As Salmon tells it, Aleynikov worked for Goldman-Sachs but left to take another position, downloading some pertinent software as he did so. That may have constituted some form of intellectual theft, for which Aleynikov perhaps could have been and perhaps should have been sued, or maybe even charged in New York State criminal courts. Instead, Goldman-Sachs got its buddies in the U.S. Attorney’s office to bring charges under a federal statute intended to protect secret information in the possession of U.S. defense contractors. Aleynikov was convicted in a jury trial in December 2010 and went to prison. According to what I’ve read, the Second Circuit Court has not only overturned his conviction but prevented his retrial.
According to Salmon, “The forthcoming decision from the Second Circuit is likely to be a doozy; I’m told that the judges shredded the prosecutors during the oral hearing. And certainly their decision to enter a judgment of acquittal, rather than any kind of retrial, is a strong indication that they handed down this order with extreme prejudice against prosecutorial overreach.
“Is it the government’s job to expend enormous prosecutorial resources protecting Goldman Sachs from competition? The Second Circuit certainly doesn’t seem to think so, and neither do I. Aleynikov’s actions were certainly stupid, and quite possibly illegal. But the way that Goldman managed to sic New York prosecutors on him bearing the sledgehammer of the EEA was far from edifying. And I’m glad that both Goldman and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney are surely feeling very chastened right now.”
“Very chastened” or “totally pissed off and vowing eternal revenge”? I hope it’s the former.
