Justice for the Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman?

The headlines are serious and a bit mysterious. Felony charges were dropped against Patricia Dunn, former Chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), partly because she is battling advanced ovarian cancer. Three others involved in the spying scandal will plead "no contest" to a single misdemeanor charge. These pleas will carry no jail time and serious felony charges have been avoided. A felony conviction carries a stiffer sentence not to mention a label for life. Is it fair?

Everyone is presumed innocent, but the details are quite salacious. The head of a publicly traded U.S. corporation became involved in dark, smoky antics and the felony counts mounted to four charges. Serious and more than just career-threatening. The felony charges included identity theft and unauthorized access to computer data. Sure, no one was killed (that we know of!), but the public trust was once again violated and taken for granted. Senior managers of a major corporation were caught thinking their actions were above the law. The fact that some of them are pleading nolo contendre to lesser charges takes that presumption of innocence away from the equation. They were probably guilty of something far more serious and a misdemeanor rap is an easy, painless way around the bigger issues.

Investor confidence can only be assured when there is total transparency and clear, honest communication. Boards of directors are in place to serve as advocates for the real owners -- the shareholders. Conducting clandestine operations makes for great TV shows, but the corporate, public world has to be squeaky clean and transparent.

The penalty these three will face is the same as if they intentionally knocked down your mailbox. Ms. Dunn should be buying her lawyer one fantastic dinner!!

Georges Yared is the author of Stop Losing Money Today and Baby Boomer Investing.