9 ms·

RadiumOne CEO escapes felony charges

141 points by downandout 13y ago

elleferrer 13y ago
Ironically, Gurbaksh Chahal appeared on an episode of 'Secret Millionaire' where he gave a heavy check to a single mother of one who used to get beat up by her ex. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMAKwl1GW-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMAKwl1GW-I 117 times in half an hour! That's worse than what Chris Brown did to Rihanna. And he's planning to raise a $100 million IPO for RadiumOne? Pssh, I wouldn't invest a dime in a company, RadiumOne for example, whose CEO beats on women. I'm thinking that there's an unfortunate team over at RadiumOne trying to save his reputation by flooding social media with his inspirational messages. I've just lost all respect for you, Gurbaksh. I am now going to waste time out of my morning to unfriend you from all of my social networks.
downandout 13y ago
It's a little ironic that Brendan Eich had to step down over a $1,000 donation to a political cause nearly a decade ago, but the Valley so far has no problem with "G" hitting a woman 117 times in 30 minutes on video (after which he tried to smother her with a pillow). If he indeed suffers no significant professional fallout from what he did - and as of this moment there are no signs that he will - then the Valley is truly a disturbing place with priorities that are completely out of sync with the rest of humanity.
- justinv 13y ago
  Incredibly disturbing how little news this has made. No comment from anyone on the Board or at RadiumOne. I really hope they don't get anywhere near the IPO stage if "G" remains in control.
  - justinv 13y ago
    He continues to "maintain [his] innocence" and wonders "how stupid the internet is"... http://valleywag.gawker.com/ceo-who-pled-guilty-to-domestic-violence-maintains-his-1567445544 http://valleywag.gawker.com/ceo-who-pled-guilty-to-domestic-... https://twitter.com/gchahal https://twitter.com/gchahal
    - calbear81 13y ago
      Maybe he could just release the surveillance tape footage to "prove" his innocence?
- vdaniuk 13y ago
  No, its not ironic. That's exactly the difference between for-profit companies controlled by private interests and non-profit companies influenced by community interests. Moreover, trying to extrapolate one data point to draw conclusions about the Silicon Valley in its entirety is a really bad argument.
  - k-mcgrady 13y ago
    >> "That's exactly the difference between for-profit companies controlled by private interests and non-profit companies influenced by community interests." It feels like it should be the other way around to me. When something is influenced by community interests and a number of people make noise there should be a public vote or similar to decide on the offenders fate. It should be up to the community as a whole. A for-profit company needs to get rid of someone as toxic as this as there is a possibility it will effect sales. A for-profit company can't wait around to make a decision like that, it needs to be quick.
- swombat 13y ago
  It's not ironic, it's infuriating... But the best way I've heard it explained is that everyone knows and cares about Mozilla and Github, and no one knows RadiumOne. I tweeted John Gruber suggesting he might link to this, and he (rightly, I guess) pointed out that he had no idea who this guy is. And that will be most people's reaction, I guess.
  - downandout 13y ago
    He actually is a minor celebrity. He was one of Obama's biggest donors (and has been to the White House multiple times for personal visits with Obama), he was interviewed by Oprah, and had an entire hour of network television devoted to him in his episode of "Secret Millionaire" on ABC.
    - evan_ 13y ago
      All of those things were purchased.
  - buro9 13y ago
    I wondered whether it was the B2B vs B2C thing. Mozilla and Github, both have consumers who will take action. This is a far worse case, he provable beat the hell out of her, but a justice system screw-up has let him largely off the hook. Yet consumers (who make the most noise, push the strongest demands on companies, and can affect the bottom line when they are the customers) are not aware of Radium or able to directly affect the bottom line. I remain uncertain (expressed on Twitter) whether hounding existing investors is the way forward, but certainly pressuring board members (which will include some but not all existing investors) and customers is probably the way. Whereas my thoughts on Twitter mobs remain to the negative, this guy beat the hell out of his girl and clearly has issues with violence. He shouldn't be running a company, he isn't fit to. The court got it wrong (from a moral/ethical perspective as the guy did it, but perhaps right on a technical perspective I'll concede)... and I loathe mobs, but if the court failed to do their job then I come down on the side of the mob (even though that doesn't sit well with me).
    - 13y ago
- lholden 13y ago
