Cyberstalker jailed

A former supervisor for security operations at eBay was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a cyberstalking campaign that targeted a Massachusetts couple whose online newsletter was viewed as critical of the e-commerce company.

Federal prosecutors in Boston said Philip Cooke, a retired police captain in Santa Clara, Calif., and other employees participated in a scheme to harass the couple through Twitter and by sending them disturbing packages, including live cockroaches.

District Judge Allison Burroughs called the employees’ actions “really abominable” as she sentenced Cooke, who must also serve a year of home detention and pay a $15,000 fine.

“It’s almost unfathomable to me,” Burroughs said. “I’m not sure if I saw it on television I would find it believable.”