1993 Charge Against Cyberhacker Is Dropped

Notorious cyberhacker Kevin Mitnick cleared a legal hurdle Friday when state prosecutors dropped a 1993 hacking case against him because they said he had been incorrectly charged.

Donald Randolph, Mitnick’s lawyer, said he approached the Los Angeles district attorney’s office in April and told them their case would not stand up in court. Mitnick, who allegedly tried to persuade a Department of Motor Vehicles employee to fax him a copy of an undercover FBI agent’s driver’s license, was charged with illegally accessing a computer, a felony.

“A few months ago I met with the D.A.’s office and asked them to take a hard look at the case,” Randolph said. “I thought that, if they litigate the thing heavily down the line, it would not be to their advantage.

“In the end, they agreed and I’m glad they did,” he added.

Now prosecutors acknowledge that Mitnick should have been charged with the crime of causing someone else to access the computer illegally, a misdemeanor. Because the statute of limitations has run out on that crime, he cannot now be charged with it, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Daniel Bershin, who said he was operating on orders from his supervisors to dismiss the case.

Mitnick now could be released to a halfway house to serve the end of his plea-bargained 54-month sentence for federal hacking and hacking-related crimes, Randolph said. He said he plans to ask the judge for just such an order Monday, when Mitnick is officially sentenced for his federal crimes.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Chris Painter said he will oppose any release to a halfway house.

“He has not been known to follow court orders in the past,” Painter said, specifically ones relating to terms of release from prison.