I can think of no other legal bureacracy that I'd rather have handling our terrorists. It's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy. I am not sure what people are concerned about, but I personally guarantee you those men will never walk on free soil ever again, no matter what happens. Based on how things went for me, who didn't even commit the crime at hand, I'm sure that those who do in fact commit the crime, will do the time.
I originally created this account with the intent of being anonymous, but since I've done so, I've come out as a flaming liberal to the types I was concerned about knowing to begin with, and they're okay with it. I don't care anymore.
My name is Paul Timmins, and I've been through the federal court system as a criminal defendant.
I did nothing that I was arrested for, though was arrested twice, stood before courts in two different states, had my home raided and ransacked by the FBI in a 6 hour long raid hauling at least 20 computers out of my apartment, two and a half years of procedural hearings, and a federal indictment for 16 felony counts.
....And I walked out of the courtroom without government provided jewelry, at a price...
Let me tell you a story... (join me behind the cut for a trip through the court system)
After all that, I got a plea bargain for a single misdemeanor count, which I took. 2.5 YEARS AFTER THE ARREST. Trials weren't even on the radar yet at that point! I got 2 years probation and a $100 fine, I was released from probation after 6 months.
The other defendants got 2 years (my roommate), and 9 years (the guy they originally thought was me).
So when it comes to people who did something wrong, there's nothing more soul crushing, wallet crushing, and life crushing than being a federal defendant. I almost feel sorry for them.
A timeline of events:
November 9, 2003: Apartment raided. They had a warrant to basically take anything with blinking lights on it or words on it. A lot of stuff walked out the door that day. But I wasn't there to see it, as i was busy having a fine meet and greet with the city of southfield and the FBI's finest on the side of the freeway. I was pulled over on the way to the airport for a business trip. The FBI made an interesting case for all the warrants, but had come up with the invalid conclusion that I was the man in the car simply because I was white, around 6 foot, and we were roomates. Interestingly they point out that the UNSUB 1 they identify as me had sideburns. I don't, but the guy who was actually in the car sure did.
We were both arrested without incident, and released on $10,000 personal recognizance bond with some interesting computer and travel restrictions. In case you didn't know, by the way, when you get arrested by the feds, they take your belt and your shoelaces. This little detail makes walking out of federal court on bond a very awkward activity, especially if you wear boots and loose pants. :)
We never got the pretrial hearing we could have used to get me off right away. Nobody ever does. Because you're entitled to a pretrial hearing OR an indictment by a grand jury. Turns out, indictments by grand juries are easier and block any way you can get yourself out early on in the case.
Amusingly I tried going to work the next day like nothing happened. Turns out my case wasn't like most cases where nobody hears about anything unless you tell them.
I never heard about the people at work who caught a DUI, or anything like that.
But it turned out that my not watching TV or listening to radio was a bad habit that morning, as it was on all the morning drive shows, and in the front page of the oakland section of the detroit free press. I didn't know, and I couldn't get on the internet to hit googlenews to see that there were literally thousands of articles about the incident online with my name in big bold letters. Needless to say it was awkward!
The next day I got a call from my court appointed attorney, bragging about how he managed to negotiate a killer deal without talking to me. Instead of the 5 years the felony count they charged me with could bring, I got a commitment from the prosecutor that i'd only end up serving a year! What a great deal for something I never did! I thought it was interesting that a lawyer who I spent 5 minutes with was proud of getting me a quick and easy felony without even getting the details of the case. After calling him back, giving him an earful, and getting to hear him exasperatingly explaining that EVEN IF I WAS INNOCENT THIS WAS MORE THAN I COULD EVER HOPE FOR. Obviously I wasn't going to get justice through my court appointed.
I begged my parents for money to hire a lawyer who would talk to me and hear my side of the story before negotiating a plea deal. After much deliberations and them finding places they could get money from, I got it. This was a great decision in the long run. I retained a private attorney. I wonder if the public defender ever realized I fired him, or why. That was the only time I ever spoke to him.
and since the government doesn't like to admit they were wrong.....
November 19, 2009: The indictment hit. I heard about it from my attorney, in between calls from reporters all over the place. You see, the indictment is done in secret, and you don't get to present evidence, or argue your side of the case, or anything. You get the indictment on the fax at the same time all the news outlets do. Note now 3 people committed the crimes. You see, now, the story's changed. Because during questioning I mentioned that I regularly loaned computer parts I wasnt using to people, that Adam may have had one of my wireless cards in his posession, suddenly I'm public enemy number one again. I should have just shut up and demanded an attorney. But I thought I could talk my way out of the questioning. Ha! And now, they have the story right as to who was in the car. If only they were so accurate to begin with.
At this time, another case is started, this one in Charlotte, North Carolina. That lawyer I put on retainer and started planning my case with using money I borrowed from my dad? Well, now I have to find one down south, and find a way to replan my entire strategy from 4 states away. Fortunately I was able to convince my lawyer to stay on the case and get admitted in north carolina courts for the case at hand. Expensive, since I had to fly him out there on my dime for every little hearing, and put him up in a hotel, but well worth it.
