A new state police system of disseminating information to the news media resulted Thursday in a report of a Boonville man's arrest, when in fact he is not facing any charges.

"If my boss read that I had been arrested, I could lose my job," said Robert A. Healt.

The false disclosure was "a calamity of errors," said Capt. Darrin S. Pitkin, Watertown zone commander.

The Times, in Thursday's edition, reported that Mr. Healt had been charged with petit larceny in the alleged theft of circuit breakers from the old Lyons Falls Pulp & Paper mill. Capt. Pitkin said Thursday that Mr. Healt has not been charged, and that he will not be charged, in connection with the complaint. The property owner, Michael R. Johnson, has withdrawn his complaint, the captain said.

State police in March activated a new computer-generated "public information report" for use statewide that provides scanty information — name, age, vague address, and charges filed. No other details are provided, requiring reporters to track down the investigating trooper to obtain more information.

Since troopers work 12-hour shifts, they have more days off over a two-week period, and are therefore not always available for comment. When the false-arrest disclosure about Mr. Healt was made available by state police Wednesday, the investigating trooper was unavailable for comment. He was having his two days off.

An officer in the state police public information office, Albany, recently admitted to the Times that the system has drawn criticism from press organizations statewide. Locally, even state troopers have voiced their dismay with the new system.

In Mr. Healt's case, a printout listed him as the defendant, listed his time of arrest as 9:24 p.m. May 27 at 311 Charles St., Boonville, and specified that he had been issued an appearance ticket on a charge of petit larceny.

Mr. Healt knew nothing about his reported arrest until someone telephoned him Thursday morning, telling him it was in the newspaper.

According to Capt. Pitkin, a trooper actually expected to arrest Mr. Healt, and began putting data into the computer system. The system went down, so the trooper thought everything he had written was lost, the captain said. His assumption was wrong.

Meanwhile, a sergeant at the Lowville station advised the trooper against making an arrest, saying the district attorney's office should be consulted first.

The circuit breakers were not removed from the mill property, Mr. Healt said.

Mr. Johnson could not be reached for comment.