  I think what he did is absolutely disgusting and am rather upset that he isn't going to be rotting in jail. But honestly I've also never heard of him or his company until this article. On the other hand, I have known of and have had a vested interested in Mozilla for as long as it has existed. I'm guessing most folks are in the same situation as myself. His company is private. The most anyone can do is to not do business with him. I think it's absolutely fucked up that he isn't going to prison... but what do you expect people to do? I doubt anyone is going to defend his actions. I don't see how your comparison with Mozilla makes any sense.
  - downandout 13y ago
    It's just an interesting contrast. The Mozilla situation was pushed forward by tweets of employees that were offended by his donation. It's odd that something similar wouldn't happen here.
    - smtddr 13y ago
      It's not odd. I've never even heard of this guy or his company before this. I also wonder if this company has a "coolness" factor. For example, if the CEO of AT&T, Monsanto or some Oil company did this I wouldn't expect outrage from SV since those companies' reputations in SV are already so low that no amount of badness from them would shock the tech-community. They'd be like just "Huh, yeah... rich execs in evil corps getting away with horrible crimes because our justice system only works when money & ethnicity aren't a factor. yawn. Happens every week. That problem is too big for me. Moving on..." Not saying this is good... just expectations and moral-bar is set differently for different companies. If the CEO of Mozilla/Facebook/Apple/Google/Dropbox did this we all _KNOW_ the interwebz would freakin' E-X-P-L-O-D-E.
      - justinv 13y ago
        In my opinion, the oddest thing is the lack of comment by the VCs & board. The VCs who have invested in RadiumOne (and are on the board) are: DFJ Esprit, Trinity Ventures, Crosslink Capital, & Adams Street Partners Additionally, Steve Westly of The Westly Group sits on the board. The more there is no comment/action from these groups - the less I think any entrepreneurs should work with them in the future.
- josephlord 13y ago
  Mozilla is a political organisation relying on public support. It needs a leader that doesn't have public political views that are strongly opposed by those whose support it needs. This guy is head of an ads company, if the customers refuse to do business with it the board will sack him or they will go bust. If this guy is named new Mozilla CEO I think that you might see a stronger reaction than that to Brendan Eich. Edit: For the record I wouldn't want to do business with this man or his company but the Mozilla comparison is completely irrelevant.
- danielweber 13y ago
  Two big differences: First, I have never heard of RadiumOne or this guy, and I suspect that most other people have not, either. While most people have heard of Mozilla. Second, most people have absolutely nothing to do with this company. I could threaten to boycott RadiumOne's products, but I don't even know what they do. While Mozilla (or DropBox) is a place I can react against. (I didn't like Eich being forced out, FWIW. I'm just pointing out the practical distinctions.)
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - sireat 13y ago
    Actually I am pretty sure I heard of this guy through HN a few years ago, he was pretty famous for starting two ad selling firms under the age of 20 and selling out for big bucks. Even back then I got a bad vibe(the usual Jobsian psychopatic one) out of the gushing articles written about him.
- vijucat 13y ago
  > "G" hitting a woman 117 times in 30 minutes on video (after which he tried to smother her with a pillow) Your assertive language seems to indicate that you have seen this video or are in some other way 100% sure that he is guilty of the act claimed. Maybe you should reserve opinion till you have enough evidence? Edit : Those who are downvoting me because you disagree with me: this is not reddit. Remember that I wrote a polite and personable reply even though my feelings are as strong as yours.
  - srpablo 13y ago
    The police, the parties involved, hell, even the courts have seen this video. Could they ALL be lying, and he's a perfectly innocent man!?!? Furthermore, it's not like it's particularly ambiguous: it's _117_ strikes over a half hour period. This is like disbelieving Australia exists because you've never physically set foot on it.
    - vijucat 13y ago
      Maybe I didn't understand the case enough, apologies. Let me read again.
    - bruceb 13y ago
      Do I think he might be guilty, yes. But when they charge him with 45 felonies and then he pleads guilty to 1 misdemeanor then I do wonder. Do some prosecutors exaggerate, lie, and withhold evidence? Yes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_lacrosse_case http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_lacrosse_case http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_%28criminal_justice%29#Arrest_and_imprisonment_of_prosecutor_Ken_Anderson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_%28criminal_just... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuliano_Mignini#Allegations_of_abuse_of_office http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuliano_Mignini#Allegations_of...
