OTHER NEWS - Nov. 5, 1991

Computer Saboteur Pleads Guilty: Michael John Lauffenburger, 31, a former General Dynamics computer programmer who planted a destructive “logic bomb” in one of the San Diego defense contractor’s mainframe computers, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted computer tampering. He faces up to one year in prison and a fine of $100,000. Federal prosecutors said Lauffenburger had hoped to increase his salary by creating a problem only he could solve: a program that was designed to destroy a database of Atlas Rocket components. He set the program to activate, then resigned, hoping, investigators say, that the company would rehire him as a highly paid consultant once it discovered the damage. But another General Dynamics programmer inadvertently ran across the program and alerted security, which disarmed the program.