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Piracy Setup Discovered in WV Capitol Building

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the making-a-little-on-the-side dept.

arakis writes "Someone in West Virginia has apparently spent tens of thousands in state funds to acquire computers and video gear to copy movies and music. From the article: 'Ferguson confirmed Tuesday that his staff found the makeshift audio-video studio amid his widening probe into spending and other abuses at the state General Services Division.' Looks like some employees are getting the axe for everything from purchasing abuse to time fraud."

7 of 352 comments (clear)

  1. "Studio"? I think not. by Kayamon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Pff... That's not a audio/video studio... that's just a guy downloading and burning some DivX movies.

    I think "tens of thousands in state funds" is possibly a bit of an exaggeration.

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    Kayamon
  2. Fired for overtime! by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ferguson recently fired two division staffers, Gary McClanahan and Gary Bryant, after they claimed they had worked 18-hour days 119 times over the course of 2 1/2 years. Ferguson said a $466, 24-inch flat-screen computer monitor was found in Bryant's office but that no evidence suggests either man orchestrated the computer purchases.

    Sometimes, an 18hour work day is exactly that.
    Some places allow practically all the overtime you can log - simply because its cheaper to let you work greater hours than to hire/train somebody up to your role.

    Firing them because they were hard workers is wrong.
    Firing them because they made fraudulant claims is right.

    (they do sound like the BOFH and PFY though don't they)

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    liqbase :: faster than paper
  3. Gotta love that headline. by plasmacutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are we back into the days of yellow journalism here?

    tens of thousands in "piracy equipment"? "computers and video gear"?!

    last time i checked my 3 towers and 9 hard disks didn't cost tens of thousands (and two of them are macs!)

    piracy setup? come on now! a tower with dvd decryptor and a couple hundred gigs of avis and mp3's is now a vast piracy setup. that's funny. If this is the headline for such a pitifully small collection, i wander if the headline for the arrest of someone on my res hall would read "international organized piracy syndicate taken down".

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    VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
  4. The Hand in the Face by Jim+in+Buffalo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think that this case underscores how little government bureaucrats understand about the technology being used in their own buildings right under their very noses. Far too often when someone tries to bring a technical matter to the attention of someone with the authority to do something about it, they get The Hand in the Face... 'uhp, uhp, uhp, I don't want to hear about it... if it's not about a massive campaign contribution I don't want to know.' Well, when the suits from the media companies come knocking, well, The Hand in the Face tactic isn't going to work.

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    This sig, aah-ah, is comin' like a ghost-sig...
  5. The RIAA Could Sue by Saint37 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The RIAA's argument is that a computer owner should know what their children or other users are doing with their computers and are thus responsible for any piracy that occurs using said computer. By this same logic the RIAA could sue the State of West Virginaia, but of course, the RIAA wouldn't do that. They only go after individuals.

    http://www.stockmarketgarden.com/

  6. Overstated? by rnelsonee · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The review found that someone in General Services sidestepped state purchasing rules to buy more than $88,000 worth of computers and related equipment over the last three years, including the items discovered in the basement office. Not all the purchased computers and gear can be located, Ferguson said.

    Is it possible that most of that $88K went to legit computer purchases? 40 movies, 3,500 MP3s, and oh-so-common DeCSS software is all easily fit into one normal PC. And hundreds of blank DVDs/CDs isn't all that much - it's $100 worth of merchandise found on newegg. Sure, this guy was copying movies, but wouldn't bet that this is one of those "zero patient" cases.

  7. Re:I seriously doubt it by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Carrot and the Stick.

    RIAA: "See the nice juicy carrot, you know you want the carrot"
    Congress: "Mmmmmm, carrot"
    RIAA: "Now we want you to pass a law making it legal for our representatives to hunt iPod users, because piracy supports terrorism, and all iPod users are pirates."
    Congress: "Welll, I don't know...there are a lot of iPods out there..."
    RIAA: "This is a stick. This is what you get when you don't get the carrot. Wouldn't you rather have the carrot?"
    Congress: "Well, yea, but we can't just..."
    RIAA: "BAD CONGRESS! *WHACK* *WHACK* *WHACK* BAD LEGISLATORS MAKE THE BABY JESUS CRY! *WHACK* *WHACK*"
    Congress: "Owwwww...okay, okay"

    --
    ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.