We've more or less ignored the Anthony Pellicano case here at The Daily Caveat. Frankly, I can't much relate to the kind of "investigative" work he practiced. As salacious and juicy as the case proved to be, it never felt right to cover Pellicano's prosecution in this space.

However, an interesting offshoot of the case (in which attorneys who employed Pellicanos found themselves under indictment) is a "wake up call" for attorneys on how they use the services of private investigators. Law.com has thoughts from several notable attorneys on the ripple effects from the case.

Here's a hint - you want the one who is willing to tell you "NO" and makes it their business to keep you away from garbage tactics that can embarrass your client or sink your firm. Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. 

Labels: Anthony Pellicano, HP, private investigator

Investigators are seeking further information on the German telecom giant's organized spying campaign on journalists and company employees. Notably, DT has admitted surveilling Financial Times Deutschland reporter, Tasso Enzweiler. FTD is owned by mega-media conglomerate, Bertelsmann which has mad its own noises about pursing criminal and civil actions against the overzealous DT. Deutsche Telekom, for its part, is in full spin mode, announcing the company's own investigation into the illegal activities.

-- MDT

Labels: Bertelsmann, Deutsche Telekom, HP, pretexting, Tasso Enzweiler

Someone didn't learn from the HP fiasco, it seems.

-- MDT

Labels: corporate spying, Deutsche Telekom, HP

The New York Times is reporting on a private settlement reached between HP and several journalists over HP's acquisition of the journalists private phone records. HP, aided an abetted by law firm Wilson Sonsini famously went on the war path against C-suite leaks under the direction of then CEO Patricia Dunn. Enlisting a small army of investigators from all across the country HP was determined to identify and eradicate the source of the troublesome leaks - by any means necessary.

The means ended up being a smorgasborg of high level and low level investigative tasks - from surveillance to pulling trash to the acquisition of phone records belonging to company board members as well as reporters. In the course of what became known as the Kona II investigation HP board member and Silicon Valley royalty, Tom Perkins - a suspected leaker - got wind of the activities. Perkins subsequently resigned from the board, which in a bit of executive gamesmanship, forced HP to file an 8K with the SEC reporting the departure - and the reason behind it.

About that time the proverbial shit hit the fan and the story was splashed across business pages from here to Taipei.

HP has already skated on any meaningful civil or criminal charges (the firm paid a $14.5 million settlement to head off charges in California), but the attention brought by the pretexting fracas led to new Federal legislation closing the legal loophole that had allowed private investigators to use pre-textual techniques to obtain private phone records. While this latest news of a private settlement brings to a close one more aspect of the story five additional lawsuits brought by journalists and their families remain pending. You an be sure we'll bring further happenings on those cases to your attention.

-- MDT

Labels: HP, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Tom Perkins, Wilson Sonsini

Can Barbara Walters make him cry? You'll have to tune in to find out.

-- MDT

Labels: 60 Minutes, HP, Tom Perkins

Venture capitalist and bon vivant Thomas Perkins is one of the long-time stars of Silicon Valley, but he gained a different kind of noteriety last year when he went to war with then Hewlett Packard Chairman of the Board, Patrica Dunn.

Perkins, an HP director, was fingered (incorrectly) by Dunn as the mole in what became known as the Kona II investigation of HP employees and the journalists with which they may have sharing company secrets. Dunn initiated the investigation, with famed Cali counsel Wilson Sonsini at her side, employing several independent private investigators - all in an attempt to shut down the leaks she felt were plaguing the company.

As has been widely reported, the investigation went well beyond what was advisable or legal and led to a major conflagration in the press as well as state and national legislatures over the issue of phone record privacy and the investigative tactic known as pretexting. Dunn herself, along with HP's general counsel, was a casualty of all this attention, losing her chairmanship and eventually resigning from the HP board.

The Times of London has run an excerpt from Tom Perkins autobiography, Valley Boy, which describes his first person reaction to the Dunn investigation and the thought process behind his subsequent resignation from the HP board. Really good stuff...

