The onus is on him to demonstrate why his reputation in the industry should be restored.
The problem is that at the level that he was operating at, he would need to reenter industry in a leadership position of some sort, and most people would not trust him as a leader after this.
The ex-cons you worked with didn't have this issue because they probably didn't commit their felonies in food service, but rather in some other criminal situation or enterprise.
Also, fair or not, most people have less sympathy for those who commit felonies after they're already wealthy or powerful, versus people who commit felonies when they are largely poor or powerless. The criminal justice system, however, could be argued to have the exact opposite bias.
* The files that Levandowski is alleged to have stolen contain drawings and schematics pertaining to circuitry and LIDAR laser-sensors that were used in Google’s self-driving cars. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine, plus restitution, for every count.*
https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/27/20835368/google-uber-engi...
> agreed to plead guilty on Thursday to taking sensitive documents
> Prosecutors accused Levandowski of stealing materials in late 2015 and early 2016 after deciding to leave Google and form his own company
> I downloaded these files with the intent to use them for my own personal benefit, and I understand that I was not authorized to take the files for that purpose
That's the material in the article. Any hints of said thief's brilliance must be elsewhere, if they exist, and the burden to produce them is on those who would claim they should be given weight.
Not only is he a thief, by his own admission, but it probably wasn’t the first time he did this. The way he stole the designs he wasn’t worried about getting caught. This is not something someone does for the first time. It’s a pattern of behavior built up over a long time.
I’m seriously worried about the lack of basic morals in technology where behavior like this, like Andy Rubin’s, etc.... goes unpunished because these people are “brilliant.”