Slayergrrl
12-17-03, 02:00 PM
My bosses made a big bust monday afternoon. Tons of illegal Cd's and DVD's were taken off the street. Funny thing iis that the two places that were busted are right near the police station. The first one is across the street! It's a coffee shop/convinence store. I usually buy my coffee there but never knew of the other things that were being sold there.
From today's boston herald.
Alleged Cambridge bootleggers face music
By Dave Wedge
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Already facing a war against Big Apple bootleggers, recording industry gumshoes have taken their crusade to Cambridge where authorities this week seized nearly 6,000 counterfeit CDs and DVDs - including some movies just released in theaters.
``They expect to find more of this going on in the Boston area,'' Cambridge police Superintendent Michael Giacoppo said of the Recording Industry Association of America.
RIAA investigators came to Cambridge acting on a tip that bootlegged CDs were being sold in Central Square. The undercover sleuths bought three counterfeit discs at a convenience store at 4 Central Square and called in the Cambridge cops, who seized 900 CDs and DVDs, Cambridge police spokesman Frank Pasquarello said. (Frank Pasquarello is my boss)
The store owner, 24-year-old Dong Hu of New York City and Cambridge was arrested on bootlegging and counterfeiting charges. He faces up to five years in jail, $250,000 in fines and possible federal charges.
While walking around the neighborhood, the RIAA investigators stumbled into a jewelry store at 605 Massachusetts Ave. where more bogus discs were being peddled. Pasquarello said cops seized another 5,000 counterfeit discs and have an arrest warrant for the owner.
The CDs, including titles by DMX and various DJ mixes, were selling three for $10. The DVDs weren't priced but included still-in-theater box office smashes like ``Cat in the Hat,'' ``Haunted Mansion,'' and ``The Last Samurai.''
The mediocre-quality DVDs, often filmed by video camera in theaters and sold in legitimate-looking packaging, are commonplace on New York City street corners, which prompted an RIAA crackdown. Similar operations were busted this summer in Downtown Crossing, Dorchester and Roxbury.
``If you saw these, you would say, `Hey that's a good buy,' '' Giacoppo said. ``You wouldn't be able to tell the difference.''
From today's boston herald.
Alleged Cambridge bootleggers face music
By Dave Wedge
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Already facing a war against Big Apple bootleggers, recording industry gumshoes have taken their crusade to Cambridge where authorities this week seized nearly 6,000 counterfeit CDs and DVDs - including some movies just released in theaters.
``They expect to find more of this going on in the Boston area,'' Cambridge police Superintendent Michael Giacoppo said of the Recording Industry Association of America.
RIAA investigators came to Cambridge acting on a tip that bootlegged CDs were being sold in Central Square. The undercover sleuths bought three counterfeit discs at a convenience store at 4 Central Square and called in the Cambridge cops, who seized 900 CDs and DVDs, Cambridge police spokesman Frank Pasquarello said. (Frank Pasquarello is my boss)
The store owner, 24-year-old Dong Hu of New York City and Cambridge was arrested on bootlegging and counterfeiting charges. He faces up to five years in jail, $250,000 in fines and possible federal charges.
While walking around the neighborhood, the RIAA investigators stumbled into a jewelry store at 605 Massachusetts Ave. where more bogus discs were being peddled. Pasquarello said cops seized another 5,000 counterfeit discs and have an arrest warrant for the owner.
The CDs, including titles by DMX and various DJ mixes, were selling three for $10. The DVDs weren't priced but included still-in-theater box office smashes like ``Cat in the Hat,'' ``Haunted Mansion,'' and ``The Last Samurai.''
The mediocre-quality DVDs, often filmed by video camera in theaters and sold in legitimate-looking packaging, are commonplace on New York City street corners, which prompted an RIAA crackdown. Similar operations were busted this summer in Downtown Crossing, Dorchester and Roxbury.
``If you saw these, you would say, `Hey that's a good buy,' '' Giacoppo said. ``You wouldn't be able to tell the difference.''