hacker
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who achieves goals and solves problems by non-standard means. The term has become associated in popular culture with a security hackersomeone with knowledge of bug (computing), bugs or exp ...
living in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. He was a regular panelist on the
WBAI
WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic musi ...
Haverford Township, Pennsylvania
Haverford Township is a home rule municipality township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States.crystal radio and other technological applications. The police who responded were not knowledgeable about technology or computers, which led them to confiscate all the crystals as suspicious materials along with some reading material such as ''The Whole Spy Catalog''.
After the
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, thei ...
inquired about the seized equipment, Special Agent Thomas Varney informed local police that some of the equipment was for illicit purposes only. Bernie was subsequently arrested and charged with possession of a non-working
RadioShack
RadioShack (formerly written as Radio Shack) is an American electronics retailer that was established in 1921 as an amateur radio mail-order business. Its parent company was purchased by Tandy Corporation in 1962, which shifted its focus from ma ...
Red box (phreaking) tone phone dialer. Additional materials were seized and never returned.
Criminal complaint
Charges were filed against Edward E. Cummings (case number 95-320) in the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Philad ...
. The charges were for the possession of a speed dialer, an IBM Thinkpad laptop, and computer discs which could be used for unauthorized telecommunications access. The Grand Jury convened on March 13, 1995, and Bernie S's trial was scheduled for September 8, 1995. Varney labeled Bernie S a danger to society for having too much information, due to the publishing by 2600 Films and Bernie S of Secret Service offices locations, phone numbers, and radio frequencies, along with photos and codes.
Imprisonment
On September 7, 1995, Bernie S. pleaded guilty to possession of technology which could be used in a fraudulent manner. He was released on October 13, 1995. In January 1996, he was arrested for tampering with evidence, a violation of the conditions set for his probation. In March 1996, he received a sentence of 6 to 24 months.
While awaiting a parole hearing, he was charged by
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the List of counties in Pennsylvania, four ...
prison officials with misuse of the telephone system when he received a call from Rob Bernstein, a reporter for ''Internet Underground''. The charges could have added as much as nine months to his sentence. Bernie S. appealed the decision, and he filed a grievance for harassment and intimidation against the prison. While awaiting his release on parole, he was moved to a high-security facility, where he was attacked by a fellow inmate and suffered a broken arm and jaw.
After a letter writing campaign, a telephone campaign, and a physical demonstration outside the prison where he was housed, on September 13, 1996 Bernie S. was released on parole.
Notes
References
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*{{cite web
, author = 2600.com
, title = Bernie S.
, url = http://www.2600.com/law/bernie.html
, publisher = 2600 Inc.
, access-date = January 20, 2013