FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 CRM
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 1997                               (202) 616-2777
                                                      TDD (202) 514-1888

MARTINS PLEAD GUILTY AND ARE SENTENCED IN CELL PHONE CASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Charles R. Wilson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, and Scott Charney, Chief of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, jointly announced that John and Alice Martin of Columbia County, Florida, today pleaded guilty to intentionally intercepting the radio portion of a cellular telephone call, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2511(1)(a) and 2511(4)(b)(ii). United States District Court Judge Harvey Schlesinger in Jacksonville, Florida accepted their pleas and sentenced them to a fine of $500 each. The statute does not provide for a term of imprisonment, and the maximum fine permitted under the statute is $5,000.

The communication that was illegally intercepted took place on December 21, 1996, and was a conference call among Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich and others.

The case was handled by the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, in conjunction with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. The investigation is being handled by the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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