      - ceejayoz 13y ago
        The main bit of evidence, the surveillance tape, was thrown out because they seized it without warrant (out of concern it'd be destroyed while waiting for one). That's why the felonies went away.
- dbloom 13y ago
  The GitHub or Mozilla stories are more interesting because they raise good questions about what behavior and points of view are acceptable for people in power. In the RadiumOne CEO case, the answers to those questions are obvious. I know that, for better or for worse, there are a lot of overly active devil's advocates on HN. But nobody -- nobody -- is going to be rushing to this guy's defense. There is no reflection, discussion, or debate about this guy's behavior, because there's no need for that, because it is so obvious that this guy is 100% in the wrong and needs to be fired. And that means the story gets less attention. That being said...it will be interesting to see how companies that do business with RadiumOne react. If G remains in place but RadiumOne's clients don't cancel their contracts, then the story will get more interesting.
  - mrjatx 13y ago
    He sure is defending himself on twitter, though. The usual "don't believe everything you read, two sides to every argument" way. Maybe he's patting her on the head in the video.
    - dbloom 13y ago
      Umm, then he should release the video.
- DonHopkins 13y ago
  What makes you think that "the Valley so far has no problem with" that? What is you evidence of that? I see a lot of strong evidence to the contrary. The fact that he worked the legal system because he's rich doesn't mean "the Valley" or the rest of the world doesn't have a huge problem with what he did.
- gregd 13y ago
  It's not ironic. It's the pervasive attitude that violent misogyny is tolerable. We haven't grown past the point where women aren't 2nd class citizens and it's disturbing...
  - wyager 13y ago
    >It's the pervasive attitude that violent misogyny is tolerable. What the hell are you talking about? Literally no one here is saying "Well, I don't really care about women being beaten." There is obviously a huge negative reaction to this, and in case you didn't notice, if there hadn't been serious police misconduct, this guy probably would have been slapped down with forty-five felony charges.
- opendais 13y ago
  He should be removed as well, immediately. Yes, the tape might have been seized illegally [hence reduced charges, which is fair..the system needs to make it clear you have to play by the rules on both sides]. But ya, the lack of fallout is infuriating...if I was using RadiumOne, I'd boycott until he was gone.
shiven 13y ago
Fuck this shit! Anyone who invests in this scummy bastard's company, for whatever reasons, is an implicit supporter of such heinous behavior. If you have any way of holding this bastard's feet to the fire, financially or otherwise, it is your moral prerogative to do so, without question. Shame on anyone who supports this pathetic slime ass! If you care about it, put your money where your mouth is and find a way to publicize this before the IPO and find a way to keep yourself, your friends and your companies from having anything to benefit his business, now and in the future.
matthewmacleod 13y ago
With no felony conviction to his name, Chahal can remain on the board of RadiumOne I don't know why they'd want him to, though.
smoyer 13y ago
Our criminal justice system is designed to (except apparently at the federal level) keep it from being used against dissidents, but this is one case where the rules for evidence collection helped produce the wrong result. What he did was completely reprehensible and while the courts have ruled, that doesn't mean that society shouldn't punish this behavior. As someone below noted, nobody knows who he is, but we can change that ... and I hope that RadiumOne's customers care enough to find another vendor. EDIT: Did anyone else find the line "Security footage from his bedroom" a bit creepy?
- downandout 13y ago
  "Did anyone else find the line "Security footage from his bedroom" a bit creepy?" That was actually my first thought when I saw this. It's kind of fitting that his kinky-cam setup almost landed him a very stiff prison sentence.
- rayiner 13y ago
  > Our criminal justice system is designed to (except apparently at the federal level) keep it from being used against dissidents, but this is one case where the rules for evidence collection helped produce the wrong result. I think you would be surprised at the ratio of dissidents to scumbags that actually invoke the 4th amendment. This case is the common case, not the outlier. It's a scumbag who clearly did something bad that's getting off because the cops obtained evidence in violation of the 4th amendment. I think this was the right result, because this was a square fourth amendment violation (search in a home), but you can see why the 4th amendment is so politically unpopular and constantly under attack. Ordinary people don't really think or care about the dissidents. They just see guys like this get off on a "technicality."
  - defen 13y ago
