N.Y. man pleads guilty to corporate espionage

David A. Goldenberg of Oceanside, N.Y., admitted to accessing internal e-mail at Sapphire Marketing LLC in Woodcliff Lake, a regional sales representative for Crestron Electronics in Rockleigh, which makes audiovisual equipment. He worked for Crestron's rival, Texas-based AMX Corp., at the time.

"He was able to figure out what their default passwords were, which they never changed," said Brian Lynch, chief of the white-collar crime unit in the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

Four related charges were dropped as part of a plea deal Monday, Lynch said.

Goldenberg was arrested in March 2008, accused of stealing e-mail and information over a nine-month period, allowing AMX to underbid Crestron on competitive contracts. Crestron has said it lost more than $10 million in business as a result.

Goldenberg's scheme began to unravel early last year after a Sapphire Marketing employee noticed that e-mail messages were being automatically forwarded to a strange e-mail address, and reported her suspicions to authorities.

Goldenberg, who for years had been a reseller of Crestron equipment before he went to work for AMX, could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and his lawyer, Dean Schneider, also was unavailable.

When asked if Crestron would seek redress through civil action, Randy Klein, executive vice president of Crestron, said Tuesday, "We're not ruling anything out."

"We are aware of several jobs where [Goldenberg] found out our pricing and strategy and stole the job away from us," Klein said. "He listened in to our weekly conference calls; our competitive landscape is forever changed because our competitor has that information."

Goldenberg had applied for a job at Crestron shortly before he was hired by AMX, Klein said.

Goldenberg, who has no prior convictions, could be sentenced next month to up to five years in jail, but Lynch said his office is recommending probation because "it's a fair and just position."

Sapphire Marketing owner Marla Suttenberg described the ordeal as "a stressful betrayal."

"He was a million-dollar customer for me, and I socialized with him and his wife. I bought him a beautiful Tiffany frame for his new baby," she said.

"We all just feel violated."

E-mail: newman@northjersey.com

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