A former FBI agent from the Central District of California charged with unlawfully using his authority to obtain information has resigned, The Orange County Register reported.
Peter H. Norell Jr. faces a misdemeanor charge stemming from a 2005 incident in which he allegedly used a computer to retrieve information he was not authorized to obtain. He pleaded not guilty on Monday. Several FBI agents were at the courtroom Monday to support Norell, who formerly led the FBI’s white-collar crime unit in Santa Ana, Calif., according to the newspaper.
“It’s a sad, sad day,” Thomas S. McConville, Norell’s lawyer, said. “We’ll let this case see its way through the justice system.”
McConville declined to further elaborate on his client’s case. Northern District of California Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Finigan, who is prosecuting the case, also declined to comment to The OC Register.
Further details on the case are scarce as prosecutors have filed only a few short court documents. (The court records can be found here, here and here.)
Norell faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Although he pleaded not guilty, Norell will likely change his plea to guilty at another court hearing, according to the newspaper.
This story was corrected to reflect that Norell pleaded not guilty. The original version said he had pleaded guilty.
