Scientology Lawyers Latham & Watkins LLC pwnd
JAFAW
JAFAW
"JAFAW" <an...@anon.net> wrote in message
news:qO4Hj.27593$5i5....@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net...BTW That was re-posted from Clambake forum....
http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=26522
Eldon
> Scientology Lawyers pwndhttp://img361.imageshack.us/img361/8751/bar2sy9.jpg
Well, that's a pretty good warning. The California Bar might possibly
do something about it, but bar associations are notoriously weak --
especially Florida's.
Lawyers admitted to the bar of any large state in the US basically
think they can get away with anything, and often do. Take that
Pellicano criminal sleazebag as only one example.
Oops! Do you suppose he'll sue me for libel? Well, he's so busy at
this point that I doubt it.
JAFAW
"Eldon" <Eldo...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:9909e00b-8161-461d...@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> On Mar 28, 12:40 pm, "JAFAW" <a...@anon.net> wrote:
> > Scientology Lawyers
pwndhttp://img361.imageshack.us/img361/8751/bar2sy9.jpg
>
> Well, that's a pretty good warning. The California Bar might possibly
> do something about it, but bar associations are notoriously weak --
> especially Florida's.
Florida seems to be a special case all of its own. Most of the internet
scams that come from the USA seem to be based in Florida (or pass through in
some way). It just seems to crop up an awful lot whenever financial scams
are involved.
Has it always been like this or did the cult just luck-out when it picked
Clearwater, Fraudrida?
>
> Lawyers admitted to the bar of any large state in the US basically
> think they can get away with anything, and often do. Take that
> Pellicano criminal sleazebag as only one example.
>
> Oops! Do you suppose he'll sue me for libel? Well, he's so busy at
> this point that I doubt it.
I think he, like the cult, sometimes put just a little too much faith into
the notion that lawyers can somehow get away with anything. However, it pays
for the unwary victim to always assume that lawyers can indeed get away with
anything, and count getting them hit with sanctions and disbarred as a lucky
bonus.
I wonder what they are saving Kendrick "electrocuted daughter" Moxon for.
I'd love to see that fucker sanctioned, disbarred and thrown into federal
pound-me-in-the-ass prison (and Kobrin and Paquette sent to the federal
rug-munch pound).
Eldon
> "Eldon" <EldonB...@aol.com> wrote in message
Yes, I agree with your comments about American lawyers wholeheartedly.
It's a way corrupt system, because politicians and judges arise from
the legal profession.
In Europe, those are pretty much separate career paths. In France, the
top politicians typically majored in physics, math or philosophy.
Henri Ladd
I guess the U.S. Attorney's office never probed whether scientology
orchastrated the fraud in order to launder money into their own accounts.
Then again, the scientology lawyer in this case was a U.S. Attorney,
involved in some controversial cases. Not only did Schindler work for
scientology; hacker Justin Tanner Petersen did also, through private
investigator Schlomi Michaels. Petersen was sent to Dallas, TX in 1991
to spy on dissaffected scientologists. The Aznarans were in Dallas
then, and were giving information to Richard Behar for his May 6, 1991
article: "Scientology Cult of Greed".
In a telephone interview a few years later with another hacker, Lewis
DePayne, Petersen admitted to a break-in in which he claimed he captured
the entire contents of a hard drive for the cult.
Here is an interesting article from that time, involving Petersen, the
FBI, and the soon-to-be scientology attorney, David Schindler --
Los Angeles Times
July 31, 1994, Sunday, Valley Edition
SECTION: METRO; PAGE: B-1
Hacker in Hiding; Digital Desperado Who Claims to Have Worked for
the FBI Is Now Being Sought by the Agency
BYLINE: JOHN JOHNSON; TIMES STAFF WRITER
First there was the Condor, then Dark Dante. The latest
computer hacker to hit the cyberspace most wanted list is Agent
Steal, a slender, good-looking rogue partial to Porsches and BMWs
who bragged that he worked undercover for the FBI catching other
hackers.
