A former FBI agent pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he hacked into his agency’s computer to help his girlfriend, actress Linda Fiorentino, obtain key information on the federal case against a Hollywood private investigator.
Mark Rossini walked into D.C. federal court Monday and admitted that he’d acted as a mole for Fiorentino, who was a friend of Anthony Pellicano.
Rossini said in court documents that he had hacked into bureau computers five times in the first half of 2007. A law enforcement source told The Examiner that among the documents Rossini accessed was a confidential FBI memo on the Pellicano case.
The document became a surprise in the already bizarre case that unsettled Hollywood’s elite — many of whom were once happy to know Pellicano. Defense lawyers introduced the memo into evidence; they said it proved that the case against Pellicano had been manufactured.
Pellicano was convicted earlier this year on wiretapping, racketeering and other charges. He is awaiting sentencing.
Rossini had been with the FBI’s Washington press office, but spent most of his bureau career in counterterrorism work. Most recently, he had worked out of the New York office.
He has been linked romantically to Fiorentino, who is reportedly writing a screenplay about Pellicano. But the Los Angeles Times quoted a Pellicano defense lawyer as saying the pair were little more than “pen pals.”
Rossini’s agreement, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, allows him to plead guilty to five misdemeanor charges, as opposed to the felonies he might have faced. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in March.