-- MDT

Labels: HP, Kona II, Patricia Dunn, pretexing, Thomas Perkins

The Daily Caveat is a simple man and not one routinely given over to reading CondeNast. But darn it if their Portfolio online imprint (currently in oh-so Web2.0 BETA) hasn't been worming its way to my attention over the last week or so. A few examples:

Lets start with the quick piece on the HP spying lawsuits, a topic discussed in this space only yesterday. As an amusing corollary, there's also this somewhat tongue in cheek guide to surviving corporate spying.

And there is this very interesting story on a couple of hedge fund managers who are currently suing their former law firm, Akin Gump, for what they've come to see as seriously bad advice on what does and does not constitute illegal trading.

For something a little more lo-fi, check out this piece on a Tennessee investiation into graveyard swindlers, Quest Minerals & Exploration who perpetrated "history’s first large-scale white-collar grave robbery." Yea, you'll want to give it a read.

Personally, I'll read anything called Blackmail, Sex & Corporate Secrets which takes as its subject, Lord John Browne, Baron of Madingley and the former CEO of British Petroleum. So there you go...four arguments for a subscription.

-- MDT

Labels: Akin Gump, BP, CondeNast Portfolio, hedge fund, HP, John Browne, Quest Minerals

In a move that had been expected for some time, several lawsuits alleging "illegal and reprehensible conduct" have been filed against Hewlett Packard as well as the company's former CEO, Patricia Dunn and Kevin Hunsaker, PH's former ethics chief.

These would be the two company executives most closely associated with the hiring of private investigators, who among other things, used pretextual tricks to obtain private phone records of several individuals who HP suspected of facilitating media leaks of sensitive company information.

Amongst the plaintiffs in the five cases are journalists from the Associated Press and CNET. More on the pending cases via MLive. Loads of background on HP corporate spying fiasco is available via the tags below.

-- MDT

Labels: HP, Kevin Hunsaker, Patricia Dunn, pretexing, Wilson Sonsini

HP violated mandatory disclosure rules when it failed to come clean in company 8Ks about the reason that shareholder Tom Perkins left the board of directors. Perkins, a noted venture capitalist and an old-school Don of Silicon Vally hardly needed the HP board berth to pad his extensive resume.

As you may recall, Perkins left his seat to protest HP's spying on himself, other board members and various journalists.

HP top brass, including former CEO Patricia Dunn believed Perkins to be the source of media leaks that were hampering the company. In response Dunn, HP's general counsel, outside counsel Wilson Sonsini and a cadre of investigators and subcontractors initiated what came to be known as Kona II, an investigation that included surveillance, pulling trash and obtaining phone records under false pretenses.

There are no "teeth" to the SEC's settlement with HP. The company simply double-promises not to violate disclosure rules in the future. No penalty was assessed.

For further background on the HP shenanigans - that is, if you're not totally sick to death of the story - check out the tags below.

-- MDT

Labels: HP, Kona II, Patricia Dunn, pretexing, Wilson Sonsini

Three journalists targeted in Patricia Dunn's Kona II leak investigation have retained the services of Panish Shea & Boyle and plan to sue HP for invasion of privacy.

Dawn Kawamoto, Stephen Shankland and Tom Krazit, who all work for CNet's online news service, are not seeking monetary compensation. Rather, they are seeking punative measures against HP for the company's conduct, which included obtaining the journalists phone records under false pretenses - pretexting.

For another account of how HP treated journalists throughout their Kona II investigation, recall the account of the Wall Street Journal's Pu Wing Tam "HP Had me Surveilled for a Year."

-- MDT

Labels: Brian Panish, CNet, HP, Panish Shea and Boyle, pretexting

Interesting article from CIO Today regarding a rash of ethics issues at tech companies. They site 75 investigations over ethics issues in the last few months. Some familiar faces in there: HP, Take Two Interactive, etc. But the top-down look is worth a read.

-- MDT

Labels: business ethics, Google, HP, Take Two Interative

Internal leaks, paranoia, overzealous management response, legality optional...this sound familiar to anyone?

How long until the P.I.s Wal-Mart hired to do their dirty work end up with their names splashed across the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

Hey! That was fast...although no P.I.s in evidence yet...