Now Agent Steal, whose real name is Justin Tanner Petersen,
is on the run from the very agency he told friends was paying his
rent and flying him to computer conferences to spy on other
hackers.
Petersen, 34, disappeared Oct. 18 after admitting to federal
prosecutors that he had been committing further crimes during the
time when he was apparently working with the government "in the
investigation of other persons," according to federal court
records.
Ironically, by running he has consigned himself to the same
secretive life as Kevin Mitnick, the former North Hills man who
is one of the nation's most infamous hackers, and whom Petersen
allegedly bragged of helping to set up for an FBI bust. Mitnick,
who once took the name Condor in homage to a favorite movie
character, has been hiding for almost two years to avoid
prosecution for allegedly hacking into computers illegally and
posing as a law enforcement officer.
Authorities say Petersen's list of hacks includes breaking
into computers used by federal investigative agencies and tapping
into a credit card information bureau. Petersen, who once
promoted after-hours rock shows in the San Fernando Valley, also
was involved in the hacker underground's most sensational
scam--hijacking radio station phone lines to win contests with
prizes ranging from new cars to trips to Hawaii.
The mastermind of that scheme was Dark Dante, whose real name
is Kevin Poulsen. He is awaiting sentencing in connection with
that case, having already spent three years in custody, the
longest term in jail for any hacker in history.
Petersen's case reveals the close-knit and ruggedly
competitive world of computer hacking, where friends struggle to
outdo each other and then, when they are caught, sometimes turn
on each other. Petersen boasted of his alleged exploits trapping
his former colleagues.
Petersen gave an interview last year to an on-line
publication called Phrack in which he claimed to have tapped the
phone of a prostitute working for Heidi Fleiss. He also boasted
openly of working with the FBI to bust Mitnick.
"When I went to work for the bureau I contacted him,"
Petersen said in the interview conducted by Mike Bowen. "He was
still up to his old tricks, so we opened a case on him. . . .
What a loser. Everyone thinks he is some great hacker. I
outsmarted him and busted him."
How much of Petersen's story is true and how much is
chest-thumping is at issue, for he is a shadowy person who didn't
even use his own name during the years he spent on the fringes of
the Los Angeles rock scene. Tall, good-looking, with long hair
down the middle of his back, Eric Heinz, as he was known by
everyone, shattered the computer nerd pocket protector
stereotype. He frequented the Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset
Boulevard, often with different women on his arm, and handed out
cards identifying himself as a concert promoter and electronic
surveillance specialist.
Riki Rachtman, an MTV "veejay," said Petersen had a
reputation for technical wizardry among the club crowd.
"Everybody knew, if you screwed (him) over, he had the power to
screw everything" with you, Rachtman said.
But was he really working as a government informant at the
same time to ensnare his hacker buddies for the bureau? The FBI
refused to talk about Petersen directly. But J. Michael Gibbons,
a bureau computer crime expert, expressed doubts. He advises
against such relationships.
"It's not safe. Across the board, hackers cannot be trusted
to work--they play both sides against the middle," he said. The
agents "could have had him in the office. They probably debriefed
him at length. Send him out to do things? I doubt it."
But Santa Monica attorney Richard Sherman, who is
representing a friend of Mitnick's in another hacker case, has
accused the FBI of not only actively using Petersen as an
informant, but also of turning a blind eye to Petersen's alleged
crimes during the time he was in their care. The crimes involve
alleged credit card fraud.
*
In a May 19 letter tS. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, Sherman said
three agents in Los Angeles engaged "in a course of conduct which
is illegal and contrary to bureau policy" in handling Petersen.
Jo Ann Farrington, deputy chief of the public integrity
section, responded on July 18 that there were no grounds to begin
a criminal investigation. Because Sherman had called "into
question the ethical conduct of the named special agents," the
letter was referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility
for review.
"It is factually incorrect that we allowed Mr. Petersen to
commit crimes," said Assistant U. S. Atty. David Schindler.
Those who knew Petersen best described him as a bright,
verging-on-arrogant man who dressed well and sometimes walked
with a cane, a result of a motorcycle accident six years ago that
cost him a foot. He sometimes promoted after-hours clubs in the
Valley and in Hollywood, according to a partner, Phillip Lamond.
