BY ALBERT AMATEAU | The leader of an international computer hacking ring who lives in the Jacob Riis Houses, where he operated from his apartment, was identified on Tuesday as the F.B.I. informant who ratted out five of his fellow hackers.
Hector Xavier Monsegur, 28, a Stuyvesant High School graduate who lives in the East Village public housing complex with his family, was identified by federal law enforcement agencies as the leader of the group that hacked U.S. Senate, Fox Broadcasting and MasterCard, along with Tunisian and Algerian government and other computers, from December 2010 to June 2011.
The F.B.I. arrested Monsegur, known among hackers as “Sabu,” last May after a tip. He pleaded guilty in August to 12 counts of computer hacking.
According to a New York Post report, Monsegur began cooperating with prosecutors to avoid being separated from his family, including two young nieces for whom he is caring. He is currently free on $50,000 bail.
Others in the ring arrested this week were Ryan Ackroyd and Jake Davis, both of Great Britain, Darren Martyn and Donncha O’Cearrbhail of Ireland, and Jeremy Hammond of Chicago.
The defendants were part of a loose ring known as Anonymous, according to court papers. Monsegur, identified as an unemployed programmer living on welfare, later organized LulzSec, an offshoot of Anonymous.
Hammond was identified also as a member of AntiSec, another hacker ring.
