A hidden camera was allegedly discovered recording guests \u2014 including adults and children \u2014 in the bathroom during a birthday party at the Berkeley home of a local pop culture writer and longtime Cartoon Art Museum curator.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred during a May 23 birthday gathering co-hosted by 50-year-old Andrew Farago last month, where a guest reportedly discovered a cellphone hidden in the bathroom that was actively recording, as Berkeley Scanner first reported<\/a>. <\/p>\n Police said the device contained footage showing Farago setting up the phone, concealing it with a towel, and positioning it to capture people using the restroom. According to court records, investigators also seized roughly a dozen electronic devices while serving a search warrant at the residence.<\/p>\n Farago reportedly acknowledged what he had done when confronted and later emailed attendees apologizing for the incident, calling it an “inexcusable violation” of both their privacy and friendship.<\/p>\n “I hid my phone in our bathroom for the purpose of spying on our guests, my closest friends in the world. I had never done anything like that before and don\u2019t know what possessed me to do it,” Farago reportedly wrote, per Berkeley police and the Berkeley Scanner.<\/p>\n Police subsequently obtained an arrest warrant alleging 20 counts related to secretly recording people with a concealed camera. Farago was arrested June 3 at his home, though prosecutors have not yet filed formal charges and Berkeley police say the investigation remains ongoing.<\/p>\n According to his LinkedIn profile, Farago worked as curator at San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum from 2001 until his arrest, and he’s authored several books on comics and pop culture. <\/p>\n The nonprofit Cartoon Art Museum, which has operated since 1984, relocated to Fisherman’s Wharf<\/a> from SoMa ten years ago. <\/p>\n