One night the two men were talking about Petersen's
adventures. "The difference between you and me," Lamond said
Petersen told him, "is I get a thrill from breaking the law."
In the Phrack interview, published on the Internet, an
international network of computer networks with millions of
users, Agent Steal bragged about breaking into Pacific Bell
headquarters with Poulsen to obtain information about the phone
company's investigation of his hacking.
He said they found "a lot of information regarding other
investigations and how they do wiretaps."
"Very dangerous in the wrong hands," replied Bowen, according
to a transcript of the interview.
"We are the wrong hands," Petersen said. Bowen said Petersen
still calls him from time to time.
Petersen was arrested in Texas in 1991, where he lived
briefly. Court records show that authorities searching his
apartment found computer equipment, Pacific Bell manuals and five
modems.
An FBI affidavit reveals fear that Petersen could have been
eavesdropping on law enforcement investigations. The affidavit
says Petersen admitted "conducting illegal telephone taps" and
breaking into Pacific Bell's COSMOS computer program, which
allows the user to check telephone numbers and determine the
location of telephone lines and circuits.
A grand jury in Texas returned an eight-count indictment
against Petersen, accusing him of assuming false names, accessing
a computer without authorization, possessing stolen mail and
fraudulently obtaining and using credit cards.
The case was later transferred to California and sealed, out
of concern for Petersen's safety, authorities said. The motion to
seal, obtained by Sherman, states that Petersen, "acting in an
undercover capacity, currently is cooperating with the United
States in the investigation of other persons in California."
Petersen eventually pleaded guilty to six counts, including
rigging a radio station contest with a $20,000 prize. He faced a
sentence of up to 40 years in jail and a $1.5-million fine, but
the sentencing was delayed several times while, Sherman believes,
Petersen continued working for the government. Lamond said
Petersen told him the FBI was paying him $600 a month "to help
them track down hackers."
Then on Oct. 18, 1993, 15 months after entering his first
guilty plea, Petersen was confronted outside federal court by
Schindler, who asked if he had been committing any crimes while
on bail. Petersen said he had, according to Schindler. Petersen
met briefly with his attorney, then took off.
"I've got a big problem and I'm splitting," a friend said he
told him the same day.
Attempts to reach Petersen were unsuccessful and his
attorney, Morton Boren, said he has "no knowledge of Justin
committing any crimes."
*
Sherman also scores the government for allegedly allowing
Petersen, while an informant, to utilize a Pacific Bell Telephone
Co. computer called Switched Access Services, or SAS. Sherman
said the computer allows operators to intercept telephone calls
and place other calls, making it appear the calls originated from
other phones.
Rich Motta, executive director of applications, reliability
and support for Pacific Bell, said he would not "take a position
one way or the other" on Sherman's allegations.
While declining to discuss Petersen's actions, Schindler
acknowledged that in the Poulsen case, "we alleged and he pled
guilty to the fact of using the SAS system. Among other things,
they rigged radio station contests using SAS. It is a test
technology they managed to hijack and use for criminal purposes.
Once we became aware of it we took steps to correct it."
There are tantalizing hints at links between Mitnick and
Petersen, despite their obvious differences in style. Mitnick was
the classic computer jockey, overweight and shy, who asked his
eventual wife out on their first date by sending her a computer
message. Petersen, on the other hand, is flamboyant and
self-assured.
*
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has a file on
Petersen, but refused to divulge any information about him,
saying the file was being used in another case. "The indications
are that it's Mitnick," said Bill Madison, a spokesman for the
agency.
Friends say they think Petersen can survive well on the run.
"He's already got a lot of experience" living undercover, said
one friend.
But Mitnick may be having a tougher time. Lewis De Payne
thinks his friend would like to find a way out of his
predicament. "It is my opinion he would like to surrender to some
type of news media that could provide legal counsel," he said.
In the Phrack interview, Petersen makes no apologies for his
choices in life.
While discussing Petersen's role as an informant, Mike Bowen
says, "I think that most hackers would have done the same as
you."
