Broadband Tech > Security > Security > Vivek Kundra (Obama CIO) A Confessed Petty Thief

Vivek Kundra (Obama CIO) A Confessed Petty Thief

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Obama CIO a confessed petty thief
Blogosphere surfaces 12-year-old guilty plea

America's first CIO once pleaded guilty to a petty theft charge, according to Maryland state records.

Vivek Kundra is currently on leave from his federal CIO post, after one of his former employees was arrested for alleged IT bribery.

Kundra was tapped for the newly formed CIO position on March 5, after almost two years as chief technology officer for the local Washington, D.C. government.

Following the arrest, the White House said that Kundra had been put on leave - though federal authorities have told several news sources that he is not part of the investigation into Acar's behavior. According to the White House, he is on leave due to "an abundance of caution."

Now, the blogosphere has turned up Maryland state records showing that Kundra pleaded guilty to a sub-$300 theft charge in 1997. The arrest was first noticed by the Hot Air Blog and was soon trumpeted by Valleywag and, yes, Fox News.

The White House has yet to respond to our request for comment. Gary Segal, the lawyer who represented Kundra after his 1997 arrest, responded only to say "I'm sorry but there is nothing I can say about this matter."

After pleading guilty to petty theft, Kundra received "supervised probation" for less than a month and a fine of $500. $400 of that was suspended.

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What interests me is this:

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Related Person Information

(Each Person related to the case other than the Defendant is shown)

Name:STANTON, T
Connection:COMPLAINANT/POLICE OFFICER
Agency Code: EJ Agency Sub-Code:GOfficer ID:0749

Name:SEGAL, GARY L.
Connection:PRIVATE ATTORNEY FOR DEFENSE
Address: 110 N. WASH. ST. #205
City: ROCKVILLE State:MD Zip Code:20850 - 0000

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reply to SUMware

Kundra Reinstated

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The new White House computer chief pleaded guilty 12 years ago to a petty theft charge, but it won't cost him his job, a spokesman for President Obama said.

Vivek Kundra, 34, hired from Washington's city government, admitted a theft of property valued at under $300 in Maryland, a White House aide confirmed.

He was fined $500, but the sentence was suspended and he only had to pay $100.

"Thirteen years ago, Vivek committed a youthful indiscretion. He performed community service and we are satisfied that he fully resolved the matter," said Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro.

Details of the crime were not immediately disclosed. The White House was aware of Kundra's record when its lawyers vetted him, a source said.

Kundra took a leave last Thursday after one of his former city employees was arrested on bribery and corruption charges. Kundra was not a target of that investigation, and he was reinstated Tuesday, Shapiro said.

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Computer office chief reinstated

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro late yesterday announced the reinstatement of Vivek Kundra as White House chief information officer in charge of federal computer purchasing.

Shapiro also said Kundra had done community service for the 1996 theft, and the White House was satisfied that he had resolved the matter.

Kundra was put on leave March 12 after the FBI raided the District of Columbia technology office he headed until recently. Two people were arrested on corruption charges.

It was the latest case of damaging information emerging publicly about one of Obama's choices after he announced their appointment or nomination.

Kundra pleaded guilty in Montgomery County, Md., to theft of less than $300 on Aug. 27, 1996, when he was 21.

Records show he was sentenced to supervised probation and 80 hours of community service within the following six months and was fined $500, of which $400 was suspended.

Almost a year later, his attorney, Gary L. Segal, got the disposition changed to "probation before judgment," which Segal said technically is not a conviction in Maryland.

It could not be determined immediately what Kundra was accused of stealing.

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reply to SUMware

Re: Vivek Kundra (Obama CIO) A Confessed Petty Thief

reply to SUMware

Re: Kundra Reinstated

The rub is that if he is 34 now, then 13 years ago, he was 21. While 21 is "youthful," it is not juvenile. He was an adult then, even by the rules of the 1960s, and certainly well over 18. If he had been 15 or 16 when this happened, I'd not be so concerned, but 21? Not good.

This makes me yearn for a kinder, gentler era, when the youthful indiscretions we heard about were those of Monica Lewinsky.

It was probably some dumba$$ stunt done while in college. There's been no indication of recidivism.

Not something I'd get worked up over at this point in time, for either a Democrat or a Republican.

Everyone does something amazingly stupid and ill-considered in their lives at least once.
Most of us just don't happen to get caught at it.
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Patriotism is not waving a flag, it is living the ideals

reply to SUMware

Kundra Stole Shirts From J.C. Penney

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Obama's computer chief once shoplifted 4 shirts

Now it can be told: The mysterious petty theft that President Barack Obama's new computer chief committed at age 21 was shoplifting four dress shirts worth $134 from J.C. Penney.

A 1996 Montgomery County, Md., police report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday under a public records law shows Vivek Kundra was observed by a security guard putting the men's shirts into a shopping bag and leaving the store without paying. Sgt. Tom Stanton wrote that Kundra was arrested after a brief foot chase and the property was recovered.

Kundra pleaded guilty, paid a $100 fine and $55 in court courts and was ordered to do 80 hours of community service. The White House has called a "youthful indiscretion" long ago resolved.

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reply to SUMware

Re: Vivek Kundra (Obama CIO) A Confessed Petty Thief

Doesn't matter much to me what "Californians For Population Stabilization" thinks. I don't share their fear of folks with darker skin tones.

CAPS is about population, environment, and jobs so I hardly think characterizing them that way is justified.

reply to rsanz
That isn't a credible article.

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In early March two powerful lobbying associations from India visited Washington, D.C. to schmooze with Obama officials and selected members of Congress. The mission of The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was to insure that our politicians tow the line on the outsourcing of jobs to India and to increase the number of H-1B visas so that more Indian nationals can come to the U.S. to work.

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reply to rsanz
If thats the case, then I guess the numbers of call centers and other outsourcing companies closing down here is all but a lie. Business is down by 60% and even big guys in India are hurting. Offshore outsourcing plug has been pulled away and CII and NASSCOM have no control over that.

reply to fatness

reply to rsanz

Re: Vivek Kundra (Obama CIO) A Confessed Petty Thief

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Total fertility rates are below replacement (2.1 children per woman) for all groups in California except for Hispanics, whose average completed family size is 2.9 (CA Dept. of Finance). But it is direct immigration and births to foreign-born women that now account for virtually all of the population growth in California. CAPS is unique among population and immigration reduction organizations in our advocacy of less immigration, small family size and the wide availability of family planning information and contraceptive use.

CAPS recognizes that California has developed a harmful positive feedback loop that involves over-immigration, a poor and deteriorating public educational system, and high fertility. These factors reinforce each other in negative ways: Over-immigration overwhelms the public schools with too many students who have little command of English. This is a major factor interfering with immigrant achievement and promotes dropping out of school early. Because of the well-documented inverse correlation between a woman's lifetime fertility and the amount of schooling she receives, these early dropouts will have, on average, high fertility. This will fill the schools with even more children and exacerbate further the overcrowding and other problems. This harmful repetitive cycle will never be fixed until immigration levels are reduced. Just to accommodate current rates of immigration-driven increase in the under-age- 20 population, California would have to build a new school every other day and this need will continue for the foreseeable future.

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reply to fatness
Fatty -- You seem far less credible. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) did come to the U.S. just as the article described. You probably don't know how to use google, so ask a friend and you too can verify this. Or have your friend do the google search for you.

reply to DownTheShore
OK Down, you just proved that CAPS is not a single interest organization. Thanks for saving me the time.

reply to rsanz

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to insure that our politicians tow the line on the outsourcing of jobs to India

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