XPost: alt.aviation.jobs, sci.military.naval   
      
   Baltimore-based Belfort Instruments suing fired worker   
      
   A Baltimore manufacturer of weather instruments is suing a fired   
   employee it claims is on an anonymous Internet rampage. Belfort   
   Instrument says Mark W. Decker has been harassing current Belfort   
   employees via e-mail, calling the company's customers and partners   
   alleging unethical business practices, and posting trade secrets on   
   the Internet. Defendant Decker has an alarming history of engaging   
   in such 'anonymous' Internet attacks against those who he believes may   
   have slighted him (including past employers), and, absent a TRO, will   
   continue his historical pattern of making outrageous and harmful   
   attacks against the material business interests of Belfort Instrument,   
   reads Belfort's complaint, filed earlier this month in Baltimore   
   County Circuit Court. Belfort, which obtained a temporary restraining   
   order against Decker on Nov. 15, is suing him for misappropriating   
   trade secrets, breach of contract, defamation and tortious   
   interference with contractual relations. The company is seeking $1   
   million. After consulting with his client, Belfort attorney Douglas W.   
   Desmarais declined to speak about the case. My client's position is   
   that this is a dispute that they have chosen to resolve through legal   
   channels, and they're going to let it play out through legal channels,   
   Desmarais said. Decker could not be located for comment; his phone   
   number is unlisted and a reverse search of his Annapolis, MD address   
   produced no results. According to the complaint, when Decker started   
   working for Belfort in 2001, he signed a contract promising that, if   
   he left the company, for two years afterward he would not say negative   
   things about it; if he did, he would face court action. He is also   
   bound by the Maryland Uniform Trade Secrets Act not to divulge   
   privileged information, Belfort says. Decker was fired on Oct. 20 of   
   this year and then started to harass his ex-girlfriend, still a   
   Belfort employee, via e- mail, the suit reads. He also allegedly e-   
   mailed the company's general mailbox anonymously, promising to fight   
   back against the company and drive it out of business. The company   
   also claims he called their customers and made untrue allegations.   
   Decker also used an Internet newsgroup to criticize the Belfort   
   product he had been in charge of marketing, the DigiWx AWOS digital   
   weather transmitter, calling it DigiSHIT, Belfort claims. He also   
   allegedly listed which of Belfort's customers were using DigiWx. The   
   motion does not state how Belfort knows that Decker is behind the   
   anonymous e-mails, phone calls and Internet postings, but a letter   
   from Desmarais to Decker warns that Belfort can easily trace the   
   communications to Decker. Belfort also claims that Decker has a   
   history of using pseudonyms to criticize whoever has offended [him] on   
   a particular day. Indeed, a search of Google's newsgroups shows lots   
   of chatter about Decker, including several posts purporting to   
   unmask him as the anonymous source of negative comments about   
   Baltimore.   
      
   Mark W. Decker (the "weiner" he whirls)   
   Jennifer Lynn Decker (Racey)   
   289 Long Point Road (assessed value of $968,280 as of 1/1/05)   
   Crownsville, MD 21032   
   DOB: January 7, 1957 according to http://anybirthday.com   
   markwdecker (at) gmail.com   
   SSN: 212-60-0049   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)