    Can you comment on why this was a 4th amendment violation? It seems like the police were legitimately called to the scene of a crime-in-progress and found evidence of said crime. If they had found cocaine instead of a video of a violent attack, would that also have been inadmissible in a court of law?
justinv 13y ago
For those who are interested in some large companies that use RadiumOne. Would be very interesting to see their stance on this: https://twitter.com/PhilippvH/status/459348305991204864 https://twitter.com/PhilippvH/status/459348305991204864 Porsche, Verizon, United, UMG, & Conde Nast are all mentioned. I'm sure there are countless others.
cvbncvbncgbc 13y ago
Someone has been desperately trying to edit his Wikipedia entry many times, trying to remove the Domestic violence conviction section. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gurbaksh_Chahal&offset=&limit=100&action=history http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gurbaksh_Chahal&of...
- jebus989 13y ago
  Someone == a PR firm: http://www.eileenkoch.com/ http://www.eileenkoch.com/ (warning: noisy) but as the current revision reflects, Wikipedia articles are built with respect to due weight and neutrality. While it's not ok to hide unflattering info, it's also not ok to bloat a short encyclopaedic article with court case details with the intention of highlighting how bad a guy the subject is.
  - pekk 13y ago
    While in the real world, Wikipedia articles either hide unflattering info or act as smears depending mostly on which faction manages to edit-camp that article more effectively. Regardless of what is "ok"
    - jebus989 13y ago
      That's a silly caricature of how the place works, and not something I've experienced in the 8 years I've had an account there.
- hyperpape 13y ago
  In addition to PR efforts, there are also some experienced non-PR Wikipedia users who take a slash-and-burn approach to content that's not fully compliant with Wikipedia policies. Rather than attempt to pare it down to what survives, they will simply remove it all.
ghostDancer 13y ago
If you read something like this happening in a third world country you think is disgusting,but in the USA , i can't find the words.
- azth 13y ago
  Your comment is disgusting.
buro9 13y ago
Trying to find the written court verdict about the dismissal of the video footage is proving hard... all of the articles cite each other in a big circular loop. The original court filing and allegations are in here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/219900669/Gurbaksh-Chahal http://www.scribd.com/doc/219900669/Gurbaksh-Chahal But has anyone got a link to the actual court verdict at the end, or whatever the deal is?
whoismua 13y ago
Don't favor vigilante justice but if by chance the victim's brother happened to see this scumbag on the street, I wouldn't waste much sleep over it.
bruceb 13y ago
At the risk of evoking the wrath of HN... It is curious that he was charged with 45 felonies and had a million $ bail (which is ridiculous) yet in the end he plead guilty to 1 misdemeanor charge? Which what happens sometimes when prosecutors want to save face. Plenty of charges are prosecuted with out video so it being ruled inadmissible is a pain but not some insurmountable roadblock. He might be a horrible person, and I will condemn him when I know for sure, but we seem to be possibly missing some details here.
- nathanvanfleet 13y ago
  It was said that the video was attained in an illegal way so was inadmissible. Also that the girlfriend in question likely settled for money and wasn't cooperating.
- HeyLaughingBoy 13y ago
  Linked article said the victim declined to press charges. Possibly the DA felt it couldn't make a solid case without her cooperation, so they just got him to plead to the misdemeanors.
  - jebus989 13y ago
    Apparently she went further than declining to press charges, the defendant's lawyer claimed that the victim "'provided photographic proof of an unblemished complexion to SFPD' and filed an affidavit requesting that the investigation be terminated" [0]. [0] http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/attorney-for-internet-mogul-gurbaksh-chahal-call-domestic-violence-charges-overblown/Content?oid=2540544 http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/attorney-for-internet...
    - spacemanmatt 13y ago
      That is the defense story. Got salt?
      - jebus989 13y ago
throwaway_2912 13y ago
As someone who's interacted with RadiumOne's engineering leadership, I hate to say I'm only kind of surprised. At a minimum, the attitude and arrogance of its CEO permeates the rest of the organization. In my experience, this company gives off creepier vibes than just about any in SF, if not the entire valley. I would encourage everyone to give them a wide berth.
izzydata 13y ago
Who puts a security camera in their own bedroom?
- calbear81 13y ago
  A man who thinks his wife is sleeping with another man in their bed?
jeff303 13y ago
It's a little scary how many people on his Facebook page seem to be defending this shit because "she cheated on him."
spada 13y ago
He hit her nearly 4 times every minute for 30 minutes. that's staggering.. i hope this destroys him.