"Most hackers would have sold out their mother," Petersen
responded.
Times staff writer David Colker contributed to this story.
> http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-slatkin8nov08,0,4280608.story
>
> Scientology groups to pay back $3.5 million
>
> They agree to return 'profits' from a Ponzi scheme run by financial
> advisor Reed Slatkin.
> By E. Scott Reckard
> Times Staff Writer
>
> November 8, 2006
>
> Groups affiliated with the Church of Scientology have agreed to pay back
> $3.5 million they received from former Santa Barbara money manager Reed
> Slatkin and others who invested with him.
>
> The settlement, approved Tuesday by a federal bankruptcy judge, is part
> of final efforts to recover funds for the victims of Slatkin, who is
> serving a 14-year sentence for fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
> Authorities say Slatkin led a long-running Ponzi scheme in which money
> from some investors was used to pay off others.
>
> The fraud raised about $593 million in all, with investor losses
> estimated at about $240 million.
>
> Slatkin, whose clients included actor Peter Coyote and television legal
> commentator Greta Van Susteren, paid $1.7 million in ill-gotten gains
> directly to Scientology organizations, bankruptcy trustee R. Todd
> Neilson said in court filings.
>
> Millions of dollars more in tainted funds were funneled through other
> investors to Scientology-affiliated groups, including Narconon
> International, the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International
> and the Church of Scientology Western United States, the filings said.
>
> The exact amount funneled through the investors was never determined,
> said Alexander Pilmer, an attorney for Neilson. Pilmer and Scientology
> attorney David Schindler said the $3.5-million settlement was a
> negotiated compromise.
>
> Schindler said that the church had always wanted to return any
> fraudulently obtained funds and that the only dispute was over what
> amount was fair.
>
> "The church and its hundreds of parishioners were as much victims of
> Slatkin as anyone else," he said.
>
> Slatkin, who was once an ordained Scientology minister, had maintained
> that his actions were motivated in part by threats from other church
> members. In sentencing him to 14 years in federal prison, however, U.S.
> District Judge Margaret Morrow rejected his claim that he had acted
> under "duress and diminished capacity" because fellow Scientologists
> pressured him to continue paying them profits.
>
> Slatkin gave some of the $593 million he collected back to investors as
> "profits," which is why prosecutors place investor losses at about $240
> million.
>
> By liquidating assets and suing investors who profited by receiving
> tainted money, Pilmer said, the bankruptcy trustee will have repaid
> victims 41 cents to 42 cents on the dollar ? about $100 million in all ?
> by the end of this year.
>
> In addition, the bankruptcy trustee is still seeking to recover $12.1
> million from a dozen defendants who came out ahead on the scam. The
> settlement with the Scientology groups removed a major impediment to
> closing the case, Pilmer said.
>
> "We are close to the final wrap-up phase," he said.
>
> Slatkin, who lived on a four-acre estate and spent lavishly on art, cars
> and airplanes, is serving his prison sentence in Taft, Calif., after
> pleading guilty in 2002 to fraud, conspiracy and money laundering.
>
> Slatkin started soliciting money from fellow Scientologists in the
> mid-1980s. His reputation grew because of his role as a financer of
> Internet service provider EarthLink Inc. in 1994, when he provided
> $75,000 to EarthLink founder Sky Dayton.
>
> Before long, he was taking in large sums from Internet executives,
> Hollywood players and socialites from across the country.
>
> In the end, Slatkin admitted that his investment empire had been a sham
> since its inception in 1986, a scam he kept going for 15 years by
> distributing the "profits" to some investors that were really just funds
> from other investors ? a classic example of a Ponzi scheme.
>
> Attorneys for the bankruptcy trustee sued or threatened to sue about 400
> individuals and groups that emerged as "winners," having received more
> money from Slatkin than they invested.
>
> With Tuesday's endorsement of the Scientology settlement by U.S.
> Bankruptcy Judge Robin Riblet in Santa Barbara, about $78 million has
> been recovered in those so-called adversary proceedings, Pilmer said.
