Don't Perform Criminal Acts for the State

If you are approached by the State to perform illegal acts for them don't do it. When you're finally caught they will ignore you and allow prosecution to be brought against you. That seems to be the problem Albert Gonzalez is now facing. He's been found guilty of creating one big ass credit card heist and has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. The problem? His actions were likely authorized by the United States government:

The government has acknowledged that Gonzalez was a key undercover Secret Service informant at the time of the breaches. Now, in a March 24 habeas corpus petition filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, Gonzalez asserts that the Secret Service authorized him to commit the crimes.

“I still believe that I was acting on behalf of the United States Secret Service and that I was authorized and directed to engage in the conduct I committed as part of my assignment to gather intelligence and seek out international cyber criminals,” he wrote. “I now know and understand that I have been used as a scapegoat to cover someone’s mistakes.”

Good luck to you Mr. Gonzalez. The United States government has a long and proud history of leaving those who've helped them behind. It's likely that if what Mr. Gonzalez claims is true the government will disavow any knowledge and let you rot in prison for 20 years. This should go as a lesson to everybody else though, don't perform acts that are illegal in the United States for the government of said United States. Government agents are pricks and spend more time covering their own asses then doing any real work. Part of covering their asses involves finding other people to take the heat for the illegal acts they've committed.