141 points by downandout 13y ago

Ironically, Gurbaksh Chahal appeared on an episode of 'Secret Millionaire' where he gave a heavy check to a single mother of one who used to get beat up by her ex. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMAKwl1GW-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMAKwl1GW-I 117 times in half an hour! That's worse than what Chris Brown did to Rihanna. And he's planning to raise a $100 million IPO for RadiumOne? Pssh, I wouldn't invest a dime in a company, RadiumOne for example, whose CEO beats on women. I'm thinking that there's an unfortunate team over at RadiumOne trying to save his reputation by flooding social media with his inspirational messages. I've just lost all respect for you, Gurbaksh. I am now going to waste time out of my morning to unfriend you from all of my social networks.

downandout 13y ago

It's a little ironic that Brendan Eich had to step down over a $1,000 donation to a political cause nearly a decade ago, but the Valley so far has no problem with "G" hitting a woman 117 times in 30 minutes on video (after which he tried to smother her with a pillow). If he indeed suffers no significant professional fallout from what he did - and as of this moment there are no signs that he will - then the Valley is truly a disturbing place with priorities that are completely out of sync with the rest of humanity.

justinv 13y ago
Incredibly disturbing how little news this has made. No comment from anyone on the Board or at RadiumOne. I really hope they don't get anywhere near the IPO stage if "G" remains in control.
- justinv 13y ago
  He continues to "maintain [his] innocence" and wonders "how stupid the internet is"... http://valleywag.gawker.com/ceo-who-pled-guilty-to-domestic-violence-maintains-his-1567445544 http://valleywag.gawker.com/ceo-who-pled-guilty-to-domestic-... https://twitter.com/gchahal https://twitter.com/gchahal
  - calbear81 13y ago
    Maybe he could just release the surveillance tape footage to "prove" his innocence?
vdaniuk 13y ago
No, its not ironic. That's exactly the difference between for-profit companies controlled by private interests and non-profit companies influenced by community interests. Moreover, trying to extrapolate one data point to draw conclusions about the Silicon Valley in its entirety is a really bad argument.
- k-mcgrady 13y ago
  >> "That's exactly the difference between for-profit companies controlled by private interests and non-profit companies influenced by community interests." It feels like it should be the other way around to me. When something is influenced by community interests and a number of people make noise there should be a public vote or similar to decide on the offenders fate. It should be up to the community as a whole. A for-profit company needs to get rid of someone as toxic as this as there is a possibility it will effect sales. A for-profit company can't wait around to make a decision like that, it needs to be quick.
swombat 13y ago
It's not ironic, it's infuriating... But the best way I've heard it explained is that everyone knows and cares about Mozilla and Github, and no one knows RadiumOne. I tweeted John Gruber suggesting he might link to this, and he (rightly, I guess) pointed out that he had no idea who this guy is. And that will be most people's reaction, I guess.
- downandout 13y ago
  He actually is a minor celebrity. He was one of Obama's biggest donors (and has been to the White House multiple times for personal visits with Obama), he was interviewed by Oprah, and had an entire hour of network television devoted to him in his episode of "Secret Millionaire" on ABC.
  - evan_ 13y ago
    All of those things were purchased.
- buro9 13y ago
  I wondered whether it was the B2B vs B2C thing. Mozilla and Github, both have consumers who will take action. This is a far worse case, he provable beat the hell out of her, but a justice system screw-up has let him largely off the hook. Yet consumers (who make the most noise, push the strongest demands on companies, and can affect the bottom line when they are the customers) are not aware of Radium or able to directly affect the bottom line. I remain uncertain (expressed on Twitter) whether hounding existing investors is the way forward, but certainly pressuring board members (which will include some but not all existing investors) and customers is probably the way. Whereas my thoughts on Twitter mobs remain to the negative, this guy beat the hell out of his girl and clearly has issues with violence. He shouldn't be running a company, he isn't fit to. The court got it wrong (from a moral/ethical perspective as the guy did it, but perhaps right on a technical perspective I'll concede)... and I loathe mobs, but if the court failed to do their job then I come down on the side of the mob (even though that doesn't sit well with me).
  - 13y ago
lholden 13y ago
I think what he did is absolutely disgusting and am rather upset that he isn't going to be rotting in jail. But honestly I've also never heard of him or his company until this article. On the other hand, I have known of and have had a vested interested in Mozilla for as long as it has existed. I'm guessing most folks are in the same situation as myself. His company is private. The most anyone can do is to not do business with him. I think it's absolutely fucked up that he isn't going to prison... but what do you expect people to do? I doubt anyone is going to defend his actions. I don't see how your comparison with Mozilla makes any sense.
- downandout 13y ago
  It's just an interesting contrast. The Mozilla situation was pushed forward by tweets of employees that were offended by his donation. It's odd that something similar wouldn't happen here.
  - smtddr 13y ago
    It's not odd. I've never even heard of this guy or his company before this. I also wonder if this company has a "coolness" factor. For example, if the CEO of AT&T, Monsanto or some Oil company did this I wouldn't expect outrage from SV since those companies' reputations in SV are already so low that no amount of badness from them would shock the tech-community. They'd be like just "Huh, yeah... rich execs in evil corps getting away with horrible crimes because our justice system only works when money & ethnicity aren't a factor. yawn. Happens every week. That problem is too big for me. Moving on..." Not saying this is good... just expectations and moral-bar is set differently for different companies. If the CEO of Mozilla/Facebook/Apple/Google/Dropbox did this we all _KNOW_ the interwebz would freakin' E-X-P-L-O-D-E.
