Ex-Cop To Plead Guilty In Natick eBay Cyberstalking Case

NATICK, MA — A former California police officer charged in connection to a cyberstalking campaign mounted by former eBay employees to intimidate a Natick couple will plead guilty in federal court next month, prosecutors announced this week.

Philip Cooke, 55, of San Jose, Calif., has been charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses. His is the second guilty plea in the eBay case announced this week by federal prosecutors.

The cyberstalking campaign began after an unidentified Natick couple criticized eBay in a newsletter they ran. That led to company employees sending the couple items like a fetal pig and spiders.

Prosecutors said Cooke was supposed to broker and end to the abuse if the couple agreed to cover eBay positively in the newsletter, according to prosecutors.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors announced four former eBay employees will plead guilty in October in connection to the case. Cooke is expected to plead guilty in Boston on Oct. 27, according to prosecutors.