Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox said it was notified by the U.S. Justice Dept. that it has completed its investigation into cell phone hacking and is declining to prosecute the company or News Corp.
Before 21st Century and News Corp. were split into separate corporations, it was embroiled in a scandal because staffers illegally listened to cell phone messages of figures in the news including crime victims and public officials.
Murdoch was forced to apologize, the company paid millions of dollars in settlements with many of those whose phones were hacked and several senior company executives left the company.
The scandal also pushed the company to drop a bid to acquire BSkyB and led to Murdoch being questioned by the British government, where he was nearly hit by a pie, but was rescued by his former wife Wendi Deng.