    - justinv 13y ago
      In my opinion, the oddest thing is the lack of comment by the VCs & board. The VCs who have invested in RadiumOne (and are on the board) are: DFJ Esprit, Trinity Ventures, Crosslink Capital, & Adams Street Partners Additionally, Steve Westly of The Westly Group sits on the board. The more there is no comment/action from these groups - the less I think any entrepreneurs should work with them in the future.
josephlord 13y ago
Mozilla is a political organisation relying on public support. It needs a leader that doesn't have public political views that are strongly opposed by those whose support it needs. This guy is head of an ads company, if the customers refuse to do business with it the board will sack him or they will go bust. If this guy is named new Mozilla CEO I think that you might see a stronger reaction than that to Brendan Eich. Edit: For the record I wouldn't want to do business with this man or his company but the Mozilla comparison is completely irrelevant.
danielweber 13y ago
Two big differences: First, I have never heard of RadiumOne or this guy, and I suspect that most other people have not, either. While most people have heard of Mozilla. Second, most people have absolutely nothing to do with this company. I could threaten to boycott RadiumOne's products, but I don't even know what they do. While Mozilla (or DropBox) is a place I can react against. (I didn't like Eich being forced out, FWIW. I'm just pointing out the practical distinctions.)
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- sireat 13y ago
  Actually I am pretty sure I heard of this guy through HN a few years ago, he was pretty famous for starting two ad selling firms under the age of 20 and selling out for big bucks. Even back then I got a bad vibe(the usual Jobsian psychopatic one) out of the gushing articles written about him.
vijucat 13y ago
> "G" hitting a woman 117 times in 30 minutes on video (after which he tried to smother her with a pillow) Your assertive language seems to indicate that you have seen this video or are in some other way 100% sure that he is guilty of the act claimed. Maybe you should reserve opinion till you have enough evidence? Edit : Those who are downvoting me because you disagree with me: this is not reddit. Remember that I wrote a polite and personable reply even though my feelings are as strong as yours.
- srpablo 13y ago
  The police, the parties involved, hell, even the courts have seen this video. Could they ALL be lying, and he's a perfectly innocent man!?!? Furthermore, it's not like it's particularly ambiguous: it's _117_ strikes over a half hour period. This is like disbelieving Australia exists because you've never physically set foot on it.
  - vijucat 13y ago
    Maybe I didn't understand the case enough, apologies. Let me read again.
  - bruceb 13y ago
    Do I think he might be guilty, yes. But when they charge him with 45 felonies and then he pleads guilty to 1 misdemeanor then I do wonder. Do some prosecutors exaggerate, lie, and withhold evidence? Yes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_lacrosse_case http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_lacrosse_case http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_%28criminal_justice%29#Arrest_and_imprisonment_of_prosecutor_Ken_Anderson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Morton_%28criminal_just... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuliano_Mignini#Allegations_of_abuse_of_office http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuliano_Mignini#Allegations_of...
    - ceejayoz 13y ago
      The main bit of evidence, the surveillance tape, was thrown out because they seized it without warrant (out of concern it'd be destroyed while waiting for one). That's why the felonies went away.
dbloom 13y ago
The GitHub or Mozilla stories are more interesting because they raise good questions about what behavior and points of view are acceptable for people in power. In the RadiumOne CEO case, the answers to those questions are obvious. I know that, for better or for worse, there are a lot of overly active devil's advocates on HN. But nobody -- nobody -- is going to be rushing to this guy's defense. There is no reflection, discussion, or debate about this guy's behavior, because there's no need for that, because it is so obvious that this guy is 100% in the wrong and needs to be fired. And that means the story gets less attention. That being said...it will be interesting to see how companies that do business with RadiumOne react. If G remains in place but RadiumOne's clients don't cancel their contracts, then the story will get more interesting.
- mrjatx 13y ago
  He sure is defending himself on twitter, though. The usual "don't believe everything you read, two sides to every argument" way. Maybe he's patting her on the head in the video.
  - dbloom 13y ago
    Umm, then he should release the video.
DonHopkins 13y ago
What makes you think that "the Valley so far has no problem with" that? What is you evidence of that? I see a lot of strong evidence to the contrary. The fact that he worked the legal system because he's rich doesn't mean "the Valley" or the rest of the world doesn't have a huge problem with what he did.
gregd 13y ago
It's not ironic. It's the pervasive attitude that violent misogyny is tolerable. We haven't grown past the point where women aren't 2nd class citizens and it's disturbing...
- wyager 13y ago
  >It's the pervasive attitude that violent misogyny is tolerable. What the hell are you talking about? Literally no one here is saying "Well, I don't really care about women being beaten." There is obviously a huge negative reaction to this, and in case you didn't notice, if there hadn't been serious police misconduct, this guy probably would have been slapped down with forty-five felony charges.
opendais 13y ago
He should be removed as well, immediately. Yes, the tape might have been seized illegally [hence reduced charges, which is fair..the system needs to make it clear you have to play by the rules on both sides]. But ya, the lack of fallout is infuriating...if I was using RadiumOne, I'd boycott until he was gone.

