63 year-old former UBS IT programmer Roger Duronio is in court in New York facing charges of computer sabotage, mail and securities fraud. He is accused of planting a 'logic bomb' at the bank as he was unhappy with his 2001 bonus. The 'bomb' caused millions in damages and, according to witness testimony, its legacy still haunts the firm to this day.

Rajeev Khanna, Duronio's boss, told the court earlier this week that Duronio came into his office in February 2002 saying that he wanted a larger bonus payout, or he was off  (He reckoned he was around $18,000 short, as he only bagged $32,000). After a quick chat with HR, it was clear Duronio's UBS days were numbered - but he was packing anyway. The twist, it is alleged, is that he had started to build his 'logic bomb' the previous November (just in case) and, when he discovered his bonus number in February, it was already loaded onto UBS's main host server.

Duronio is then said to have walked out, and invested $20,000 in 'put options', betting that the bank's share price would fall when the 'bomb' went off. Although the detonation did cause havoc, the UBS share price didn't move. Duronio had lost his job, and his dosh. Then he was arrested. Attorneys acting for the accused claim that their man is innocent and the victim of mistaken identity. They claim that the UBS IT security network was riddled with holes which enabled anyone in the know to 'walk around in the system undetected and masquerade as someone else'.

The trial continues.

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