Zuckerberg's Goodfellas

Anybody who got sucked into the glamour/darkness of the Facebook story that culminated in Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network movie will probably be familiar with the name Paul Ceglia. Ceglia is the guy who filed a lawsuit last August claiming that he owns 50 percent of Facebook and, therefore, is entitled to 50 percent of the revenue. There were, however, reasons to seriously doubt Ceglia's claims. Facebook has understandably been keen to hammer the point that Ceglia is a convicted felon who allegedly defrauded customers of his wood pellet company of $200,000. Being a convicted fraudster doesn't look good when attempting to convince a court that you are owed billions of dollars. Then there is the fact that Ceglia waited a full seven years before filing his suit, by which time, of course, his potential winnings had sky-rocketed. On first glance, Ceglia appears to be a small-time con man gambling on one big payout. Things may not be quite that simple though. Ceglia has returned with a hard drive full of new evidence that would suggest that he actually has a case. If we know anything about Zuckerberg, it is that he is ruthless, brilliant, single-minded and, in all honesty, a bit of a bully. His much-publicized treatment of the Winklevoss twins is ample proof of that. So in Zuckerberg and Ceglia, we're left with one visionary, prepared to go to any lengths to achieve success, morally unhindered by whomever he leaves in his wake, equally admired and despised, and one fly-by-night crook, always looking for the latest get-rich-quick scheme and not afraid to flaunt the law to get what he wants. Hardly a pair of angels then. But

has been quick to point out that, if DLA Piper, Ceglia's prestigious and reputable law firm, is prepared to take on the case, it has undoubtedly done its due diligence and decided that Ceglia stands a decent chance of winning. The alternative for Ceglia, of course, would be jail time. The emails that Ceglia has presented, if proven genuine, look damning for Facebook. A contract clearly states that Ceglia owns 50 percent of “The Face Book” and another project Ceglia and Zuckerberg were working on called StreetFax. Facebook admit that the contract is real, but claim that Ceglia has doctored the documents to include mention of “The Face Book” rather than just StreetFax. There is email evidence of Zuckerberg attempting to give Ceglia his $2000 investment back a week before Facebook, inc. was incorporated. It all smells very much like a young man attempting to wiggle out of a deal when he realized how much of his company he had virtually given away for that $2000. The courts will decide, but the whole saga must look deliciously like a sequel to Aaron Sorkin.