Operation Safehaven
Encyclopedia
Operation Safehaven was a fifteen-month investigation conducted by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut and the Department of Justice
against those affiliated with the warez
scene.
In April 2003, over twenty search warrants were simultaneously executed, resulting in the seizure of dozens of computer
s and file server
s, including what the United States government reported as "the largest warez site ever seized in the United States to date."
Travis Myers, 29, of Yakima, Washington; Terry Katz, 26, of Yorktown Heights, New York
; Walter Kapechuk, 55, of Schenectady, New York
; and Warren Willsey, 53, of East Berne, New York
, all waived indictment
and pleaded guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Copyright Infringement on October 2, 2003. These were the first convictions stemming from the operation. Myers admitted to being a courier and a member of several leading warez groups, including "DrinkOrDie
." Katz admitted to being a site operator. Kapechuk admitted to running a site at SUNY Albany. Willsey admitted to assisting Kapechuk. All but Willsey faced maximum sentence
s of five years. Willsey faced a maximum sentence of one year.
U.S. v. Singh (D. Conn.)
Manpreet Singh, 22, of Middleburg Heights, Ohio
, pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on February 20, 2004. He admitted to being a courier for the groups "We Love Warez" ("WLW") and "pHASE." The maximum sentence is five years in prison. He was scheduled to be sentenced in May, 2004.
U.S. v. Perello (E.D. Tex.)
Pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on November 21, 2005.
U.S. v. Pine (D. Conn.)
Pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on November 22, 2005.
U.S. v. Brink (D. Me.)
Kurt M. Brink, 25, of Portland, Maine
, pleaded guilty on September 8, 2005 to conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement. Sentenced to three years of probation, ordered to perform 300 hours of community service, and to pay a fine in the amount of $6,000 on December 12, 2005.
U.S. v. Carter (N.D. Cal.)
Pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on December 12, 2005.
U.S. v. Szoke (D. Conn.)
Carole Szoke, 62, of Nazareth
, Pennsylvania
, pleaded guilty on September 27, 2005. Sentenced to three years of probation, ordered to perform 312 hours of community service, and to pay a fine in the amount of $2,000 on December 22, 2005.
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
against those affiliated with the warez
Warez
Warez refers primarily to copyrighted works distributed without fees or royalties, and may be traded, in general violation of copyright law. The term generally refers to unauthorized releases by organized groups, as opposed to file sharing between friends or large groups of people with similar...
scene.
In April 2003, over twenty search warrants were simultaneously executed, resulting in the seizure of dozens of computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s and file server
File server
In computing, a file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the computer network...
s, including what the United States government reported as "the largest warez site ever seized in the United States to date."
Cases
U.S. v. Myers et al. (D. Conn.)Travis Myers, 29, of Yakima, Washington; Terry Katz, 26, of Yorktown Heights, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; Walter Kapechuk, 55, of Schenectady, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; and Warren Willsey, 53, of East Berne, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, all waived indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
and pleaded guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Commit Criminal Copyright Infringement on October 2, 2003. These were the first convictions stemming from the operation. Myers admitted to being a courier and a member of several leading warez groups, including "DrinkOrDie
DrinkOrDie
DrinkOrDie was an underground software piracy group and warez trading network during the 1990s. On December 11, 2001, a major law enforcement raid - known as Operation Buccaneer - forced it to close under criminal charges of infringement. DoD, as a rule, received no financial profit for their...
." Katz admitted to being a site operator. Kapechuk admitted to running a site at SUNY Albany. Willsey admitted to assisting Kapechuk. All but Willsey faced maximum sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
s of five years. Willsey faced a maximum sentence of one year.
U.S. v. Singh (D. Conn.)
Manpreet Singh, 22, of Middleburg Heights, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on February 20, 2004. He admitted to being a courier for the groups "We Love Warez" ("WLW") and "pHASE." The maximum sentence is five years in prison. He was scheduled to be sentenced in May, 2004.
U.S. v. Perello (E.D. Tex.)
Pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on November 21, 2005.
U.S. v. Pine (D. Conn.)
Pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on November 22, 2005.
U.S. v. Brink (D. Me.)
Kurt M. Brink, 25, of Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, pleaded guilty on September 8, 2005 to conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement. Sentenced to three years of probation, ordered to perform 300 hours of community service, and to pay a fine in the amount of $6,000 on December 12, 2005.
U.S. v. Carter (N.D. Cal.)
Pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on December 12, 2005.
U.S. v. Szoke (D. Conn.)
Carole Szoke, 62, of Nazareth
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Nazareth is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The population was 6,023 at the 2000 census.Nazareth is located seven miles northwest of Easton, four miles north of Bethlehem and twelve miles northeast of Allentown...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, pleaded guilty on September 27, 2005. Sentenced to three years of probation, ordered to perform 312 hours of community service, and to pay a fine in the amount of $2,000 on December 22, 2005.