Jan 8, 2007 2:46 pm US/Pacific
2 City Employees Plead Not Guilty In Hacking Case
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Gabriel Murillo, 37, and Kartik Patel, 34, are accused of hacking into the city's traffic center and disconnecting traffic signals.
Two high-ranking transportation engineers accused of hacking into the city's traffic center and disconnecting traffic signals hours before a union protest pleaded not guilty Monday to criminal charges.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Catherine J. Pratt ordered Gabriel Murillo, 37, and Kartik Patel, 34, to return to court Feb. 15, when a date was scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require them to stand trial.
The two were allowed to remain free on their own recognizance under two conditions -- that they not access city computers or enter a Department of Transportation facility without their attorneys.
A number of co-workers were on hand in support of the two -- both engineers with the city's Automated Traffic Surveillance Center -- as they left a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
Defense attorney James Blatt said Murillo was "gratified by the large turnout of city employees in his support today."
"This is unsolicited support. They're very concerned about his situation," Blatt said of his client, who he said was a 17-year city employee with an "exemplary record" who is now on administrative leave.
Murillo is accused of one count each of unauthorized access of a computer and identity theft, while Patel is charged with one count of unauthorized access of a computer and four counts of unauthorized disruption or denial of computer services.
The pair, on the job at the time of the hacking, allegedly accessed the automated traffic surveillance center and sent computer commands disconnecting four signal control boxes at critical intersections.
They allegedly hacked the system Aug. 21, between 9:10 and 9:30 p.m., just hours before a job action by members of the Engineers and Architects Association, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
No accidents were reported, but it took four days to get the city's traffic control system fully operational.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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