>
> A separate lawsuit accusing Slatkin's former bankers of lending an air
> of legitimacy to his enterprise was settled two years ago. Without
> admitting wrongdoing, the defendants, including Union Bank of
> California, agreed to pay $26.5 million. Most of that settlement ? $15.5
> million ? was paid to a group of the largest investors and their lawyers
> at Pilmer's firm, Kirkland & Ellis.
Henri Ladd
ro...@ccs.neu.edu (R Agent) wrote:
> Subject: Interview with Justin Peterson/Agent Steal
> Newsgroup: alt.religion.scientology
> This is an interview with Justin Tanner Peterson aka Agent Steal. >
>Justin
> was hired by the church of Scientology to bug the home of Rick and >Vicky
> Aznaran, two high-level defectors (who have since re-entered the fold).
>
> Sometime after this interview Justin went back on the run, and was
> subsequently recaptured and is currently in jail awaiting due process.
>
> RA
I have been told that Justin Tanner Peterson had
been using the Los Angeles IRS Criminal Investigation
Division's California DMV account, getting information
from it and forwarding that information to a Private
Investigation that was employed by Scientology.
Justin Tanner Peterson claimed to have gotten the
IRS CID account by wiretapping Telenet, and tapping
in on the data stream, at the downtown Los Angeles
Telenet office, according to my source. One has to
wonder if he was intentionally 'sniffing' the Telenet
data stream specifically for this account?
Here is how it worked, according to my source:
Call Telenet 916.268.05
LU#: 6
PASSWORD: ######
APPLICATION: DCS
PASSWORD: xxxx
I have expunged the passwords. About two months ago I
informed IRS CID about the breach, and they changed the
passwords on the account--only after I had exposed the
security breach to them, I believe.
What is peculiar is that the information about this security
breach supposedly was in the 1992 Kevin Poulsen indictment,
and the FBI and United States Attorney's Office did not bother
to inform the IRS that there DMV account had been compromised.
I wonder why.
It is my understanding that FBI Special Agent Stanley E. Ornellas,
and United States Attorney David Schindler knew of this security
breach years ago, and did not do anything to close this security
breach.
Does anyone know if by using a California DMV account, one could
access the inquiry history, i.e. check on what the IRS is checking
on using the hacked account access?
The Badger
> "JAFAW" <a...@anon.net> wrote in message
>
> news:qO4Hj.27593$5i5....@newsfe6-gui.ntli.net...> Scientology Lawyers pwnd
> >http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/8751/bar2sy9.jpg
>
> BTW That was re-posted from Clambake forum....http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=26522
Someone posted this as well
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3724/1202677793014vv4.jpg
childis...@googlemail.com
> Scientology Lawyers pwndhttp://img361.imageshack.us/img361/8751/bar2sy9.jpg
That is FUCKING HILARIOUS
henri
>Well, that's a pretty good warning. The California Bar might possibly
>do something about it, but bar associations are notoriously weak --
>especially Florida's.
[Cue the "It's a Small World" music]
David J. Schindler has prosecuted a number of hackers, including Kevin
Mitnick and Kevin Poulsen.
Once, when I was talking to Kevin Poulsen, he told me that in his opinion,
Schindler was a straight shooter, and the only honest attorney who ever
criminally prosecuted him.
Poulsen also wrote a rather complimentary article about Schindler during
the Mitnick prosecution: http://tinyurl.com/2223ca
Notice that that article quotes our very own Ethercat.
Schindler has another Scientology connection from way, way back.
He was one of the two last people to see Justin Tanner Peterson in
October of 1993, in a meeting with Peterson and his attorney,
before Peterson split to become a fugitive.
---
http://tinyurl.com/2nswdt (probably soon-to-be-dead Google cache
so I'm going to dump the whole article here to archive it).
When questioned by a government attorney in October of 1993 if he had been
breaking the law while on bail, Peterson affirmed that he had. Later that same
day, Peterson confided in a friend, "I've got a big problem and I'm splitting."
Peterson vanished during a meeting with his lawyer and Assistant U.S. Attorney
David Schindler when he stepped out for a drink of water and never came back.
