Private investigators sentenced in HP spying case Two former private investigators were each sentenced to three years of probation for their roles in a corporate spy scandal during which they used false identities to access private information about Hewlett-Packard Co. board members and employees, as well as journalists. Joseph DePante, 66, and his son Matthew DePante, 33, also were ordered in U.S. District Court to six months of electronic home monitoring as part of a plea deal. Both pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit Social Security fraud. As family members wept, the father and son expressed remorse, and their lawyers argued against home confinement, saying it would prevent their clients from earning a living. Federal prosecutors have said tech giant HP hired the DePantes in 2005 to discover who was leaking boardroom information to journalists. During the covert operation, HP and private investigators obtained confidential information on reporters for CNET, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Family members of reporters also were targeted, prosecutors said. At the time it was an embarrassing scandal at one of the world's largest technology companies that was long considered an icon of corporate integrity, and it led to a federal investigation. In court Thursday, veteran journalist Dawn Kawamoto said she was a victim and told the DePantes she didn't believe they were remorseful. "You clearly knew it was illegal what you were doing," said Kawamoto, who was a reporter at CNET when her information was compromised. Six months of house arrest eating bonbons on your couch and watching 'The Price Is Right' is not a lesson. Joseph and Matthew DePante aimed their 18-month investigation at a total of 33 people, Assistant U.S. Atty. Michelle Kane said Thursday. The DePantes were accused of using the illegal practice of pretexting - pretending to be someone else - to secretly secure copies of private telephone logs. Their firm directed other investigators to illegally obtain personal information including Social Security numbers, authorities said. District Judge D. Lowell Jensen said the DePantes' actions involved lying. Kane said the elder DePante knew what he was doing and should stick to the terms of his plea deal. "He has admitted to his knowing involvement in this conspiracy," Kane said. Anything lower would not address the seriousness of his conduct. To say he is less responsible is a bit disingenuous.