A fired Morgan Stanley financial advisor who downloaded client information to a home server to give his job search a boost was sentenced to three years' probation for accessing the bank's computer network without permission.
Galen Marsh, who prosecutors say called the stolen data "the world's best cold-calling list," had some of the data stolen from him and posted on the Internet.
Marsh took the information to advance his career and had no intention of selling it, his lawyer Robert Gottlieb told U.S. District Judge Kevin Duffy at a hearing Tuesday. The lawyer begged the judge not to send his client to prison, saying Marsh has rediscovered his faith, is volunteering at a soup kitchen and working as a consultant to a startup software company.
"I know what I did was wrong, and I'll feel ashamed for it for the rest of my life," Marsh said. "I hope and pray I can turn this into a positive."
Duffy agreed to impose probation but warned Marsh "to expect the roof to fall in" if he violates any of the terms.
"I will hit you with everything possible," Duffy said. "I'll make sure you spend your time in one of the worst places I can find, either Florence or Leavenworth. God forbid you should screw up once."
