55-year-old former Santa Clara police captain Philip Cooke entered a guilty plea in federal court in Boston Tuesday, joining six other former eBay employees implicated in a wackadoo intimidation scheme aimed at a couple of Boston-based bloggers.

The case dates back to August 2019, when Cooke and the other defendants conspired to scare some bloggers into removing some bad press they had published that was critical of eBay and its business practices. The victims, a married couple who published an online newsletter for e-tailers, was targeted because of an article they published last year about a lawsuit in which eBay was accusing Amazon of poaching its sellers.

As the Mercury News reports, Cooke, who was hired to head up security operations at eBay’s European and Asian offices, worked with former employees Stephanie Popp, 32, and Veronica Zea, 26, both of San Jose, to target the Massachusetts couple with threatening tweets, a funeral wreath sent to their home, and in an odd twist, a bloody Halloween pig mask with the attached message, “DO I HAVE UR ATTENTION NOW????"

The employees were allegedly seeking approval from upper management at eBay by "handling" this PR problem through these bizarre tactics.

Per the Boston Globe, Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Boston, said that the group, "hoped this ‘white knight strategy’ would create some good will toward the company, result in more favorable articles and please eBay’s management."

The defendants also include another retired Santa Clara captain, 51-year-old Brian Gilbert of San Jose, who is also expected to plead guilty this week. Popp and Zea already entered guilty pleas earlier this month, and 26-year-old Redwood City resident Stephanie Stockwell is also expected to plead guilty shortly.

Two other defendants who formerly worked at eBay, James Baugh, 45, of San Jose, and David Harville, 48, of Gilroy and New York City, have not indicated how they will plead.

Sentencing for Cooke and the others has been scheduled for February. The maximum they could receive for the counts of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses is five years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution.

Photo: Getty Images

Diners at Jackson Fillmore (2506 Fillmore Street) in Pacific Heights on Thursday were treated to some street theater in the form of a one-woman tech bus protest. As 7x7 reports via one of the witnesses at the restaurant, the woman just walked into the street in front of the bus, flipped off the driver, and refused to let the bus pass, all because she had been nearly hit in a crosswalk when the driver did a rolling stop.

Around 8:30 p.m., the unidentified woman sat on the pavement in front of the bus, which was an eBay employee shuttle, giving the driver the bird, and then got up and started screaming at him.

Per the witness, the whole confrontation lasted a half hour:

She proceeded to scream at him for 30 minutes saying that this is what is wrong with SF now with all of these corporate buses and how he could have killed her. She would not give it up and continued to direct traffic, letting every other car behind him go by, refusing to let him go.

We eagerly await the formal apology from eBay's PR team. San Franciscans do not mess around when it comes to stopping at crosswalks, tech bus or no.

[7x7]

The tent erected at the Bank of America branch on California Street during yesterday's Occupy SF protest is now up for sale on eBay. Described as a "deluxe single-family dwelling located in the heart of San Francisco’s prestigious financial district” and an "open air bungalow style residence is flexible and portable ... perfect first home for these uncertain financial times," the tent has already garnered 13 bids.

The highest bid stands at $299. For now.

"To arrange a viewing of this property, contact Bank of America, or visit 50 California Street," notes the tent;s sellers, "(While there, consider closing your account, and moving your funds to a local credit union.) Please do not disturb, harass, or arrest current residents."

All proceeds from the auction will go to the Occupy Movement.

[SF Examiner]

It's been awhile since a vintage public transit ride has popped up for sale on the Internet, but with Burning Man over and the Holiday Season just around the corner, we suppose now is a good a time as any to put a piece of Muni history up for public auction. And just look at this slick, orange-and-red 1969 GMC beauty, currently up for bidding on eBay with a starting price at a cool $12,000.

Our friends over at Muni Diaries, who know a thing or two about buses, say it's a GMC Fishbowl New Look bus - which means someone back in the 1960s thought that windshield looked futuristic. More to the point, they just don't make interiors with so much solo seating and cushy loveseats like this anymore:

The $12,000 asking price is nearly four times as expensive as the $3,250 that a 1984 articulated bus fetched at auction a couple years ago. Unlike that bus, this one doesn't have the Hollywood pedigree, but the eBay seller assures would-be buyers: "BUS RUNS GOOD. THIS BUS IS A SAN FRANCISCO MUNI T8H5305 IN ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION BEFORE REHAB. IT HAS ALL OF ITS ORIGINAL MECHANICAL GEAR AND IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION." The seller also suggests it would make a good addition to any public transit collection or a serviceable church bus. Personally, we think it would be fun to drive the old 26-Valencia route late at night as a sort of ghost of Muni past/roving Valencia corridor afterparty location.

