EAST PROVIDENCE — Following an internal investigation led by Acting City Manager Paul Lemont, a city hall employee has been reassigned from their current position to another with lesser access to vital records after having been deemed to have improperly obtained personal data of a fellow municipal worker.

Mr. Lemont said his investigation, which he positioned as being about "95 percent done," led him and other administrators to the email account of the offending employee. He said while the action was a "breach of confidentiality," it did not reach the threshold of being a fireable offense.

"It was a breach and I had to stop it," Mr. Lemont said via phone Thursday afternoon, July 2.

He said he first became aware of the matter on Monday, June 29, upon returning from a brief vacation. The manager said he has been concerned for a while something was amiss in terms of important information about a number of city-related topics being leaked, but had no reason to delve into it until this latest episode.

"It's a personnel matter, an internal investigation, and that is the end of it," Mr. Lemont added. "It involves people's right to privacy and I had to take action."

Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, the manager declined to name the offending employee. The suspected person, however, is considered a long-time worker in a department at City Hall.

Earlier Thursday, multiple sources indicated the suspected employee improperly accessed the personal data of a co-worker via a city computer and transmitted it to a third party.

Mr. Lemont said at this point no criminal activity is believed to be involved. The Post confirmed no law enforcement of any kind is currently investigating the situation. The manager also said at present no other employee or employees are believed to be involved.

It was erroneously reported by other outlets the previous evening and into Thursday the State Police were investigating the case and that they had confiscated city property. That report was not based in fact, according to Mr. Lemont who vehemently denied the claim.