ANTI-PIRACY PROGRESS MADE OFFICIALS CITE ARRESTS OF TWO SUSPECTED OF TAPING MOVIES IN THEATERS.

Byline: Rick Orlov and Lisa Friedman Staff Writers

Los Angeles officials on Thursday announced progress in their crackdown on movie and video piracy, even as lawmakers in Washington warned that the federal government lacks money to expand its fight against the crime.

At a news conference at The Grove at Farmers Market, officials said misdemeanor charges had been filed against two men spotted by projectionists taping movies in theaters.

Ruben Moreno, 34, is charged with taping ``The Alamo'' at Pacific Winnetka in Chatsworth, and Min Jae Joun is accused of taping ``The Passion of the Christ'' at the Pacific Theater at The Grove. If convicted, they face $2,500 fines and up to one year in jail.

``This is a big business and we need to send a message that if you illegally make a copy of a film, package it and sell it, you are going to be prosecuted, and you are going to go to jail,'' Mayor James Hahn said.

The news came as officers from the LAPD's Organized Crime and Vice Division and agents with the Motion Picture Association of America seized more than 5,000 pirated DVDs and $5,000 in computer equipment during raids at three homes. Four men were arrested on suspicion of violating federal copyrights.

And in Washington, D.C., Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, told the nation's top entertainment chiefs that there's a limit to the amount of money the federal government can spend on anti-piracy efforts.

``What with the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, it's just not going to be increased any substantial amount,'' Stevens said.

Steven's remarks came as a blow to the music, motion picture and software industries, who are looking for ways to stop the rampant illegal downloading and copying of movies, CDs and computer programs.

According to the MPAA, the movie industry alone loses about $3 billion in non-Internet piracy each year.

``I think he was giving us some brute reality about the paucity of money,'' MPAA President Jack Valenti said after the hearing.

At the same time, entertainment industry leaders said they were encouraged by lawmakers who were receptive to other measures the Senate can take to combat piracy. Among them: creating a special section of intellectual property within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; and elevate the status of the State Department's intellectual property division to give it greater authority.

Also on Thursday, a key Senate committee approved by voice vote legislation written by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. John Coryn, R-Texas, that makes secret camcorder recordings of movies punishable by up to six years in prison. It also increases penalties for distributing copies of a work before the copyright holder has had a chance to get the product to market.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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LAPD Chief William Bratton is joined by Mayor James Hahn, left, and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, right, at a Thursday press conference on anti-movie piracy efforts.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News