If you do plunk down the cash for this old girl, know you'll have to drive the thing back from it's current resting place in Riverside county.

Previously: Muni Bus for Sale on eBay, Muni Bus Bought
[eBay Listing]
[MuniDiaries]

According to Valleywag, the identity of "Banksy," the artist(s) responsible for creating some of the most talked about "street art" in recent years, is up for sale. For how much, you ask? At least $3,000. (Or, better yet, you can buy it now for $25,000.) How one can verify such a claim is beyond us, but there you have it, folks.

The EBay auction ad reveals:

If you win this auction I will mail you a piece of paper revealing the true identity of "Banksy".

I have uncovered his identity by matching up the prices of his sold pieces to corresponding tax records. I will reveal no more details.

The winner of this auction is the only person I will ever share this information with. The piece of paper will say his name, nothing more.

I give you 100% assurance that it is most certainly the full name of the street artist known as "Banksy".

Our money is on renowned interpreter of cottages and Christ, Thomas Kinkade.

Londonist, if you recall, snapped these shots of the evasive artist back in 2007.

[Valleywag]

Last week SFist told you about Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's pilot hat, which was being auctioned off for charity. Today, after 68 bids, Sully's hat managed to pull in $5,800. The money will be donated to Lockwood Elementary School in Oakland and Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon.

Sullenberger, if you recall, become a hero after he safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 15, which resulted in saving the lives of all 155 people aboard.

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger -- the pilot turned hero who safely landed crippled US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River this past January, which resulted in saving the lives of all 155 people aboard -- has donated his pilot cap for auction. Sully gave up his prized hat in order to raise money for two public schools in the East Bay: Oakland’s Lockwood Elementary and San Ramon’s Dougherty Valley High School.

"Sully and I were excited by the opportunity to help these two public schools," said Lorrie Sullenberger, Sully's wife. "We were eager to make this donation to the school auction. We hope that the winner will enjoy owning Sully’s pilot’s hat, but also that they will be happy that they have helped fund two deserving educational institutions."

The winning bid will receive Sully's personal pilot's hat and, according to the eBay page, "experience great satisfaction from having made a contribution to support public education." (However, it should be noted that he was not wearing this hat on January 15, 2009, the day he safely landed the aircraft in the Hudson River; in fact, he did not wear any other pilot's cap on that trip.) The pilot's hat is autographed by Sully and sits inside a pretty protective plastic box. What's more, you'll get "a personally written note from Chesley and Lorrie Sullenberger thanking them for supporting public education."

Although it opened in 2007, Dougherty Valley High School was "ranked by the Academic Performance Index as one of the top schools in its district." Also, Lockwood Elementary is in one of the Oakland Unified School District’s poorest neighborhoods, with one of the City’s highest crime rates. So, you know, both schools could really use your help.

Anyway, if you want to give or receive the perfect Christmas gift, this is it. Bid on Sully's pilot cap on eBay. Bidding ends on Monday, December 14.

Meg Whitman, Former eBay Chief Executive and current Republican contender for governor is expected to testify in Delaware today about the original deal between Craigslist and eBay, both bay area based organizations. If you recall, EBay sued Craigslist in April 2008, claiming that its 28% stake in Craigslist was illegally diluted to 24% -- this kept eBay from electing a board member. Craigslist then countersued claiming eBay used confidential information to create its own competing classified website, Kijiji. (Amy Crocker)

Last week, we brought your attention to the sale of this 1984 articulated 60-ft MAN bus, once used by Muni to carry passengers around the city back in the day. With a vehicle of such girth and length and reputation, we assumed no one would bid on the monstrosity.

We were wrong.

Blinktag, a local web design/city planning firm in San Francisco, bought the bus for $3,2500 after a total of 11 bids.

