The fifty year old New York lawyer set up bogus email addresses and wrote several blogs under fictitious names in an effort to defend his father against those he was in an international debate with. The debate revolves around the authenticity and origins of the 2,000 year old documents that are believed to be the first versions of the Hebrew Bible.
The district attorney said his actions were criminal; Golb and his camp say it was nothing more than his way of ''using irony, satire and parody to expose a plagiarist''. He was initially arrested March 5, 2009 and then released the next day on his own recognizance. His attorney argued his First Amendment rights were trampled on. His crimes run the gamut from theft to harassment to another criminal impersonation of one of his father's rivals, Dr. Lawrence Schiffman.
The senior Golb and Schiffman have debated the authenticity of the Dead Sea Scrolls for decades and once it became clear his old rival's son was the one responsible for the bogus blogs and emails that kept popping up, Schiffman went to the authorities. Both Golbs have said they believe they are being kept from investigating the Scrolls for themselves and that there is a conspiracy behind those efforts. It wasn't until after a lengthy investigation that the junior Golb was arrested and charged.
The jury was out for a mere five hours before returning with its verdict. He could be ordered to prison for four years when he returns to court for sentencing on November 18. Until then, he is free on bond and in a press release, he told the media he'd be using this time working on his appeal with his lawyers. Professor Norman Golb continues to support his son and said, ''My son is an honorable person''.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance had his own comment:
''Using fictitious identities to impersonate victims is not what open academic debate seeks to foster.''
