Thursday, February 24, 2011

Bugged Bear Bites Bugger

NE - First, Little Bear became Big Brother as an Omaha-area woman inserted an electronic device into her daughter's favorite stuffed animal to record her ex-husband.

Now, Little Bear has become Big Burden as a judge has ordered the woman and her father to pay a total of $120,000 to six people who were illegally recorded.

In a civil judgment, U.S. Magistrate Judge F.A. Gossett III has ruled that Dianna Divingnzzo unlawfully recorded ex-husband William “Duke” Lewton by inserting the device into her then-4-year-old daughter's toy bear.

He also found that Divingnzzo's father, Sam, improperly transcribed conversations from Little Bear — and that Divingnzzo's former attorney, William Bianco, improperly distributed copies of the recordings. (more)