Peterson later remarked, "The FBI raided my house and found radio detection
equipment that I acquired illegally to trace [Kevin] Mitnick. I panicked and
ran."
---
That wasn't the only problem "Agent Squeal" had. He had also been working
for Scientology and doing wiretaps. Among the people he wiretapped were
Richard and Vicki Aznaran, two critics of the time, who subsequently settled
with the cult and recanted their previous testimony. Perhaps the compromising
of their information to the cult had something to do with that.
Small world. Funny to see David J. Schindler back, and working for the same
cult that Justin Tanner Peterson used to work for. You'd think someone with
such a distinguished career up to this point could find a better John to whore
himself to.
---
Security Through Strength
The GUARDIAN Newswire
Volume I, Issue 9
DataLynx, Inc.
6633 Convoy Court
San Diego, CA 92111
(619) 560-8112 (phone)
(619) 560-8114 (fax)
http://www.dlxguard.com
NETSCAPE SERVER CRACKED
Integrated Computing Engines of Cambridge, Massachusetts used an $83,000
computer to break the 40-bit DES encryption scheme used in NetScape's
Commerce Server. In a previous effort, French students employed 120
workstations and two supercomputers to crack NetScape's encryption technique.
INCREASED ATTACKS ON DOD
The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Permanent Investigations has released
its findings on computer security incidents during 1995. They report that the
number of attacks on Department of Defense (DoD) computers and networks
increased by 80%. The estimated total is reported to be 250,000 separate
assaults in 1995 ( see: http://www.epic.org/security/GAO_DOD_security.html )
The same Subcommittee also reported that banks and other large corporations
lost $800 million last year because of attacks on computer systems.
According to another report from the General Accounting Office (GAO),
approximately two-thirds of the attacks on DoD computers were successful
and resulted in unauthorized use of computer systems. The DoD conducted
a test study and found that only 4% of these break-ins were detected, although
three-quarters of the detected intrusions were reported.
Fortunately, most of these attacks were directed at unclassified computers
linked to the Internet and not the classified, internal government networks.
However, the GAO noted that computer hackers have occasionally seized
control of entire systems that support logistics, financial data, and weapons
research and development. More importantly, the GAO report also states,
"The potential exists for foreign terrorists to disrupt U.S. defense operations
by disabling the collection and communication of intelligence data or the
controls for issuing military orders." The GAO report further stated that such
break-ins are "either a multi-million dollar nuisance to defense or a serious
threat to national security."
FEDS USE DATA TAP
In the first case of its type, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) used a
court-ordered data tap on a computer network in pursuit of Julio Cesar Ardita,
a citizen of Argentina charged with illegally breaking into government computer
systems via the Internet. The DOJ believes that Ardita breached a computer
system at Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences and obtained
passwords that later permitted him to successfully assault networks at NASA,
the U.S. Navy, and other government installations. The federal court-order
permits the DOJ to monitor Internet T-1 access sites, intranet trunk lines, and
data transmitted across the net for evidence of criminal activity for a period
of
thirty days.
1995 & 1996 SECURITY SURVEYS
The Ernst & Young/Information Week (EY/IW) and the FBI/Computer Security
Institute (FBI/CSI) security surveys indicate disturbing trends in today's
computing
environment. Both surveys point out an alarming increase in the number of
computer break-ins.
Completed in November 1995, the EY/IW study reported that 20% of 1290
companies surveyed experienced a computer break-in within the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Spring 1996 FB/CSI report shows 42% of 428 respondents
experienced unauthorized computer use in the last 12 months. The attacks
varied from brute-force password guessing to scanning and spoofing.
Both surveys indicate a changing trend: - the most common threats to
computer systems now include a slightly greater risk from external attacks
via the Internet and modem connections than from internal sources. In past
years, internal risks from disgruntled or untrained personnel were seen as the
major threat, comprising about 80% of computer-security incidents.