Claiming it was worth every penny, Blinktag beamed over the buy. "What’s even sweeter is that we figured every hipster with $10,000 bucks would have bid on this guy, thanks to SFist. But I guess the down economy has come to our rescue once again," they said. "Burning Man, here we come. (We’ll probably pull this to South By Southwest too, depending on its roadworthyness)."

Congrats on the big, new bus, guys. Good luck finding a parking spot for the thing.

What with Christmas and Hanukkah right around the coroner, this Muni bus is the perfect gift for the holiday season. Starting out at $2,300.00 on eBay, this 1984 articulated 60-ft MAN bus began life carrying passengers throughout the streets of San Francisco before being hauled down to SoCal to star in the movie The Italian Job and a couple of other small television bit parts. This Muni bus is still in its original condition, complete with of-its-era colors, logos, and original roll signs.

Ideal usage:

• Make it your very own rogue VIP bus, picking up passengers at your discretion
• The perfect gift for that special someone with whom who you want to spend the rest of your life, but don't want to rush into anything just yet
• Low-income, luxury housing (a Muni seat is still more spacious than a Cubix pod)
• Only you can restore the 74

Place your bid today.

(Thanks goes out to our new favorite Twitter feed, Muni Alerts, for tipping us off.)

If elected, the former eBay CEO -- a bigot who, at best, considers the homosexuals second-class citizens, or at least that's what she would lead the public to believe -- will cut state spending "by another $15 billion," prune California's current state work force "by 17 percent," and further the stereotype that female Republicans must sport garish blonde hair in order to be successful. Welcome to the race, Meg!

This week we mentioned that eBay filed lawsuit against Craigslist because CL founders Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster had "unfairly diluted eBay’s economic interest in the company." What happened was that CL reduced eBay's economic interest in Craigslist by more than 10 percent. Why? To stave off a potential takeover. At least according to CL blog:

We are surprised and disappointed by Ebay’s unfounded allegations, which came to us out of the blue, without any attempt to engage in a dialogue with us.

Coming from a shareholder that views craigslist as a prime competitor, filing suit without so much as mentioning these assertions beforehand seems unethical, and hints at ulterior motives.

(Wow, eBay really is kinda sneaky at times.)

But according to an ABC 7 report, eBay bought a minority interest in the company in order to learn more about the classifieds business, "a portion of its own site that's been growing rapidly in recent years." (See, they just yearn for knowledge is all!) But with eBay ranking in at #17, with Cragislist at 45th (at least according to Alexa), it looks like Newmark and Buckmaster were just trying to protect their baby.

An aside: for your reading pleasure, the best Craigslist ad of all time. You've been warned.

You're so mean, eBay.

What did they do this time, you ask? Well, today they filed a lawsuit against Craigslist in a Delaware court. Why? According to the New York Times, Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster "took actions that unfairly diluted eBay’s economic interest in the company." (EBay snatched up a 28.4 percent minority interest in the company back way in 2004.) EBay Senior VP Mike Jacobson goes on to tell the NYT:

"The recent actions by the Craigslist directors have disadvantaged eBay and its investment in Craigslist," said Mike Jacobson, eBay's senior vice president and general counsel, in a written statement. “Since negotiating our investment with Craigslist's board in 2004, we have acted openly and in good faith as a minority shareholder, so we were surprised by these recent unilateral actions. We are asking the Delaware court to rescind these recent actions in order to protect eBay’s stockholders and preserve our investment."

First its evil twin, and now this. But we are curious about these alleged "unilateral actions." Any guesses?

You know that site where you bid on and bought your vintage designer duds? That Thundercats lunchbox? Or those garish home accents your girlfriend has all over her apartment? It seems that they were purchased from a media company. At least according to Simon Dumenco at AdAge:

There's actually another company that does something very much like what eBay does -- and, curiously, nobody hesitates to think of it as a media company. Like eBay, Craigslist is all about maintaining a giant, searchable database of listings. It brings buyers and sellers together (it also, famously, brings other parties, like the oversexed and the lonely-hearted, together, but I digress). Of course, it does so, mostly, without extracting fees, because of the admirable sociopolitical sensibilities of its founder, Craig Newmark. Oddly, Newmark regularly gets slammed for single-handedly killing the newspaper classified-ad business, even though eBay, founded in 1995, is four years older (and vastly more profitable) than Craigslist.