[seibelj]

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.

[agoodthrowaway]

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. It’s a pattern of behavior built up over a long time.

I’m seriously worried about the lack of basic morals in technology where behavior like this, like Andy Rubin’s, etc.... goes unpunished because these people are “brilliant.”

[seibelj]

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...

[danans]

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.

[seibelj]

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.

[danans]

Sure, but who first?

[gowld]

Not similar. Andy Rubin's behavior was lewd behavior that his bosses tolerated, not theft or any crime.

[windthrown]

Another term for what you call "lewd behavior" is sexual harassment and it is a crime.

[MrSandman]

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

[agoodthrowaway]

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 $250,000 fine, plus restitution, for every count.*

https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/27/20835368/google-uber-engi...

[MrSandman]

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.

[mellow2020]

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.

[throwaway_4179]

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.

[dbt00]

Yeah, I've never met the guy and I'm always careful about trusting media reports directly in this kind of a witch hunt, but goddamn he spent at least 10 years double-dealing and behaving with incredibly poor ethics.

He might be good at the self-driving car stuff or he might not, I have no idea, but I wouldn't trust him with a ham sandwich.

[hn_throwaway_99]

I've heard this multiple times on this board, and given his public behavior, he definitely fits some of the 'lack of consciousness' traits of a sociopath.

[duxup]

No doubt he is capable.

I think he'll end up somewhere and just fine. Someone will be willing to take a chance on him.

Personally I'm not smart enough / likely to end up working with him. But just for the sake of argument if I was I would be wary.

He took all that stuff with him... that no doubt included the work of people around him, and that showed a lot of disregard not just for his employer, but his peers. I could 'understand' if someone had a problem with their employer (still a bad choice!), but the disregard for his coworkers to me signals something else as far as his moral / ethical choices / standards... if there are any.

Do you trust that guy not just to walk off with your work, but to even represent it accurately to others? Have your back when you need it? Not sure I would.

[gowld]

Makes you wonder how much he earned the original $120M bonus vs just negotiating a reward scheme using ubnderhanded techniques like kickbacks and then gaming metrics or misrepresenting other people's work.

[duxup]

Yeah if he burned his coworkers like he did, I wonder how often he has done it to benefit himself.

[tyingq]

I suspect his path back won't be to go work for someone else. Probably easier for him to get a modest investment to start a company. Investors are probably more willing to gamble than an employer...given the history.

I'd also be more willing to work for him, than have him work for me. Sounds weird, but it's easier to ensure I'm doing nothing illegal than checking that an employee of mine isn't.

[CobrastanJorji]

I'd hire a guy who was an ex-con, but not if his criminal history related directly to the thing I'm hiring him to do. I'd hire a guy who robbed a bank 20 years ago to design a bridge or build houses. A guy who screwed over his employer, though? No, not if there were any other candidates available.