Nation Briefs

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen

By From wire dispatches and staff reports

Plea deal reached in identity theft

MIAMI | A computer hacker accused of masterminding one of the largest cases of identity theft in U.S. history agreed Friday to plead guilty and serve up to 25 years in federal prison for his crimes.

Albert Gonzalez of Miami was charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in federal courts in New York and Boston. Court documents filed in federal court in Boston indicate Gonzalez, 28, agreed to plead guilty to 19 counts and combine the two cases in federal court in Massachusetts.

Additional charges against Gonzalez are pending in New Jersey, but not currently part of the plea deal.

Gonzalez is accused of swiping the credit and debit card numbers of more than 170 million accounts; officials said Gonzalez was the ringleader of a group that targeted large companies including T.J. Maxx, Barnes and Noble, Sports Authority and OfficeMax among others.

Gonzalez's Miami attorney, Rene Palomino Jr., could not be reached Friday for comment. He told the Associated Press on Thursday that his client was "extremely remorseful as to what has happened."

Friday's plea deal on the New York and Massachusetts charges ensures that he will be behind bars for 15 to 25 years. If convicted of all the charges in the plea agreement - and if he had been sentenced to the maximum- he would have received a sentence of several hundred years.

Coroner: Jackson death homicide

LOS ANGELES | Michael Jackson's death was a homicide caused primarily by the powerful anesthetic propofol and another sedative, the coroner confirmed Friday in a highly anticipated ruling that increases the likelihood of criminal charges against the pop star's doctor.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office determined the cause of death was "acute propofol intoxication." Lorazepam, another sedative, sold under the brand name Ativan, contributed to the death.