The former head of the FBI’s white-collar crime unit in Santa Ana, Calif., will plead guilty to charges that he illegally accessed an FBI computer, according to a plea agreement filed earlier this month.
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. According to the plea agreement, Norell accessed an FBI computer on three occasions in 2005 to look up information on an individual, named in court documents T.S., who owed a debt to an acquaintance of Norell’s. The FBI agent also threatened to initiate an investigation into T.S., the agreement said.
Norell, who resigned his position with the FBI earlier this month, faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The Orange County Register reported Monday that Norell was recently involved in a securities fraud case against Broadcom executives, who were accused of back-dating stock options. In December, a federal judge threw out the charges against the executives, saying that federal prosecutors improperly tried to intimidate witnesses. The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the case.