shiven 13y ago

Fuck this shit! Anyone who invests in this scummy bastard's company, for whatever reasons, is an implicit supporter of such heinous behavior. If you have any way of holding this bastard's feet to the fire, financially or otherwise, it is your moral prerogative to do so, without question. Shame on anyone who supports this pathetic slime ass! If you care about it, put your money where your mouth is and find a way to publicize this before the IPO and find a way to keep yourself, your friends and your companies from having anything to benefit his business, now and in the future.

matthewmacleod 13y ago

With no felony conviction to his name, Chahal can remain on the board of RadiumOne I don't know why they'd want him to, though.

smoyer 13y ago

Our criminal justice system is designed to (except apparently at the federal level) keep it from being used against dissidents, but this is one case where the rules for evidence collection helped produce the wrong result. What he did was completely reprehensible and while the courts have ruled, that doesn't mean that society shouldn't punish this behavior. As someone below noted, nobody knows who he is, but we can change that ... and I hope that RadiumOne's customers care enough to find another vendor. EDIT: Did anyone else find the line "Security footage from his bedroom" a bit creepy?

downandout 13y ago
"Did anyone else find the line "Security footage from his bedroom" a bit creepy?" That was actually my first thought when I saw this. It's kind of fitting that his kinky-cam setup almost landed him a very stiff prison sentence.
rayiner 13y ago
> Our criminal justice system is designed to (except apparently at the federal level) keep it from being used against dissidents, but this is one case where the rules for evidence collection helped produce the wrong result. I think you would be surprised at the ratio of dissidents to scumbags that actually invoke the 4th amendment. This case is the common case, not the outlier. It's a scumbag who clearly did something bad that's getting off because the cops obtained evidence in violation of the 4th amendment. I think this was the right result, because this was a square fourth amendment violation (search in a home), but you can see why the 4th amendment is so politically unpopular and constantly under attack. Ordinary people don't really think or care about the dissidents. They just see guys like this get off on a "technicality."
- defen 13y ago
  Can you comment on why this was a 4th amendment violation? It seems like the police were legitimately called to the scene of a crime-in-progress and found evidence of said crime. If they had found cocaine instead of a video of a violent attack, would that also have been inadmissible in a court of law?

