Although the associates remain officially unknown, strong rumors persist that Kevin Poulsen (aka Dark Dante), and Ronald Austin were involved.
[3] A grand jury in Texas returned an eight-count indictment, accusing Petersen of assuming false identities, accessing a computer without authorization, possessing stolen account IDs and fraudulently obtaining and using credit cards.
Under a plea bargain the charge was dropped after a debriefing by unknown law enforcement entities (presumably the FBI or US Secret Service), according to Littman.
Petersen eventually pleaded guilty to six counts, including the aforementioned rigging of a radio station contest to win a $20,000 prize.
Given his physical limitations resulting from an accident in 1985, and legal restrictions imposed by the FBI, Petersen claimed he had little choice but to briefly turn back to hacking since he was unable to get a job.
Author Jonathan Littman in his book,[4] linked Petersen's sealed Texas court case [6] with the Church of Scientology via a private investigator (in Beverly Hills, California) named Shlomi Michaels and former FBI Special Agent in Charge Ted Gunderson.
They filed a complaint against Scientology alleging false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other tortious conduct.