Ex-HP Chair Dunn case dismissed

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 14 (UPI) -- Former Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairwoman Patricia Dunn has been cleared of all charges in the U.S. computer company's boardroom-spying scandal.

Three other defendants -- HP's former chief ethics lawyer Kevin Hunsaker and private investigators Ronald DeLia and Matthew DePante -- pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and are expected to complete 96 hours of community service by September, the California Attorney General's office said.

"All charges (against Dunn) were dismissed by the judge," defense lawyer James Brosnahan said. "This is the right result."

The defendants faced felony charges of fraudulently obtaining private information from a public utility, accessing computer data without permission, identity theft and conspiracy.

Each charge carried a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

HP agreed in December to pay $14.5 million to settle potential civil charges in the case.

Authorities began investigating HP in September after the company revealed it hired private detectives to trace the source of leaks from HP's board to reporters. The detectives allegedly used a tactic called pretexting -- pretending to be the people they were investigating -- to gain unauthorized access to telephone records of people targeted in the HP investigation.

As a result, Dunn and Hunsaker stepped down from their jobs.