Steve Bellone's office says porn star Twitter 'follow' under probe

Someone who accessed the official Twitter account of Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone "followed" 19-year-old adult film star Belle Knox -- an act Bellone's spokesman Saturday called "inexcusable and disgraceful."

Bellone never personally logged into or used the account, which is operated by staffers in the county executive's office, according to the spokesman, Justin Meyers. Multiple staffers have had access to it over the years, he said.

"While we would love to say that the North Koreans did this, the reality is that we do not know how this happened," said Meyers, making a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Sony hacking scandal. "This is an official Suffolk County government Twitter account that has been operated over the years by staff for public announcements and notifications."

Bellone's office reported the unauthorized activity to Twitter and the Suffolk County Police Department, which is investigating. The incident was first reported by the New York Post.

"Whether this action was done maliciously or accidentally, the fact remains that it was inexcusable and disgraceful," Meyers said of the "follow."

Bellone's office has begun using stricter security measures to ensure a similar incident doesn't happen again, Meyers said.

A spokesman for Twitter declined to comment on the issue, citing privacy and security reasons.

The New York Republican State Committee drew comparisons to the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal in a Facebook post.

"Democratic Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone was just caught following a porn star on Twitter. His excuse? His account was hacked. If that sounds familiar, it's because that's the same lame excuse that the disgraced Anthony Weiner gave shortly before he had to resign from Congress."

Knox, whose real name is Miriam Weeks, could not immediately be reached for comment. She became one of the adult film industry's best-known stars after a classmate of hers at Duke University outed her as a porn actress earlier this year.

Knox has said she began acting in porn to ease the financial burden caused by high tuition.