33 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
33 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
3 FROM "LEGION OF DOOM" SENTENCED
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(Nov. 17)
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Twenty-year-old Robert J. Riggs of Decatur, Ga., has been sentenced to a
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21-month prison term on federal charges of breaking into a nine-state 911
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emergency network and passing access codes to other computerists.
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Two associates -- Franklin E. Darden Jr., 23, of Norcross, Ga., and Adam E.
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Grant, 22, of Atlanta -- were handed 14-month prison terms, seven of which can
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be served in a halfway house.
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The three were alleged members of the underground "Legion of Doom" computing
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group. As reported earlier, Riggs and Darden pleaded guilty to one count of
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conspiracy each and faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Grant
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pleaded guilty to possessing 15 or more BellSouth access devices with intent to
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defraud and could have received 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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Reporting from Atlanta, The Associated Press says US District Judge Owen
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Forrester ordered the three to serve probation and perform community service
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after they serve their prison time.
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As noted, Riggs was charged with breaking into the Atlanta-based BellSouth
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Corp's 911 network covering Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky,
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Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. The intrusion, which
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occurred between September 1987 & July 1989, did not disrupt service. A stolen
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computer program was published in an electronic newsletter.
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Darden's lawyer, Michael Hauptman, told the court yesterday his client "was
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involved in a quest for knowledge. Frank was addicted to this world of computer
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doors ... put before him."
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Judge Forrester ordered Riggs to surrender to begin his sentence no earlier
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than Feb. 15, while Darden and Grant were told to report Jan. 4.
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Meanwhile, a threatened attack on phone networks by computer vandals in
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response to the sentence apparently did not materialize. As reported yesterday,
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sources told AP that phone companies around the country were taking special
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precautions because of rumors of a possible attack.
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--Charles Bowen
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