prosecutors

Former Google Engineer Agrees To Plead Guilty To Theft

March 20, 2020 5:25 am

A former Google star engineer charged with stealing trade secrets from its self-driving car program has agreed to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors, according to court documents filed Thursday.

Anthony Levandowski, 39, was a founding member of an autonomous vehicle project in 2009 called “Chauffeur,” one of Google’s more ambitious undertakings.

Several years later Levandowski began thinking of leaving Google for another self-driving endeavor that was eventually named “Otto,” the plea deal said.

He began negotiating with ridesharing giant Uber to invest in or buy Otto while he was still working at Google, and admits having downloaded a …

Chicago prosecutors drop charges against actor Smollett

March 27, 2019 10:35 am

It’s a plot twist even “Empire” couldn’t come up with. All 16 felony charges against actor Jussie Smollett — who’d been accused of staging a hate crime against himself — were dropped by Chicago prosecutors, in a shock move that angered the city’s mayor and police chief.

What’s more, Smollett’s criminal record was wiped clean and records in the case were sealed, all in exchange for Smollett doing some community service and forfeiting his $10,000 bond. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson were livid. They blasted Smollett and the county attorney’s office. Emanuel repeatedly called it a …