Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Golb identity-theft trial begins

THE GOLB IDENTITY-THEFT TRIAL began in New York yesterday:
Dead Sea Scrolls 'cyber bully' claims he had right to fight dirty

By DAVID K. LI (New York Post)

Last Updated: 5:35 PM, September 14, 2010

Posted: 5:34 PM, September 14, 2010

Defenders of an alleged cyber bully went on the attack today, accusing a noted Hebrew historian of plagiarism and claiming their client had every right to fight dirty in this no-holds-barred academic brawl.

Raphael Golb, 49, went on trial for allegedly engineering a wacky 2008 identity theft and "sock-puppeting" campaign against his dad’s intellectual rivals over ancient origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

During opening statements to jurors, defense lawyers didn’t back away from acts Golb is accused of committing by prosecutors -- and even glorified his actions.

"Raphael Golb is a whistle blower," defense lawyer David Breitbart told jurors in opening statements.

[...]
The story is also covered by the AP and noted by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Background here.