NEW YORK — New York State Police officials have launched a second internal investigation into possible misconduct among officers at Woodstock '99 after a photo of topless concert-goers washing a patrol car appeared in the New York Post.

No disciplinary action has been taken at this point, but if investigators determine that troopers were involved in the incident, those officers could face dismissal, police spokesperson Lt. Jamie Mills said.

"If you look at the picture, I don't think you can see a license plate number in there," Mills said, referring to a Post report claiming investigators had used the plate number on the car to identify troopers involved.

The investigation is the latest scandal to surface since Woodstock '99 ended in fiery riots and looting July 25. The New York City chapter of the women's-rights group NOW blasted Woodstock officials Tuesday, claiming they failed to report sexual assaults — including rapes — to police early on in the three-day festival.

At a press conference to be held at 3 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 12) in Manhattan, NOW plans to present statements from concert-goers and employees who say they witnessed sexual assaults, as well as what they claim was official indifference to the crimes, according to Galen Sherwin, president of the New York chapter of NOW.

Concert promoters John Scher and Michael Lang have denied the allegations, claiming they cooperated with police all along. They called NOW's accusations "both irresponsible and disgraceful" in a statement.

Meanwhile, state police are continuing to look into an earlier allegation that troopers on the perimeter of the concert — which was held at the decommissioned Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y. — urged female concert-goers to remove their clothes for photos. That investigation resulted in the suspension of one trooper supervisor. So far, no other actions have been taken, Mills said.

"This new investigation can be seen as an expansion of the first," she said.

Sherwin praised the state police for their efforts to punish troopers who allegedly mistreated women at Woodstock '99. "They're setting a good example," she said.

Critics of the festival have charged that its male-dominated atmosphere contributed to the sexual assaults and riots. Critics also charged that the riots at least partly were spawned by poor sanitary conditions, high food prices and a generally permissive atmosphere, among other factors.

Police also are investigating one of the four deaths associated with Woodstock '99. Tara Weaver, 28, was hit by a vehicle Aug. 25 on State Route 8, about 50 miles outside Rome in New Berlin, according to police.

Weaver, who is believed to have attended Woodstock '99, was lying in the road even before she was struck, said State Police Investigator Dwayne McIver, who is assigned to the case.

State police have posted photos of Weaver on their official website (www.troopers.state.ny.us), and are asking Woodstock attendees who may have had contact with her to get in touch with McIver.

Police don't know how Weaver, who apparently was alive before being hit, ended up in the middle of Route 8, McIver said. They are still awaiting the results of toxicology reports, which will reveal whether she had used drugs or alcohol prior to her death, he said.

In addition to Weaver's death, one man died of a heart attack during the three-day concert, and two died following the event after suffering hyperthermia there.

Police also are continuing to use the World Wide Web to aid their investigation into the Woodstock riots. A new batch of photos of alleged rioters has been posted on their official site in the hopes that rioters will be identified.

The new images replace the Associated Press photos that originally were being used. Although AP had protested the use of those photos by police, claiming that investigators were infringing their copyrights and blurring the line between the press and law enforcement, Mills claimed the protest had nothing to do with their removal.

Instead, Mills said, police replaced them with new photos Friday — all taken by state employees — because the old ones had "outlived their usefulness" and e-mail responses had been dwindling.

The new photos, which depict concert-goers apparently engaging in illegal acts such as breaking into ATMs and payphones, have been viewed by thousands of people since they were posted, according to Mills.

Police are investigating 53 leads from responses to both sets of photos, Mills said, but no arrests have resulted from the investigations.