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Man acquitted in HP-under-the-bed case

US reseller not guilty of stashing stolen gear under his bed

A reseller accused of hoarding $4.7 million (£2.9 million) of stolen IT kit under his bed was last week acquitted by a US county court. Joseph Ventimigilia was arrested three years ago for allegedly receiving stolen Hewlett-Packard "nitro boards" – essentially very big, very expensive motherboards. US police found 78 of the boards, worth $60,000 each, tucked under his bed in Campbell, California. Ventimigilia, owner of PC components business Quality New and Used Computers, was accused of receiving the items, stolen from HP's Roseville plant, from young computer expert Joshua Cohen. Last week a jury in Auburn found Ventimigilia not guilty of the charges, the San Jose Mercury News reported. According to lawyers on both sides of the case, jurors did not believe Cohen, who pleaded guilty and got off with probation. Arthur Cantu, defence lawyer, said Cohen had lied about his relationship with the reseller to dodge a jail sentence. Cantu called the jury's verdict a "total vindication" for Ventimigilia, saying his client's business had suffered due to publicity surrounding the case. Exactly why the reseller had been snoozing on $5 million-worth of hooky HP kit was not disclosed. ®

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