------------------------------ From: Rambo Pacifist@placid.com.uunet.uu.net Subject: Hollywood Hacker Sentenced Date: Sun, 9 Jun 91 09:29:09 PDT ******************************************************************** *** CuD #3.21: File 6 of 7: Hollywood Hacker Sentenced *** ******************************************************************** "Writer Gets Probation in Sting at Fox." From THE LA TIMES, May 29, 1991, p. B-3 (Metro Section). By John Kendall. Free-lance writer Stuart Goldman pleaded no contest Tuesday to three felony charges of illegally entering Fox Televisions computer system and stealing story ideas planted by Los Angeles police in a sting operation. In a plea bargain presented by prosecutors and approved by Superior Court Judge Richard Neidorf, the 45-year-old self-proclaimed muckraker was placed on five years' probation and ordered to pay $90,000 in restitution, reduced to $12,000 with Fox's approval. The judge ordered Goldman to serve 120 days in County Jail but stayed the sentence. Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Lowenstein moved for dismissal of four additional counts of entry of a computer illegally. Goldman's no-contest pleas were tantamount to admitting guilt, the prosecutor said. Despite the pleas, Goldman continued to insist outside the courtroom Tuesday that Hollywood-based Fox had attempted to silence him. "There's been an effort by Fox Television to silence me and, as far as I'm concerned, that's what this case was all about," Goldman told reporters. Attorney James E. Hornstein, representing Fox Television, denied Goldman's charge. He said his client had agreed to reduce the court-ordered restitution from $90,000 to $12,000 on Goldman's "plea and statement that he is indigent." "Throughout these proceedings, Mr. Goldman has tried to argue that someone was out to get him," Hornstein said. "The only victims in these proceedings were the computers of "A Current Affair which Mr. Goldman has admitted by the plea he accessed illegally." Goldman was arrested at his Studio City apartment in March of last year by Secret Service agents and Los Angeles police who confiscated a personal computer, floppy disks, Rolodexes and a loaded .38 caliber handgun. Prosecutors accused Goldman of using a password apparently gained when the journalist worked briefly for "A Current Affair" to enter the Fox production's computer system. They charged that Goldman stole bogus tips, including one involving "Ronald Reagan Jr.'s Lover," and attempted to sell the items to a national tabloid magazine. In an interview with The Times last year Goldman explained that he was engaged in a free-lance undercover inquiry of gossip news-papers and TV shows, and he claimed that his arrest was a setup to get him. "These people will look very foolish when they get into court," Goldman insisted at the time. "I'm a good guy, and I'm going to prove it. This is going to be the biggest soap opera you ever saw." After his arrest, Goldman said he was writing a book about his experience as a former gossip media insider who once attacked feminists, gays and other targets in vitriolic columns in the National Review. After Tuesday's court session, Goldman vowed to publish his completed book, "Snitch," as soon as possible. Neidorf ordered authorities to return Goldman's computer. "I'm sure you know now that computers will get you in trouble," the judge said. "If you don't, I'll see you back in her again." ******************************************************************** >> END OF THIS FILE << ***************************************************************************