Andrew Farago, a former curator at San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, was arrested June 3 on suspicion of invasion of privacy after a woman found video footage allegedly showing him setting up a hidden phone in his bathroom during a May 23 birthday party, acc
The birthday party was supposed to be simple—friends, a home in South Berkeley, and a celebration on May 23. Instead, it ended with a hidden phone in a bathroom and an arrest a little more than a week later.
Andrew Farago. 54. a Bay Area pop culture writer and former curator of San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum. was arrested June 3 after allegedly filming people inside his bathroom during the party at his South Berkeley house. Court records say Farago used a cellphone to secretly record guests while they used the restroom.
Berkeley police said the suspicion centers on invasion of privacy through the use of a hidden camera to secretly record someone “under their clothing.” During the party. a woman found a video showing Farago “setting the phone up. concealing it with a towel. and aiming it to record people’s genitalia as they used the restroom. ” Berkeley police said in court records.
Police also said Farago made admissions and told them he had deleted the videos from his phone and iCloud.
After the party, Farago allegedly emailed guests. In the message. court records say he wrote: “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’t know what possessed me to do it. ” adding. “This was an inexcusable violation of your privacy and our friendship and I am prepared to face whatever consequences will come from this tremendous lapse in judgment.”.
Farago is listed as the curator at the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum, but a museum representative confirmed that he is no longer employed there.
In a case built on what was allegedly recorded in the most private moments of a gathering. the details are stark: the phone was set up. concealed with a towel. and aimed at people using the bathroom. The response described in court records—deleting videos and apologizing to guests—raises another question that lingers after an arrest: what exactly happened after the footage. and why does it remain tied to a home celebration on May 23?.
As Berkeley police proceed with the allegations, the fallout has already reached beyond Farago’s personal life. The museum he once curated confirmed he is no longer employed there, even as the criminal case turns on what police say they found and what Farago allegedly admitted.
Andrew Farago Cartoon Art Museum San Francisco Berkeley police invasion of privacy hidden camera bathroom recording South Berkeley May 23 birthday party June 3 arrest