From: pcw@access.digex.net (Peter Wayner)
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 95 12:58:52 PST
To: "Bob Bruen, MIT Lab for Nuclear Science" <BRUEN@mitlns.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: another fbi prosecution
Message-ID: <v02130502acea65f513e9@[199.125.128.5]>
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At 7:30 AM 12/5/95, Bob Bruen, MIT Lab for Nuclear Science wrote:

> Dominick had his campus account taken away after other users complained
> that he had been "advertising business proposals inappropriately on line."
> The FBI alleges that he then sent 24,000 email messages in one day from a
> commercial account (unamed) to Monmouth's system.. This denial of service
> attack was successful for about 5 hours. He is facing six(6) years in prison
> and a up to $350,000 in fines (1.20 years/hr and and $70,000/hr).
>
> His lawyer (Kenneth Weiner) claims that "even if his client sent the mail
> bomb" since no damage was done to the system, he could not be convicted
> under the computer fraud statute. He also claims that prosecutors are trying
> to make an example of his client. The university is still trying to figure
> out whether he can be punished under the university code of conduct.
>

If Monmouth college is like almost every other college I know,
they routinely send
out "mail bombs" to their alumni. That is, mass mailings sent through the postal
service. Given that we've agreed to legitimize this behavior in the paper world,
I can't see what's so wrong about doing it in the electronic world.

Of course, he could have been spreading false advertising which would really
be fraud.

-Peter