Due to a clerical boo boo, by the way, the arrest warrants issued for that case accidentally listed us as wanted for drug trafficing instead of computer intrusion. My lawyer and I thought it was pretty amazing and pointed that out to them. They got it taken care of, but not before a very, very awkward traffic stop. If you've never had a federal drug warrant come up during a routine traffic stop, I'll spare you the details and you can rest assured it's not a very pleasant thing to have happen to you.
July 15, 2004: Due to a number of paperwork mixups, and other things, I was not even "arrested" for the indictment until this day. (When indicted, you have to be arrested for the crime. You go to the US marshal's office, they hand you handcuffs, you put them on yourself, walk toward the marshal, and they lead you into a room to be photographed, fingerprinted, and then released again. That's what I did on July 15. I had to travel to NC to get arrested.
August 3, 2004: Finally, I get to enter my plea of guilty to a federal misdemeanor.
(In case you're curious, the actual crime I plead guilty to was checking my email from Lowe's open wireless access points. Yes, they weren't encrypted, and yes, while the store was preparing for its grand opening, I did in fact do this. I admitted to it in order to give them something I could plead guilty to.)
I also waive my right to an indictment (yes, though I was indicted before, this was on the felony case, which I am being removed from. I'm waiving a grand jury on my misdemeanor.
So I get to get my sentence and go home, right? Not at all.
After this, I get a wonderful packet of paper about an inch thick to fill out, detailing what I do, where I do it, where all my money's at, how much I make, what kind of car I drive, where I live, everyone I live with, every doctor and medical person I've seen recently, especially psychiatrists and psychologists and counselors, where I went to school, what my grades were like, etc.
They pulled my high school transcripts, interviewed my family, talked to all my doctors, my employer, pulled all my bank records, and even interviewed my high school principal and guidance counselor! The paperwork that came of that was truly impressive and at least as thick as my interview forms.
November 18, 2004: I was given the aforementioned interview, and a review period started where I could review it, and their recommendations, and protest anything I didn't agree with. As it turns out, I'm a pretty nice guy according to everyone, and the probation department agreed. I'm on track to get the year of probation rather than jail time!
April 5, 2005: I was finally sentenced! During sentencing, the US Attorney told the judge that I had no intent to commit fraud or steal anything, it was a simple case of electronically trespassing. 2 years probation, $100 fine. They even waived my requirement to undergo drug testing. It really doesn't get much better than this from a federal court!
And for the first time in 2 years, I was legally allowed to do non-work related things on a computer! There were no computer restrictions on the probation.
November 21, 2005: I was dismissed from probation 1.5 years early. I found out when I called my PO to get a travel permit to see my family for thanksgiving. He said "You're a good kid, stay out of trouble. You don't have to have a permit anymore, because I released you from probation yesterday, and the judge signed it. You're free. Happy Thanksgiving!". I nearly broke down in tears.
Where are we now?
I am now married to my then girlfriend, bought a house, had a kid, and am gainfully employed running the network of a telephone company in the midwest. I wouldn't have time to break into computers even if I wanted to. I still owe my dad money for the lawyer. I still don't have the computers they seized, which I want because there was pictures and other things that exist only there. I'm entitled to get them as part of my plea bargain. I may see them sometime this decade?
Adam served his time, learned a lot of new lessons, and is now married to the girlfriend he met during the trial, and is gainfully employed running the network of a fledgling international long distance provider. We remain friends. He now has no interest in the sorts of things we used to do, nor the time to do them.
Salcedo is an inmate at McKean FCI in Pennsylvania, and is scheduled for release on 10-09-2011. I haven't been in touch as he's not allowed to speak with us. I used to seethe with anger at the mere thought of his name, but have since made peace with that side of things and hold no ill will for him. I forgive him for what he did, but I'm pretty sure we're not going to be best buds once he's out. I hope he's learned the lesson the rest of us did, and can move on with his life.
Disclaimer:
In my defense, I'd like to point out that while I was no angel, and I did in fact know what they were doing, I was trying to convince them to knock it off, and thought they would bore of it and find something else to do if I was annoying enough about it.
It's not actually illegal to know of a crime in progress and not report it. It's illegal to materially assist in a crime, but to remain silent (or in my case, remain in opposition and obstruct however I could because, unsurprisingly, I didn't want my shit taken by the FBI because I ratted them out, or they got caught and I didn't want them to steal people's credit cards. Though I've hacked into many networks in my somewhat misspent youth, I never once stole anything or broke anything. It was like capture the flag for me, nothing more. See how many places you could get to, leave no trace, do no harm. I believed then, as I still do, that had I ratted them out to the FBI, the circumstances would have been materially similar. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I am, however, far more careful who I hang out with.