Ex HP chairwoman Patricia Dunn today pled no contest to charges of corporate spying yet will likely walk away with nary a penalty, save the obvious black mark on her resume.

Unlike her fellow defendants — HP ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker, plus “investigators” Ronald DeLia and Matthew Depante, who also each pleaded no contest today to a single count of fraudulent wire communications — Dunn will likely avoid the 96 hours of community service levied by the judge.

The reason Dunn will get leniency from the court, according to an Associated Press report today, is because she has cancer.

In copping to the lesser charges, the defendants avoided trials for felony counts of using false or fraudulent pretenses to obtain confidential information from a public utility, unauthorized access to computer data, identity theft, and conspiracy. Each count had the potential for $10,000 in fines and three years in prison.

Although it appears Dunn will be fine, with the judge’s decision, Dunn avoids any heavy lifting for her actions.

White collar crime does pay, it seems.