Pirates With Attitude
Encyclopedia
Pirates With Attitude was a major international warez
release group between 1992 and 2000. The group was established by two former International Network of Crackers
members known by the pseudonym
s Orion and BarManager. PWA was also very well known during the tail end of the BBS
-era for their development of modifications and enhancements ("mods") for the PCBoard
BBS software.
On May 4, 2000, the United States Department of Justice released a press report stating that conspiracy and copyright infringement charges had been brought against several members of PWA under the NET Act
(No Electronic Theft Act). The day after the DOJ's report, PWA released a .nfo
file officially announcing their retirement. PWA was one of the first groups ever to be prosecuted under this act of law.
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...
release group between 1992 and 2000. The group was established by two former International Network of Crackers
International Network of Crackers
International Network of Crackers was one of the premier cracking/releasing warez groups for the IBM PC during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
members known by the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s Orion and BarManager. PWA was also very well known during the tail end of the BBS
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
-era for their development of modifications and enhancements ("mods") for the PCBoard
PCBoard
PCBoard was a bulletin board system application first introduced for DOS in 1983 by Clark Development Corporation. Clark Development was founded by Fred Clark. PCBoard was one of the first commercial BBS packages for DOS systems, and was considered one of the "high end" packages during the rapid...
BBS software.
On May 4, 2000, the United States Department of Justice released a press report stating that conspiracy and copyright infringement charges had been brought against several members of PWA under the NET Act
NET Act
The United States No Electronic Theft Act , a federal law passed in 1997, provides for criminal prosecution of individuals who engage in copyright infringement under certain circumstances, even when there is no monetary profit or commercial benefit from the infringement. Maximum penalties can be...
(No Electronic Theft Act). The day after the DOJ's report, PWA released a .nfo
.nfo
.nfo is a commonly used three-letter filename extension of ASCII or extended ASCII text files that accompany other files and contain information about them. Such NFO files can be viewed with text editors or dedicated NFO viewers...
file officially announcing their retirement. PWA was one of the first groups ever to be prosecuted under this act of law.
Members
Alleged members of Pirates with Attitude according to U.S. Department of Justice:- Robin Rothberg, aka "Marlenus," (9/11/67) 32, of Newburyport, MassachusettsNewburyport, MassachusettsNewburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...
(pleaded guilty) - Mark Veerboken, aka "Shiffie," of BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
- Steven Ahnen, aka "Code3," (4/13/58) 42, of Sarasota, FloridaSarasota, FloridaSarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
(pleaded guilty) - Christian Morley, aka "Mercy" (4/13/73) 27, of Salem, MassachusettsSalem, MassachusettsSalem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
(convicted) - Justin Robbins, aka "Warlock," (2/10/76), 24, of Lake Station, IndianaLake Station, IndianaLake Station is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 12,572 at the 2010 census.-History:An early depot stop on the Michigan Central Railroads Detroit to Chicago line through the Calumet region, the village was first named when George Earle mapped out a town of about in...
(pleaded guilty) - Jason Slater, aka "Technic," (4/28/70) 30, of Sunnyvale, CaliforniaSunnyvale, CaliforniaSunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
(pleaded guilty) - Todd Veillette, aka "Gizmo," (11/21/59) 40, of Oakdale, Connecticut (pleaded guilty)
- Thomas Oliver, aka "AnalReamer," (7/14/65) 34, of Aurora, IllinoisAurora, IllinoisAurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
(pleaded guilty) - Mark Stone, aka "Stoned," (3/24/66) 34, of CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(pleaded guilty) - Dionne, aka "akasha", of West Palm Beach, FloridaWest Palm Beach, FloridaWest Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
(pleaded guilty) - Shawn ReimerdesUniversal v. ReimerdesUniversal City Studios, Inc. v. Reimerdes was the first test of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act , a United States federal law.The plaintiffs, 8 movie studios, successfully sought an injunction against the distribution of DeCSS, a program capable of decrypting content protected using the...
, aka "SkaTeMasTer", (11/01/76), of Whitestone, NY, SysOp of Harmony Skates BBS in the 718 area code (1988-1994) and PPE programmer (DIZ/2-PCB, Oneliners). - Paul Cirone, aka "Vigilante", (10/09/68), of Long Island, NY, Sysop of Velvet Underground BBS, PPE Programmer
External links
- U.S. INDICTS 17 IN ALLEGED INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PIRACY CONSPIRACY - Mirror of US DoJ website posting