Another change involves the type of person conducting the illegal assault on
computer systems. In the past, it was more than likely the perpetrators would
be considered "hackers" from the electronic underground whereas the current
threat is just as likely to be a foreign or domestic business competitor or, in
the
case of attacks on government systems, a member of foreign government
intelligence services. The EY/IW survey uncovered some painfully expensive
facts:
* 54% of the 1290 participants reported an information security related
financial loss, however, most were unable or unwilling to estimate the
dollar
amount. 20 respondents lost information worth over $1 million.
* Citibank lost $400,000 in a single cyber-theft
* Heller Financial (Glendale, CA) had $150,000 stolen during an
illegal wire-transfer. (See Whatever Happened to Justin Tanner Peterson?,
next article in this newsletter)
The FBI/CSI survey discovered similarly distressing facts:
* Less than 17% of those companies that were aware of a computer break-in
reported it to law enforcement
* Over 50% of the 428 companies interviewed do not have a policy for
dealing with computer break-ins
* Over 20% of the respondents didn't know if they had been attacked
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO...?
Justin Tanner Peterson, also known as "Agent Steal", you may recall was the
one who pulled off the electronic heist of $150,000 from Heller Financial in
Glendale,
California. Peterson's criminal career started in 1991 when he was picked up
for hacking into TRW and other databases in Dallas. The subsequent police
investigation
uncovered more offenses and Peterson ultimately received a federal indictment
that included eight counts of breaking into TRW computer systems. The indictment
also charged Peterson with possession of stolen passwords, assuming false
identities,
and fraudulently obtaining credit cards.
Peterson cooperated with law enforcement officials and began a complicated
involvement in an "undercover capacity" with the federal government. Court
records in Los Angeles show that FBI Agents and the U.S. Attorney's Office
bargained in 1991 to have Peterson released from jail in Texas to conduct
"investigations".
Peterson would often speak about his undercover work with the FBI and other
agencies to bring down fellow hackers. Indeed, Peterson assisted in the case
against Kevin Mitnick and Kevin Poulsen (see GUARDIAN News, April and
July 1996). As former co-hackers, Peterson and Poulsen conspired together
to pull off computer break-ins at Pacific Bell - the same offenses which lead to
Poulsen's arrest.
Due to a series of delayed sentencings after his case was transferred to
California,
Peterson remained out of jail under FBI supervision from September of 1991
through
October 1993. Eventually, his case was re-opened and Peterson plead guilty to
six
counts and faced a maximum sentence of 40 years confinement and a $1.5 million
fine.
When questioned by a government attorney in October of 1993 if he had been
breaking the law while on bail, Peterson affirmed that he had. Later that same
day, Peterson confided in a friend, "I've got a big problem and I'm splitting."
Peterson vanished during a meeting with his lawyer and Assistant U.S. Attorney
David Schindler when he stepped out for a drink of water and never came back.
Peterson later remarked, "The FBI raided my house and found radio detection
equipment that I acquired illegally to trace [Kevin] Mitnick. I panicked and
ran."
According to law enforcement officials, Peterson's "big problem" was breaking
into computer systems at federal investigative agencies and credit card
information
bureaus. He is also alleged to have illegally acquired over 40 passwords to
"secure"
computer systems.
On August 23, 1994 after spending nearly a year on the run, Peterson was
apprehended after a foot-chase that commenced when he was spotted getting
out of a BMW just two blocks from the FBI's West Los Angeles offices. Just
weeks before his arrest, Peterson stated during a telephone interview, "I
wouldn't
want the powers I have to be in the wrong hands... someone with malicious
intentions."
On March 27, Peterson appeared before the U.S. District Court of Los Angeles
and plead guilty to the electronic wire heist at Heller Financial. He originally
faced
a maximum sentence of up to 60 years in jail and fines of $2 million for
conspiracy,
mail fraud, illegal interception of wire/electronic communications,
money-laundering,
and removal of property to prevent seizure. He was awarded and is still serving
a 36
month jail sentence (with another 36 months of supervisory detention to be
served
concurrently). His sentence also includes an order to pay $38,686 in
restitution.
