Not a great example because I think at least 50% of people would do what your friends did. Like others mentioned, it depends which law he broke but chances are

Not a great example because I think at least 50% of people would do what your friends did. Like others mentioned, it depends which law he broke but chances are it brought up to question this person's sense of responsibility, integrity and whether this is someone that could be trusted. These are foundations for any business relationship (let alone the distractions that come with someone who has problems with the law). Perhaps the only saving grace for this person is if they were responsible for a notorious but awesome hack job that only few people (read: no script kiddies) could do.