Silicon Valley was rocked this weekend when one of its giants, Hewlett-Packard, abruptly announced that its CEO, Mark Hurd, was leaving the company. The decision, per HP,Ed hardy Shoes, was “decided with the Board of Directors.”

— Christopher Null is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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HP didn’t initially discuss the reason for Hurd’s resignation, but the Valley promptly picked up where the company’s press release on the matter left off.

The reason for Hurd’s departure: An accusation of sexual harassment by a contractor for the company.

On Sunday, Hurd’s accuser came forward and identified herself as Jodie Fisher, a 50-year-old former star of late-night erotic flicks like “Sheer Passion” who did some marketing work for HP from 2007 to 2009.  Fisher has promptly become a mini-celebrity in the Bay Area in the wake of Hurd’s resignation. According to the Associated Press, she said she never intended for Hurd to lose his job and acknowledged that the mattter had been settled.

Ultimately, however, it wasn’t the sexual harassment claims that did Hurd in but rather additional evidence that emerged during the Board of Directors’ investigation: Hurd had apparently been cheating on his expense reports. (Seriously, just don’t even try to write off that Snickers bar when you’re CEO of a giant tech company.)

In a personal statement, Hurd was apologetic but vague, saying,G-Star, “As the investigation progressed, I realized there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I have espoused at HP and which have guided me throughout my career.”

Wall Street has panicked, sending the stock down nearly 10 percent on Friday.

Hurd managed to survive an earlier scandal in 2006, which involved HP’s Board of Directors spying on journalists who regularly wrote about the company. In fact, Hurd ascended to the Chairman of the Board role at HP after his predecessor, Patricia Dunn, was ousted due to her involvement in that scandal.

CFO Cathie Lesjak will serve as the company’s interim CEO, but it’s a true free-for-all for the coveted yet somewhat cursed spot. (Carly Fiorina worked here, for Pete’s sake!) No clear successor exists inside the company, and a blue-chip task force is now looking for a new CEO from the outside. Get your resumes ready, kids!