Court drops charges against Dunn in HP pretexting scandal

The three other remaining defendants--former HP attorney Kevin Hunsaker; private detective Ronald DeLia; and Matthew DePante of data-brokering company Action Research Group--pleaded no contest to a count of fraudulent wire communications at Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose, Calif., the state attorney general's office said in a statement. The trio will be required to complete 96 hours of community service by September 12; the court said it will dismiss the case against them if that condition is satisfied.

Dunn, for her part, did not enter a plea. (...) The charges were a direct response to the brouhaha last year in which HP executives admitted that outside investigators had used a technique called "pretexting," or posing as someone else to obtain phone records of reporters and board members suspected of involvement in press leaks. Then-board Chairman Dunn, who spearheaded the investigation, said she had been unaware of the technique's use and called it "embarrassing."