Posted by Walter Traprock on 11/26/06 04:01

Pirated CDs seized at Sebastopol flea market

Eight arrested in sweep by sheriff's deputies, music industry
investigators

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County sheriff's deputies seized more than 5,000 pirated CDs
and dozens of DVDs in a sweep of a flea market Sunday in Sebastopol.

he operation was the first of its kind in the county and was conducted
with the help of private investigators contracted by the Recording
Industry Association of America to enforce anti-piracy laws in
Northern California.

Sheriff's deputies arrested eight people and confiscated 58 DVDs,
including movies that are still showing in theaters like "Borat"
and "Flushed Away."

The counterfeit discs seized from vendors would bring about $25,000
to $35,000 in street sales, but represent about $65,000 in lost
revenue based on recording industry estimates that put the fair
market value of a legitimate compact disc at $13.

At Midgley's Country Flea Market on Gravenstein Highway, the site
of the raid, bootleg CDs were allegedly selling for $5 to $7,
investigators said.

"For that flea market, that's a decent-sized sweep," said Roger
Short, a private investigative consultant on contract with the
recording industry group, who took part in the sweep.

"Anyone who's selling pirated material - a street vendor, at a flea
market or a store, in barber shops or beauty salons, someone in a
van - that's our target," he said.

Representatives of the flea market could not be reached for comment.

The CDs featured everything from Mexico's "King of the Rancheros,"
Vicente Fernandez, to Puerto Rico's salsa-singing heartthrob, Marc
Anthony, and compilations of hip-hop songs.

Short said a team of six deputies and 11 people hired by the recording
industry group acted on information received from a toll-free tip
line, (800) BAD-BEATS.

"We went in with their expertise," said Sonoma County Sheriff's
Sgt. Joe Raya. "They gave us some training on what DVDs and CDs
were illegal."

Five people were arrested for allegedly selling counterfeit products
and will be specifically charged with failing to disclose the true
name and address of the manufacturer, a misdemeanor.

Two others, Agustin Lopez, 32, and Jose Francisco Alvarez, 19, were
arrested on felony charges of trademark infringement and were booked
into the Sonoma County jail.

Another man, Jose Rodriguez Ascension, 23, was arrested on two
outstanding warrants and on suspicion of selling counterfeit CDs.

Music industry representatives said the musicians and record labels
don't get a penny from the sale of pirated music.

"Piracy also affects the stores," said Angelica Reyes, who works
at Video Tepa, a music and movie store chain in Sonoma. "Lots of
people know that the discs are pirated but they buy them anyway
because they're less expensive."

Reyes said pirated music is commonly sold on the street in Mexico
and Central America, where the average music lover can't afford a
$15 CD.

At Bradley Video in Sebastopol, manager Christina Dahl said pirated
movies don't affect business in her store.

"They probably weren't our customers anyway. (Our customers) want
to see the real thing, a good quality movie."

Short said a recent raid at flea markets in Stockton turned up more
than 7,000 pirated CDs and DVDs.

WHAT WAS SEIZED

* 5,000 pirated CDs, featuring mostly Latin music and hip-hop
compilations.

* 58 pirated DVDs, including movies that are still showing in
theaters such as "Borat" and "Flushed Away."

* Police say the counterfeit discs seized from vendors would bring
about $25,000 to $35,000 in street sales.

[Back to original message]