KEVIN MITNICK UPDATE
The most publicized hacker track-down and capture story in history still drags
on without conclusion (see GUARDIAN News, April 1996). Originally scheduled
for sentencing on July 15 of this year, Kevin Mitnick's appearance before the
Central U.S.District Court of California has been postponed until September 30,
1996.
To recap the Mitnick case, he was arrested February 15th last year for breaking
into a long list of computers and telecommunications equipment. Some of his
capers include breaking into:
* The North American Air Defense Command in Colorado
* MCI computer systems
* Motorola, Inc. computer systems
* Telephone company computers in New York, California, North Carolina and
Washington state
* Apple Computer networks
* Corporate networks where he stole computer programs and technical
manuals
* Defense Department networks where he stole a pre-release version
of DEC's VMS V5.0 operating system
* A Navy computer at Naval Air Station Patuxent River
* The California Department of Motor Vehicles computer systems
where he obtained driver's license numbers, photographs and other highly
sensitive information
* Netcom where he obtained the credit card numbers of over 20,000
subscribers
* The home computer of Tsutomu Shimomura, a computational
physicist at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, which ultimately lead
to his capture
* The Well, a commercial on-line service in the San Francisco
Bay Area, where he attempted to hide files taken from Tsutomu Shimomura's
computer
Originally charged with 23 offenses and facing several hundred thousand
dollars in fines, Mitnick is expected to have all but one charge dropped and
face a maximum of an eight month sentence. Mitnick's lawyer, John Yzurdiaga,
said Mitnick still faces additional charges, but will not discuss details
because
they are under "negotiation".
For more information about the Mitnick case, two books have been released:
"Takedown" and "The Fugitive Game - On Line with Kevin Mitnick". "Takedown"
is co-written by New York Times reporter John Markhoff and Tsutomu Shimomura
and portrays Mitnick in a nearly demonic light. The Fugitive Game" is authored
by
Jonathan Littman and depicts Mitnick in a much less caustic fashion and as more
of 'the hunted' than as 'the hunter'.
The hardcopy edition of The GUARDIAN Newswire is free for DataLynx Customers,
all others $24.00 per year. Contact DataLynx for subscription information.
Copyright ®1997 DataLynx, Inc.
Security Through Strength
The document above is the GUARDIAN Newswire, Volume I, Issue 9
Henri Ladd
> On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:56:37 -0700 (PDT), Eldon <Eldo...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Well, that's a pretty good warning. The California Bar might possibly
>>do something about it, but bar associations are notoriously weak --
>>especially Florida's.
>
>
> [Cue the "It's a Small World" music]
>
> David J. Schindler has prosecuted a number of hackers, including Kevin
> Mitnick and Kevin Poulsen.
>
> Once, when I was talking to Kevin Poulsen, he told me that in his opinion,
> Schindler was a straight shooter, and the only honest attorney who ever
> criminally prosecuted him.
>
> Poulsen also wrote a rather complimentary article about Schindler during
> the Mitnick prosecution: http://tinyurl.com/2223ca
Nice guy or not, David Schindler is acting now as both a prosecutor, and
an attorney representing the Church of Scientology.
http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/8751/bar2sy9.jpg
The question becomes: when Mr. Schindler was a deputy United States
Attorney, was he also a clandestine attorney or agent for Scientology?
> Notice that that article quotes our very own Ethercat.
>
> Schindler has another Scientology connection from way, way back.
> He was one of the two last people to see Justin Tanner Peterson in
> October of 1993, in a meeting with Peterson and his attorney,
> before Peterson split to become a fugitive.
Had Justin Kammer Petersen been prosecuted for his activities spying on
ex-Scientologists back in 1991, the Church of Scientology certainly
would not have been able to get their tax exemption status in 1993 that
they enjoy and profit from now.
Yet Special Agent Stanley E. Ornellas found Peterson in Dallas -- where
the Aznarans were living, at the time they were talking to Richard Behar
researching the TIME Magazine May 1991 article "Scientology: cult of
greed and power" -- and shepherded Petersen back to the safety of Los
Angeles, supposedly for his own protection, and was never charged with
the Texas crimes.
Why didn't the US Attorney's office prosecute Petersen?