Leader of software piracy group sentenced to 18 months in prison

The
Justice Department said in a statement that Shane Pitman, 31, of Conover,
N.C., was sentenced by federal Judge James Cacheris in Alexandria, Va. Shane Pitman, known by his screen
nickname "Pitbull," was a leader of the underground Internet piracy
community or "warez scene" and was accused of piracy of computer and
console game software.

"The group prided itself on cracking and illegally
distributing the most popular software games, usually before their public
release date, including such games as 'Quake,' 'Red Alert,' 'Terminal
Velocity,' and 'Warcraft II' and 'III,'" the Justice Department said.

"Shane Pitman's conviction and sentence should send a
strong message to organized Internet gangs like Razor1911 that stealing
and illegally distributing game software online is not a game," U.S.
Attorney Paul McNulty.

"If other software pirates still entertain the false
belief that the Internet offers anonymity for this type of copyright
infringement, they do so at their own
peril."