FBI agent accused of public lewdness

EDEN, N.Y. (WIVB) - An FBI agent was arrested last Friday on public lewdness charges.

State Police say 48-year-old John Yervelli, Jr. of Lake View was traveling on the eastbound I-90 in Eden around 9 p.m. when he pulled alongside a semi.

The truck driver reportedly told troopers when Yervelli got to his window, Yervelli turned on the dome light and made lewd gestures while not wearing pants.

NYS Police Sgt. Gregoy Peron said, "This is not something you would want your family driving along and seeing."

The truck driver is from upstate New York and troopers say he had no relationship with the FBI agent. Police say this was apparently a random act. The trucker called police and gave authorities a description of the vehicle and plates.

Troopers caught up to Yervelli at the Hamburg interchange and arrested him for public lewdness, which is punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

"In this case, the lewd contact is when you display private parts of your body in public or in private with the expectation that somebody with in a private place or in a public place will see them," Sgt. Peron explained.

Perron said, “It did come out towards the end of our investigation that he was an FBI agent, from our standpoint it doesn't change the investigation at all, it's a crime that we're going to investigate.”

FBI Public Affairs Specialist Maureen P. Dempsey says that the arrest of Yervelli is "an internal administrative matter" and that "the FBI is not commenting on the matter beyond that."

Yervelli was processed and released on an appearance ticket. He is due in Eden Town Court at a later date.