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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kayaker who wrote (39183)	9/1/1999 10:22:00 AM
From: Boplicity	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 152472

Well we got news from a second ter brokerage house, I still bought. G

To: Kayaker who wrote (39183)	9/1/1999 10:23:00 AM
From: Michael	Respond to of 152472

Qnews> Figure in 'spy' case settles lawsuit uniontrib.com He asked Qualcomm for $1 million after being held in Russia By Mike Drummond UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER August 31, 1999 SAN DIEGO -- Richard Bliss, who was temporarily imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, has reached an out-of-court settlement with Qualcomm, the company that sent him there. Bliss filed a negligence lawsuit against Qualcomm after his return to the United States, initially asking for $1 million in damages. Representatives would not say yesterday what Qualcomm has agreed to pay. Qualcomm would only verify that "resolution is imminent," declining to provide details. Qualcomm wins again vs. Motorola Kim Roberts, the San Diego attorney representing the former Qualcomm field technician, said yesterday, "The case is resolved." The confidential settlement was reached a couple of weeks ago, but Roberts said both sides still need to sign paperwork that will lead to a dismissal of the lawsuit. Bliss' unhappy and unexpected journey from obscurity to a Russian slammer began in the winter of 1997. Bliss, then 29, was helping install a $5.8 million wireless system for Electrosviaz in Rostov, a city about 600 miles south of Moscow. On Nov. 27 that year, Russia's Federal Security Service, alarmed about the global positioning satellite or GPS equipment he was installing, swooped in, accused him of spying and threw Bliss in a dank jail cell that lacked a toilet. The arrest triggered global headlines and highlighted the political dangers associated with installing wireless phone technology in Russia and other parts of the developing world. After lobbying by U.S. and Qualcomm officials, the Russians released Bliss on the condition he return for trial. (But Russia, which never produced evidence to back up its allegations, is not forcing the issue. Bliss will only face trial if he enters the country again.) Nearly a year after returning and while still on the company payroll, Bliss filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm on Nov. 17, 1998, alleging that it failed to secure the proper permits for the GPS equipment he carried over in his suitcase. The complaint said Qualcomm did not tell Bliss the GPS equipment was not included on a commercial invoice that Qualcomm prepared and that bringing GPS equipment into Russia was illegal. The lawsuit said Bliss was fed nothing but broth, oatmeal and bread while in jail, was interrogated repeatedly, and was told that espionage charges carried a 20-year prison term and possibly the death penalty. Bliss continues to suffer emotional trauma, "loss of his employment income and benefits, loss of his career and loss of his reputation," the lawsuit added. Bliss could not be reached for comment. But his father, Robert Bliss, reached in Longview, Wash., said his son is working part time at a bowling alley in Olympia, Wash., to raise money for tuition at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. His said his son is studying journalism, "his second-favorite thing." He also said his son was working part-time or as a free-lancer at the Olympian newspaper in the Washington state capital. However, a newsroom employee said she has never heard of Bliss. Qualcomm, which at one time issued a news release stating it was confident the case would be dismissed "once the facts are known," previously has noted that it supplied Bliss with counseling, time off, career planning and fully paid college tuition. Bliss' father said his son used money from his Qualcomm 401(k) plan to pay for tuition.