-- MDT

Labels: HP, surveillance, Wal-Mart

Talk about a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing... The California AG, who was full of tough talk only a few months back when it came to the HP pretexting scandal, has dropped criminal charges against HP's former Chairman, Patrician Dunn.

They've also reached plea agreements with her co-defendants (former ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and private investigators Ronald DeLia and Matthew DePante) basically amounting to restitution and community service.

Still, Federal pursuit of prosecution is not entirely out of the question. To date only PI. Bryan Wagner has so far faced federal felony charges. He previously plead guilty to both identity theft and conspiracy.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, Kevin Hunsaker, Kona II, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Ronald DeLia

From Harpers's January issue...just snippits but worth revisiting.

Always be careful what you put in an email, Mr. Hunsaker (HP's "I shouldn't have asked" ethics director).

Hat tip to The Consumerist.

-- MDT

Labels: Harpers, HP, Kona II, pretexting, The Consumerist

The HP pretexting debacle is barely cold but the maker of those printer cartridges that always seem to fail on nice round page numbers has another problem on the horizon, and a familiar one at that. HP has received notice from the U.S. senate, which is seeking the company's help in gaining a deeper understanding of Mercury Interactive's stock option irregularities. HP knew about MI's backdating issues when it purchased the company back in July 2006 but assured investors it was no big deal. Click here for more on HP's legal outlook.

-- MDT

Labels: backdating, HP, Mercury Interative, pretexting, stock options

Michael Holston will assume the role of vice president and general counsel for HP, which cleaned house after news of Patricia Dunn's Kona 2 investigation exploded into the newspapers. Holston replaces Ann Baskins who departed HP in September in response to the scandal over the technology company's internal leak investigation.

Investigators working on behalf of HP used pretextual tactics (in this case, assumed identities) to access private phone records of HP directors and even journalists, hunting for the source of high level company leaks. These tactices were supposedly vetted by HP's general counsel's office and also run past outside counsel Wilson Sonsini. WS has also been dumped by HP as the company tries to creep out from under the long shadow of its own making.

-- MDT

Labels: HP, Patricia Dunn, pretexting, Wilson Sonsini

Charges of pretexing used in other instances by HP? Former HP vice president of business development, Karl Lambe's case was dismissed, but his allegations sure are interesting...

Meanwhile, it looks like HP PI, Bryan Wagner, who we las saw pleading guilty and gearing up to testify for the prosecution, won't be facing state charges. Prince among men, Peter Henning at the White Collar Crime Prof blog has the reasons why.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, Karl Lambe, Peter Henning, pretexting

From the SacBee, one of those stories I meant to post late on Friday but has gotten held over until today. Last week, when the papers were hinting that HP subcontractor, Bryan Wagner would be testifying for the prosecution, here's why:

Bryan Wagner, who faces federal identity theft and conspiracy charges, is accused of posing as a journalist to access the reporter's private phone records as part of the computer and printer maker's ill-fated attempt to ferret out the source of boardroom leaks to the media. The way Wagner was charged Wednesday - he agreed to waive grand jury proceedings - suggests he's likely cooperating with investigators aiming for more high-profile targets, said Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor in San Francisco who is now in private practice.

"The government likes to start at the lowest point in the chain of responsibility and flip people," Jacobs said. "What it signals is that the government is trying to build the case against those more senior.

More on Wagner's fate via The Sacramento Bee.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, indictment, pretexting

Following Bryan Wagner's guilty plea. a date has been set for his sentencing - June 20th 2007. Wagner's lawyer has also, apparently, confirmed that Wagner will be testifying for the prosecution.

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, pretexting

Bryan Wagner takes a fall.

This guy is not even 30...a cautionary tale for P.I.s who put saying "yes" to a client above the client's best interest - and their own...

Wagner's actions were undoubtably pursuant to the request and at the direction of someone. And we'll find out the who, because Wagner seems to be cooperating. Federal prosecutors are not going to settle for busting the chops of some subcontractor when he can give them HP top brass and, perhaps, a few names from Wilson Sonsini too.

Check out the typical great collection of links on the story from The Jurist.

-- MDT

Labels: Bryan Wagner, HP, identity theft, pretexting, Wilson Sonsini