justinv 13y ago

For those who are interested in some large companies that use RadiumOne. Would be very interesting to see their stance on this: https://twitter.com/PhilippvH/status/459348305991204864 https://twitter.com/PhilippvH/status/459348305991204864 Porsche, Verizon, United, UMG, & Conde Nast are all mentioned. I'm sure there are countless others.

cvbncvbncgbc 13y ago

Someone has been desperately trying to edit his Wikipedia entry many times, trying to remove the Domestic violence conviction section. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gurbaksh_Chahal&offset=&limit=100&action=history http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gurbaksh_Chahal&of...

jebus989 13y ago
Someone == a PR firm: http://www.eileenkoch.com/ http://www.eileenkoch.com/ (warning: noisy) but as the current revision reflects, Wikipedia articles are built with respect to due weight and neutrality. While it's not ok to hide unflattering info, it's also not ok to bloat a short encyclopaedic article with court case details with the intention of highlighting how bad a guy the subject is.
- pekk 13y ago
  While in the real world, Wikipedia articles either hide unflattering info or act as smears depending mostly on which faction manages to edit-camp that article more effectively. Regardless of what is "ok"
  - jebus989 13y ago
    That's a silly caricature of how the place works, and not something I've experienced in the 8 years I've had an account there.
hyperpape 13y ago
In addition to PR efforts, there are also some experienced non-PR Wikipedia users who take a slash-and-burn approach to content that's not fully compliant with Wikipedia policies. Rather than attempt to pare it down to what survives, they will simply remove it all.

ghostDancer 13y ago

If you read something like this happening in a third world country you think is disgusting,but in the USA , i can't find the words.

azth 13y ago
Your comment is disgusting.

buro9 13y ago

Trying to find the written court verdict about the dismissal of the video footage is proving hard... all of the articles cite each other in a big circular loop. The original court filing and allegations are in here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/219900669/Gurbaksh-Chahal http://www.scribd.com/doc/219900669/Gurbaksh-Chahal But has anyone got a link to the actual court verdict at the end, or whatever the deal is?

whoismua 13y ago

Don't favor vigilante justice but if by chance the victim's brother happened to see this scumbag on the street, I wouldn't waste much sleep over it.

bruceb 13y ago

At the risk of evoking the wrath of HN... It is curious that he was charged with 45 felonies and had a million $ bail (which is ridiculous) yet in the end he plead guilty to 1 misdemeanor charge? Which what happens sometimes when prosecutors want to save face. Plenty of charges are prosecuted with out video so it being ruled inadmissible is a pain but not some insurmountable roadblock. He might be a horrible person, and I will condemn him when I know for sure, but we seem to be possibly missing some details here.

nathanvanfleet 13y ago
It was said that the video was attained in an illegal way so was inadmissible. Also that the girlfriend in question likely settled for money and wasn't cooperating.
HeyLaughingBoy 13y ago
Linked article said the victim declined to press charges. Possibly the DA felt it couldn't make a solid case without her cooperation, so they just got him to plead to the misdemeanors.
- jebus989 13y ago
  Apparently she went further than declining to press charges, the defendant's lawyer claimed that the victim "'provided photographic proof of an unblemished complexion to SFPD' and filed an affidavit requesting that the investigation be terminated" [0]. [0] http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/attorney-for-internet-mogul-gurbaksh-chahal-call-domestic-violence-charges-overblown/Content?oid=2540544 http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/attorney-for-internet...
  - spacemanmatt 13y ago
    That is the defense story. Got salt?
    - jebus989 13y ago

throwaway_2912 13y ago

As someone who's interacted with RadiumOne's engineering leadership, I hate to say I'm only kind of surprised. At a minimum, the attitude and arrogance of its CEO permeates the rest of the organization. In my experience, this company gives off creepier vibes than just about any in SF, if not the entire valley. I would encourage everyone to give them a wide berth.

izzydata 13y ago

Who puts a security camera in their own bedroom?

calbear81 13y ago
A man who thinks his wife is sleeping with another man in their bed?

jeff303 13y ago

It's a little scary how many people on his Facebook page seem to be defending this shit because "she cheated on him."

spada 13y ago

He hit her nearly 4 times every minute for 30 minutes. that's staggering.. i hope this destroys him.