Not really spyware, but this is the most recently active thread remotely related:

Police track down creator of Sasser worm
BY MATTHEW SCHOFIELD
Knight Ridder Newspapers

BERLIN — In the end, police discovered the source of the Sasser computer worm, which in recent days shut down Finnish banks, the British Coast Guard and millions of computers worldwide, in the homemade computer of an 18-year-old kid.
Acting on a tip from software giant Microsoft, police on Friday raced into the northern German village of Wafferisen to search the home of a technical school student-programmer and hacker. By Saturday, the student had confessed, experts had reviewed seized materials and the case was seen as a wrap. "We found the source code on a computer he had made by himself," said Frank Federau, spokesman for the police. A statement by investigators added that "as a result of the student's detailed testimony about the viruses he spread, he has been identified clearly as the author." Police declined to name the young man, whose four variants of the Sasser worm are still out there and are expected to cause damage for some time.
The teenager is being investigated on suspicion of computer sabotage, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, said Detlef Ehrike, a spokesman for the state criminal office. After being questioned, he was released pending charges.
The teenager told officials that his original intention was to create a virus that would combat the "Mydoom" and "Bagle" viruses, removing them from infected computers. In the course of that effort, he developed the "Netsky" virus further - and after modifying it, Sasser. "The student did not give any thought to the resulting consequences or damage," investigators said.

Contributing: Associated Press
As published, Wichita Eagle, May 9, 2004, page 4A.

Once in while, they DO get caught.

John