H-P's Dunn Enters No Plea, Charges Dismissed

GogglesPisano writes "CNN earlier reported that former HP chairwoman Patricia Dunn would plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulent wire communications stemming from her involvement in last year's corporate eavesdropping scandal. The story was later amended after charges again st Dunn were dropped. The original charges, four felony counts, were reduced to misdemeanors in exchange for a plea bargain. Her three co-defendants are expected to receive 96 hours of community service; in Dunn's case this sentence is likely to be waived due to illness." Update: 03/15 02:21 GMT by KD : The prosecutor in the case issued a correction to the eariler pronouncement that Dunn would plead guilty to a misdemeanor. "At court today, Patricia Dunn did not enter any plea in response to the misdemeanor count, and the court exercised its discretion by dismissing the case against her," the revised statement said.

Must be nice to be rich

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd get a stiffer penalty for jaywalking

These assholes get away clean, with no criminal records and not a day in jail. Wanna bet what would happen to you or I if we got caught doing the same thing?

ah

[mastershake_phd]

Her three co-defendants are expected to receive 96 hours of community service; in Dunn's case this sentence is likely to be waived due to illness.
 
Ah, the system works....oh wait no it doesnt.

Just plain wrong

[KingSkippus]

Leeway for the submitter? Okay. But whoever approved it to go on the front page needs to make a correction as quickly as possible. The headline and summary are just plain wrong. Seriously. 180 degrees.

I didn't see it posted as a "mysterious future" article or I would have e-mailed the editor to say, "Hey, this is extremely incorrect, and you need to not post it..."

Re:Here's why

[terrymr]

Kind of ironic when you put out a false press release in a case when you're dealing with fraud isn't it ?

Re:What crime?!?!

[tkrotchko]

It's not just that it was white collar, it's that the people doing it were rich and powerful.

The trouble with saying that it's "white collar" is that it doesn't recognize the real reason she got a pass. She's rich and has powerful friends.

Well well...

[GFree]

The fact that your regular folk would have been F'd in the A for something like this while the corporate suits get off pretty lightly, is yet another reason why it's called the legal system as opposed to the justice system.

Re:ambiguous responsibility

[HomelessInLaJolla]

of people were responsible for the disaster, but none of them actually realized what was going on

They should be guilty of perjury as well. There's a difference between "I don't remember what happened" and "I don't know what happened." They darn sure as heck knew what was going on.

every one of them came back with repeated assurances that everything was legal, these were routine operations, and there was no problem

There's something wrong if people in Dunn and Hurd's positions aren't able to identify a yes-man or an outright liar. How much were they being paid? The more likely explanation is that they asked only for the purpose of creating an auditable paper trail to try and cover their behinds if the scam was every exposed.

Dunn lost her job and was charged with multiple felonies, while Hurd is now running the company

Every scam creates a scapegoat when busted.

Re:Can't you read? Charges were dropped!

[HomelessInLaJolla]

the particularly greedy and corrosive nature of our system of capitalism

Our system of capitalism isn't really capitalism. It's a pyramid scheme of debt. Those in priveleged parts of the pyramid are allowed to create debt for others (see HP's stock price), retain profit for themselves (how much were these jokers being paid?), while being shielded from any real-world repercussions (96 hours of suspended community service for four felonies isn't a bad deal at all).

Once in a while, for PR purposes, someone has to take a real fall (eg. Lay, Martha). Usually they get pampered once they're out of the spotlight.

Go Ahead Do Nothing

[asphaltjesus]

Whining about how the rich and powerful have it easy in the /. echo chamber is the easiest thing to do. It makes you and the moderators feel better too.

Meanwhile, it's our economy (that means your economic prosperity in comparison to others in the world) that is ultimately harmed when investors all over the globe invest their funds in more transparent markets.

Here in California we voted _lots_ of harsh penalties for violent and drug-related crimes. Who says we can't do the same for white collar crimes?

Oh wait. That means you and I would have to _do_ something about it. Nevermind.

Re:ambiguous responsibility

[mOdQuArK!]

As they say, ignorance of the law is no excuse - except, apparently, if you're a rich, "upstanding" member of the community.

If they were worried enough about the legality of their operation to check with legal, then they damn well _knew_ that they were walking a dangerous line.

Hypocrisy at its finest

[bigbadbuccidaddy]

Someone who commits a real crime gets off scott free due to illness, whereas,
on the same day,
in the same state,
this http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=politics& id=5122773 [go.com] dying woman is loses her appeal,
and is sent to prison for smoking dope.