

RONKONKOMA (WABC) -- A man on Long Island is charged with tampering with several red light cameras in Ronkonkoma, after police used a video on his own Facebook page to arrest him.

Suffolk County police received anonymous tips regarding a social media video post that showed a man tampering with red light cameras.

Using an expandable pole, the man pushed the cameras to point towards the sky so that they would not capture violators, authorities said.

After an investigation, officers identified Stephen Ruth as the suspect and he was arrested at his home Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, Ruth tampered with the camera on Ocean Avenue and Long Island Expressway South Service Road, Ronkonkoma and with two cameras at Hawkins Avenue and the Long Island Expressway South Service Road in Ronkonkoma.

Ruth, 42, of Centereach, was charged with four counts of Criminal Tampering 3rd Degree and four counts of Obstruction of Governmental Administration 2nd Degree.

The cameras are maintained by Affiliated Computer Services Incorporated, from Baltimore Maryland.