'Suicide Coach' Banned From Internet

This might make it to The Most Bizarre Crimes -surfing the internet for victims to persuade them to commit suicide. And someone succeeded in doing that.

(NEWSER) – A Minnesota man accused of seeking out suicidal people online and persuading them to kill themselves has been banned from using the Internet until his next court hearing. William Melchert-Dinkel—who allegedly posed as a female nurse in suicide-related chat rooms—has been charged with two counts of aiding suicides, but prosecutors say he boasted of coaxing dozens of people to commit suicide for the "thrill of the chase," the BBC reports.

Melchert-Dinkel, 47, offered victims fake compassion before giving them detailed advice on suicide methods and pretending to enter into a suicide pact with them, according to prosecutors. He faces up to 30 years in jail if convicted, although legal experts say a conviction may be difficult to obtain because most laws on assisting suicides pre-date the Internet age and because of the international nature of his alleged crimes: one of the two suicides he is charged in connection with was in Britain, and the other in Canada. -BBC

FBI Linguist Gets 20 Months for Leaking to Blogger

This case is like a please-rob-me one. Only, what was leaked was so top secret that the damage done is incalculable.

‘A former FBI linguist who leaked to a blogger information so top secret that even the sentencing judge wasn't allowed to know what it was has been sentenced to 20 months in prison. "I don't know what was divulged, other than some documents, and I don't know how it has compromised things," the judge said before sentencing Hebrew scholar Shamai Leibowitz. The linguist, who pleaded guilty to divulging classified information, said he believed the information he leaked exposed a violation of the law, the Washington Post reports.

‘Leibowitz has become only the third US government employee ever to be convicted for spilling classified information to the media. Analysts say the conviction highlights the surprisingly hard line the Obama administration has taken against leakers. "They're going after this at every opportunity and with unmatched vigor," a spokesman for the Federation of American Scientists tells Politico.’ 

Hackers Launch Highway Hate

The neon light hackers are back. But this time, they’re spreading hate and not humor. 

‘Hackers added their bit to mounting US tensions over immigrant rights by switching a digital highway sign in Florida to flash "no Latinos" and "no tacos." The flashing messages greeted drivers on the Palmetto Expressway near Miami until police and a highway crew turned the signs around and changed the messages. The sign messages are controlled through a password-protected computer site, according to NBC Miami. Police are continuing to investigate.’ -NBC Miami