U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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| In Reply, Please Refer to Release No. |
219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604 |
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January 23, 2004 Homewood Man Arrested for Illegal Duplication and Distribution of Motion Pictures Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today the arrest of RUSSELL WILLIAM SPRAGUE, age 51, of 1844 187th Street in Homewood, Illinois. SPRAGUE was arrested late yesterday, without incident, by FBI Agents from the Chicago and Los Angeles offices, at his residence. SPRAGUE was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles with one count of violation of federal copyright laws, which is a felony offense. According to the complaint, SPRAGUE is alleged to have received copies of numerous first run motion pictures from a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which he then disseminated over the internet. In many cases, the films in question had not been released in theaters or on DVD. Some of the motion picture titles alleged to have been released by SPRAGUE include Master and Commander, The Last Samurai, Gods and Generals, Calendar Girls and Matrix Revolutions. A search of SPRAGUE's residence conducted by FBI Agents, prior to his arrest, discovered a quantity of similar motion pictures, referred to in the industry as "screeners". SPRAGUE'S arrest is the result of a month long investigation conducted by the FBI's Los Angeles office, in cooperation with the AMPAS. The illegally released motion pictures were traced through use of a digital watermark to AMPAS member Carmine Caridi, a veteran actor of both motion pictures and television. Caridi, who is a 22 year member of the AMPAS, was provided with "screeners" by the studios involved in their production, for use in Oscar award voting. Caridi has not been charged with any criminal violations. The investigation into this matter is ongoing. SPRAGUE was held overnight at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago. SPRAGUE will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Martin C. Ashman in Chicago at 3:00 PM, CST, at which time he will be formally charged. If convicted of the charge against him, SPRAGUE faces a possible sentence of up to 10 years incarceration. The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. EDITOR's NOTE: A copy of the complaint filed against SPRAGUE will be available from the Chicago FBI Press Office at (312) 786-2645. Additional information about this investigation can be obtained from the Los Angeles FBI Press Office at (310) 996-3341. |
