Date: Sun, 16 Feb 92 19:54:59 PST
From: Moderators (
[email protected])
Subject: File 1--Craig Neidorf's Status
When Federal prosecutor Bill Cook dropped felony charges against Craig
Neidorf in June, 1990, because the government had no case, many
considered it a victory for Craig. For new-comers unfamiliar with the
case, Craig was co-editor of PHRACK magazine, and published documents
that BellSouth and the Secret Service initially claimed were stolen,
worth in excess of $78,000, and were part of a national Legion of Doom
conspiracy that included a scheme to tamper with the E-911 system.
The charges were without substance, and when it became obvious that
the alleged stolen proprietary documents were available to the general
public for under $14, the case was dropped before the prosecution
completed presenting its case. It appeared that Craig had won. "The
system works," some claimed.
It was a Pyrrhic victory. Craig was absolved legally, but the costs of
defending himself were catastrophic. We argued then (and nothing has
changed our minds) that the system did not work. Craig should never
have gone to trial in the first place, and the methods used by the
government were considered inappropriate, federal and private
participants involved in that case are defendants in litigation
challenging their procedures in a related case, and the costs of
Craig's defense to himself and his family, including defense fees, a
disrupted life, and the agony of being stigmatized and demeaned on
national television by Geraldo Rivera and Don Ingraham last year are
part of the costs of the government's actions. Ironically, if the
principle of honor were not so important, Craig arguably would have
been better off to plead guilty rather than defend his honor. It would
have saved him time, money, and bother. When the costs of pleading
guilty to crimes of which one is innocent becomes the best way of
avoiding devastating consequences, we cannot agree that they system
"works." Craig continues to face the consequences of Bill Cook's
action. Bill Cook, whose actions strike us as less than honorable and
many judge as the mark of either an incompetent or a mean-spirited cynic,
has been "rewarded" with a position in private practice (Willian,
Brinks, Olds, Hofer, Gilson & Lione, Ltd., in Chicago).
Craig will eventually graduate from law school, and his experiences
should make him a fine, competent attorney. Unfortunately, the
expenses incurred in his defense, over $100,000, are far beyond his
ability to easily repay. The Electronic Frontier Foundation helped
defray some of the expenses and also provided some legal assistance
that kept the legal bills lower. Unfortunately, there is the
perception that EFF paid for Craig's defense. Although their
contributions were generous and invaluable, Craig was left with a
massive bill, not readily repaid by a 22 year old young man who is
trying to continue his education.
Craig's situation is not simply his own personal problem. He took
considerable risks, for which he incurred massive debt, to defend the
principles in which many of us believe. We are all indebted to him for
his courage, for his concern for justice instead of expediency, and
for the way in which he helped focus the Constitutional and other
issues of cyberspace.
Craig needs our help in defraying the costs of a battle from which we
all benefited. Even $5 would help. Just a 29 cent stamp and a $5
check. That strikes us as a very small gesture on our part to
demonstrate recognition of his sacrifice. And the 3 minutes it would
take to address the check and send it to his attorney:
Katten, Muchin, & Zavis
525 West Monroe Street
Suite 1600
Chicago, Illinois 60606-3693
And do not forget to write Craig's name in the memo section or enclose a
letter explaining what the check is for. If you neglect to do that,
KMZ will not credit his account for the amount of the check.
We printed Bill Cook's opening statement to Craig's June, 1990,
trial. As promised, here is Sheldon Zenner's opening comments.
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