Car Stereo Thieves Looking Elsewhere to Make Those Ends
stealing posts
Bad Economy Leading Folks to Steal Electricity
According to the story, an increasing number of desperate Americans have resorted to stealing electricity. Some run wires directly from the power line into their circuit breaker, while others try tampering with their meter to lower their monthly cost. This, as you can imagine, is an extremely dangerous task, and, according to USA Today, it's happening more and more often as people find themselves unable to pay their bills.
American Electric Power, a company that serves hard-hit states like Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, investigated 3,196 cases of electricity theft this past January and February. That is a 27-percent increase from last year.
Retailers Taking Action Against Rising Rate of Blu-ray Thefts
Crafty Crooks Get a 'Cheap' Blu-ray Player
Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Not that we'd have any expert knowledge in the wide world of theft, but this just doesn't seem like the best way to go about snagging a new HDTV. At any rate, an undisclosed amount of thieves reportedly drove a truck (or large SUV... it was dark outside, okay?) into the front door of Los Tres Amigos restaurant in a small Pennsylvania town, broke the glass, ganked a 47-inch Insignia HDTV and "fled the scene." For starters, you'd risk prison for an Insignia? Really? Second, with LCD prices tanking like never before, don't you think you could've waited until Black Friday to get yourself a steal? Sigh.[Image courtesy of Hotel Interactive]
TV Pirate Gets Jail Time for Rebroadcasting DISH Network Material
If you really needed proof that the statement "crime doesn't pay" had at least a semblance of truth behind it, here's your sign. Known satellite TV pirate Glenn White has been sentenced to a 14 month stint in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegally rebroadcasting DISH Network's programming. As the story goes, Mr. White was doing business in Wagram, North Carolina under the name Wagram Cable, but rather than distributing material in a legal manner, he chose to crack DISH's encryption and then monetize it. Big mistake.
Oh, and DISH Network actually put this out on a press release in order to let the public know it "will continue to fight those who aid or participate in illegally breaking into encrypted DISH Network TV channels and set-top boxes." Don't say it didn't warn you.
[Image courtesy of FlatPanelTV]
Car Tech, Cell Phones, Computers, eBay
Man Caught eBay'ing Stolen Goods from Work
Unfortunately for Grant Ross, he knew no such limits. The cell phones, laptops, and navigation devices he stole from RS Components Ltd didn't just stay in his home for personal use, he was selling them on eBay for a profit.
The company noticed an unusually high loss of stock and received information that some of the company's products were ending up on the auction site. It searched for nearby auctioneers with products that the company carried. Lo-and-behold, "Hoodie 1230" was selling cell phones that R.S. Components was missing. Managers bid on one and opened the package in the presence of police. The serial number matched a part missing from the stock room.
Eventually the investigation led to Grant Ross, who had access to the stock and has now been sentenced to 6 months in prison after pleading guilty to three charges of converting criminal property and three of possessing criminal property. The sentence has been suspended for 2 years and Ross has been ordered to do 200 hours of work without pay.
From icCoventry
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Audio/Video, Celebrities, YouTube
Trent Reznor Tells Fans to Steal Music
Warning: Video Contains Some Explicit Language
Perennial geek idol and gloomy music star Trent Reznor is not making any friends at his record label, Universal Media Group (UMG). At a concert Sunday night in Sydney, Reznor let loose on the music industry. Commenting on the fact that CD prices had not dropped after an outburst in May (see below), he asked, "Has anyone seen the price come down? Okay, well, you know what that means - STEAL IT. Steal away. Steal and steal and steal some more and give it to all your friends and keep on stealin'. Because one way or another these mother****ers will get it through their head that they're ripping people off and that's not right."
Back in May, Reznor commented in an interview with the Herald Sun in Australia on the ridiculous prices of CD's saying, "You got record labels that are doing everything they can to piss people off and rip them off."
He then lashed out at his record label saying, "I've garnered a core audience that you feel it's OK to rip off? F--- you'. That's also why you don't see any label people here, 'cos I said, 'F--- you people. Stay out of my f---ing show. If you wanna come, pay the ticket like anyone else. F--- you guys.' They're thieves. I don't blame people for stealing music if this is the kind of s--- that they pull off."
It's good to see that some musicians understand the dilemma we fans face. Reznor even admits to stealing music: "I steal music too, I'm not gonna say I don't."
From Slashdot and the Herald Sun
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