More charges may be filed in HP spying case

updated 9:12 a.m. ET Oct. 6, 2006

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Authorities have hinted they may file more charges in Hewlett-Packard Co’s ill-fated media-leak investigation, even after wrangling two of the technology company’s top insiders.

Ousted Chairwoman Patricia Dunn and former ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker surrendered, were booked and released Thursday, a day after being charged — along with three private investigators — with felonies for their roles in HP’s spying scandal.

At least one expert said the California Attorney General’s office might strike plea deals with the three investigators — Ronald DeLia, Matthew DePante and Bryan Wagner — to secure their testimony against Dunn and Hunsaker and gather evidence against any other HP insiders believed to have sanctioned their conduct.

“Their involvement is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Scott Christie, a former prosecutor who headed the computer hacking and intellectual property unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey.

“Others knew about what they were doing, and approved of their conduct. There may be others charged and there may not be, but I would expect the AG will try to work his way up the ladder,” Christie added.

MORE ON HP SCANDAL 3 investigators plead not guilty in scandal Dunn appears in court, hears fraud charges Newsweek: Business may face civil case Former CEO Fiorina also ordered probes Ousted chairwoman to begin chemotherapy Whistleblower's e-mail a blunt warning Scandal timeline | Key players   SOUND OFF: How will the scandal hurt HP?

Attorney General Bill Lockyer said after filing the charges in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Wednesday that the investigation was not complete.

HP CEO Mark Hurd is not among those named in the criminal complaint, nor was HP’s former General Counsel Ann Baskins, who had some oversight over the probe.

Dunn appeared briefly in court Thursday, signing a promise to return to court on Nov. 17 for an arraignment. Afterward, she smiled and held hands with her husband before hopping in a chauffeur-driven sedan for the short trip to the county sheriff’s office for booking.

Hunsaker also was booked and released, and his arraignment was scheduled for Dec. 6, his legal team said.

DeLia and Wagner, both out of state, have made arrangement to surrender within a week, according to Lockyer’s office. Prosecutors said they had not yet been able to reach the lawyer for DePante. A call to that lawyer by The Associated Press on Thursday was not returned.

The five defendants each face four felony counts: use of false or fraudulent pretenses to obtain confidential information from a public utility; unauthorized access to computer data; identity theft; and conspiracy to commit each of those crimes. Each charge carries a fine of up to $10,000 and three years in prison.

HP’s investigation, which took place earlier this year and in 2005, erupted into a national scandal last month after HP disclosed that detectives it hired had obtained the private phone records of directors, employees and journalists in HP’s effort to ferret out the source of media leaks.

Using a shady tactic known as “pretexting,” the detectives obtained the Social Security numbers of their targets and fooled telephone companies into divulging their detailed call logs.

After Dunn’s court appearance, neither she nor an attorney representing her, S. Raj Chatterjee, would comment.

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