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Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

reuters.com

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Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#31

Post by mannykannot »

ehsankia wrote: post #11

Does he still owe any of the $179M to Google or does that go away? Is he still in bankrupcy?

If that amount is for civil damages, I think that would be a separate matter, but the last two paragraphs of the article leave little doubt that he is, and that Uber is not picking up the tab unless he can force them to (...would it be in the interests of Google (Alphabet? Waymo?) to help him do so? It would hurt Uber. Could it do so, if it wanted to, e.g. by hiring lawyers on his behalf?)

Update: The article has just been shortened, and the paragraphs on that issue have been removed...

Update 2: they are back again, apparently slightly reworded, IIRC the original...

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#32

Post by mellow2020 »

MrSandman wrote: post #27
agoodthrowaway wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously? What exactly is brilliant about stealing designs? If he was so brilliant, he’d know what to do better or differently. He’d have been able to work around Google’s IP. That’s true brilliance. Not only is he a thief, by his own admission, but it probably wasn’t the first time he did this. The way he stole the designs he wasn’t worried about getting caught. This is not something someone does for the first time…

Did you read any of the news articles? This isn't about stealing designs...

This is purely about stealing.

> agreed to plead guilty on Thursday to taking sensitive documents

> Prosecutors accused Levandowski of stealing materials in late 2015 and early 2016 after deciding to leave Google and form his own company

> I downloaded these files with the intent to use them for my own personal benefit, and I understand that I was not authorized to take the files for that purpose

That's the material in the article. Any hints of said thief's brilliance must be elsewhere, if they exist, and the burden to produce them is on those who would claim they should be given weight.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#33

Post by seibelj »

agoodthrowaway wrote: post #23
seibelj wrote: post #14

After admitting his guilt and serving his time, would you refuse to work with him again? It seems like he was a brilliant guy who made a bad mistake. I don’t think he’s unemployable. Isn’t prison punishment enough? Time is the only irreplaceable resource we have.

Seriously? What exactly is brilliant about stealing designs? If he was so brilliant, he’d know what to do better or differently. He’d have been able to work around Google’s IP. That’s true brilliance. Not only is he a thief, by his own admission, but it probably wasn’t the first time he did this. The way he stole the designs he wasn’t worried about getting caught. This is not something someone does for the first time…

I have worked with ex-cons back when I worked in food service, making pizzas for rich suburbanites. I say give him a chance to redeem himself. But I'm a romantic...

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#34

Post by danans »

seibelj wrote: post #33
agoodthrowaway wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously? What exactly is brilliant about stealing designs? If he was so brilliant, he’d know what to do better or differently. He’d have been able to work around Google’s IP. That’s true brilliance. Not only is he a thief, by his own admission, but it probably wasn’t the first time he did this. The way he stole the designs he wasn’t worried about getting caught. This is not something someone does for the first time…

I have worked with ex-cons back when I worked in food service, making pizzas for rich suburbanites. I say give him a chance to redeem himself. But I'm a romantic...

I agree that people should have a chance to redeem themselves, but serving time is meant to redeem him in the eyes of the law, not in the eyes of the profession or industry.

The onus is on him to demonstrate why his reputation in the industry should be restored.

The problem is that at the level that he was operating at, he would need to reenter industry in a leadership position of some sort, and most people would not trust him as a leader after this.

The ex-cons you worked with didn't have this issue because they probably didn't commit their felonies in food service, but rather in some other criminal situation or enterprise.

Also, fair or not, most people have less sympathy for those who commit felonies after they're already wealthy or powerful, versus people who commit felonies when they are largely poor or powerless. The criminal justice system, however, could be argued to have the exact opposite bias.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#35

Post by martey »

After reading the comments here, I think it might be better to move the source article to another one with more historical context, like https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/19/21187651/anthony-levandow...

Things I learned from that article that aren't apparent in this one:

- Uber was forced to pay more than $244 million to Waymo in the separate lawsuit between them.

- The $179 million that Levandowski owes to Google comes from a third lawsuit between him and Google over poaching engineers from Waymo.

Update: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22633861 suggests that the article is being shadow edited. It now contains information on those two points, but I don't think it did when many of the comments on here were written.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#36

Post by MrSandman »

agoodthrowaway wrote: post #28
MrSandman wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read any of the news articles? This isn't about stealing designs...

He downloaded schematics and pcba designs, documents, etc, onto a thumb drive and transferred those contents outside of Google. Call it whatever you want. It’s called theft. * The files that Levandowski is alleged to have stolen contain drawings and schematics pertaining to circuitry and LIDAR laser-sensors that were used in Google’s self-driving cars. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and $250,0…

Why are you pulling from an article from last August? There is news happening in real-time about this with updates. The DOJ dropped all those charges. If they could have proven it they wouldn't have allowed a plea. He was accused not convicted...He plead because he's bankrupt from a civil suit with Google and the DOJ let it drop because their case isn't strong enough. Look at the Fitbit case. And funny enough - GOogle went on to buy them just a few months after.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#37

Post by seibelj »

danans wrote: post #34
seibelj wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have worked with ex-cons back when I worked in food service, making pizzas for rich suburbanites. I say give him a chance to redeem himself. But I'm a romantic...

I agree that people should have a chance to redeem themselves, but serving time is meant to redeem him in the eyes of the law, not in the eyes of the profession or industry. The onus is on him to demonstrate why his reputation in the industry should be restored. The problem is that at the level that he was operating at, he would need to reenter industry in a leadership position of some sort, and most people would not…

I think he will need to try extra hard after this to prove his honesty. But black black ball him entirely? I would still give him a chance. Just my opinion.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#38

Post by wmf »

sgustard wrote: post #19
ehsankia wrote: post #11

Does he still owe any of the $179M to Google or does that go away? Is he still in bankrupcy?

What do you have to do to get a job where you could be liable for $179M for "violating employment contracts"? The mind boggles. I hope they had free soda at least.

First you collect a $120M bonus with the stipulation that you not poach employees, then you poach the employees anyway and sell your new company for $680M. Then you're liable for $179M.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#39

Post by throwaway_4179 »

seibelj wrote: post #14

After admitting his guilt and serving his time, would you refuse to work with him again? It seems like he was a brilliant guy who made a bad mistake. I don’t think he’s unemployable. Isn’t prison punishment enough? Time is the only irreplaceable resource we have.

I'm trying to be as vague as possible here so as not to identify myself, but I knew him fairly well. I can tell you it wasn't just a mistake. Anthony doesn't have the same... qualms as you and I.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#40

Post by ehsankia »

mannykannot wrote: post #31
ehsankia wrote: post #11

Does he still owe any of the $179M to Google or does that go away? Is he still in bankrupcy?

If that amount is for civil damages, I think that would be a separate matter, but the last two paragraphs of the article leave little doubt that he is, and that Uber is not picking up the tab unless he can force them to (...would it be in the interests of Google (Alphabet? Waymo?) to help him do so? It would hurt Uber. Could it do so, if it wanted to, e.g. by hiring lawyers on his behalf?) Update: The article has jus…

> Update: The article has just been shortened, and the paragraphs on that issue have been removed...

I thought I was going crazy. I could swear it mentioned it but now it's gone.

> Update 2: they are back again, apparently slightly reworded, IIRC the original...

Not for me? It's gone still.

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