The unlawful backdating of stock options and the failure to report is perhaps not the most riveting story on the business page. But when the details start to come out, what was done and what people said, it gets a little better. The details of Mercury Interactive's (now owned by HP) backdating shenanigans may not rise to the level of Enron traders' "Burn, baby, burn" comment, but they're still eye-opening.

Based on a shareholders lawsuit, which was unsealed, filed in the matter, the Chronicle reports a couple of tidbits. Other lawsuits are still sealed, although several newspapers are pursuing their release.

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  Mercury executives used WhiteOut on options documents and joked about "magic backdating ink."
  
  

  A finance department employee e-mailed another regarding an employee's stock option grant: "I betcha that Sharlene (Abrams, a former CFO) will overrule these types of things ... and we will use her magic backdating ink. Let's see what happens!"
  
  

  
  

• According to a lawsuit, Abrams and Susan Skaer (former GC), faked a letter hiring drew up a fake letter hiring Douglas Smith as CFO on May 23, 2000, a date before he was actually hired.
  
  
• In January 2002, three board members approved for an option grant to Skaer. But Skaer or an assistant whited out the date the fax was sent and changed it to a low-price day, Nov. 5, 2001.