CHARGES FILED AFTER FILMS ARE TAKEN FROM VAULT AND COPIED.Byline: Jennifer Hamm Staff Writer Criminal charges were filed Tuesday against a Burbank man who managed a post-production facility's high-security vault and another man accused of stealing and copying unreleased movies, then selling them on the Internet, authorities said. James Cofer, 25, of Burbank and Michael Gerhard, 23, of Toluca Lake are suspected of making more than 500 copies of 20 to 25 movies taken from the post-production facility vault at New Wave Entertainment in Burbank, investigators allege. Cofer was manager of the vault when the videos were taken, from March and November of 1998. Most of the movies involved were Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Pictures productions, investigators said. Attorneys for Cofer and Gerhard could not be reached for comment. Cofer is suspected of taking videos such as ``Armaggedon,'' ``Mulan,'' and ``Fantasia fantasia (făntā`zhə) [Ital.,=fancy], musical composition not restricted to a formal design, but constructed freely in the manner of an improvisation. In the 16th and 17th cent. 2000,'' and passing them along to Gerhard, who would make two copies, said Deputy City Attorney P. Greg Parham, a prosecutor in City Attorney James Hahn's Consumer Protection Unit. With the two copies in hand, the original was placed back in the vault "In the Vault" is a short story by American horror fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft, written on September 18, 1925 and first published in the November 1925 issue of the amateur press journal Tryout. , Parham said. Gerhard would give one copy to Cofer and use his copy to make more copies, which were then sold on the Internet, Parham said. The Motion Picture Association of America's Anti-Piracy Office began investigating in November 1998, after they received information that the films were being sold on the Internet. ``Once a pretheatrical release film makes it to the Internet, you have the potential for some wide circulation material getting out to the public,'' Parham said. In spring 1999, the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . was notified and
searched Gerhard and Cofer's homes.
At Gerhard's residence, police found material on a hard drive indicating that he was selling videotapes and film scores to more than 70 people around the world, the authorities said. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. police seized 448 video cassettes, 842 CDs, 272 DVDs, 32 laser discs and four VCRs, prosecutors said. At Cofer's home, city attorneys said police found and seized prerelease pre·re·lease n. Something released before an official or scheduled date. adj. Of or relating to an interval preceding an official or scheduled release: versions of ``My Favorite Martian'' and ``Tarzan.'' An arraignment A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted is scheduled for Aug. 22 in Los Angeles Superior Court. |
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