Day 127: The Zen of Dog Row and the Juice of Mail Fraud
- mainemoviepirate
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Actual Entry - 10/27/21 - WED -
First night in the dog row, slept much better, the window helped. Watching the rain outside was hypnotizing and zen [crossed out word] inspiring. Plus less people (like none), looking at me. A) Less [crossed out word] traffic there and B) I couldn't see them.
Up at 5:45, H/L/R Drink, then worked WD, and some research, [crossed out word] finally learned what the Berne Convention relation to modern Copyright law is. More research is pending on that one. Now I'm thinking I should do Mail Fraud too, really search the statue and cases.
LUNCH: HAMBURGER, Roll, FF, (1 burger, FF in reserve) & (And to the Goodbye dog fund.)
Apparently, A dishwasher detergent shortfall is creating problems in the kitchen, We're using styrofoam cups and plates.
No dog training, tho I did go out with Ed, Webster, and topper for some bathroom duties. I'm learning a little at a time. Regular class tomorrow see what happens.
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You're in my Seat: Halloween Kills - Theaters and Peacock, D G Green's sequeal.
The Last Duel Ridley Scott Damon & Affleck. Theaters.
Four Years Later -
First night in the new digs. This was the start of my peak at Devens: more creative and legal writing, dog training, the Outreach Program (later on), and just a more peaceful and productive existence.
The one thing I really want to talk about here is Mail Fraud. Which, if you don’t know, is a federal prosecution catch-all. You can wrap almost any charge up with an additional Mail Fraud charge, and as in my case, it greatly increased the penalty phase of my “crimes.” As my lawyer stated, “It was the one that gave them the juice.” The problem was—as I thought for a long time—that if the copyright charges were disproven, the Mail Fraud charge would have to go, too. But the prosecutor didn’t actually charge it that way.
He based it on the “fact” that ALL my customers were expecting to receive legitimate, Hollywood-released DVDs. This is a fact that could be contradicted now, because those films weren’t available through normal channels, that was never stated on my sites, and if a customer asked, I told them exactly what they were: DVD-R copies of hard-to-find orphan works. This would not be copyright infringement, because if the owner showed up and asked us to stop selling their movie, we did. Every time. So, there was no actual fraud.
However, my partner (in business and in life) was coerced by the government to plead guilty to the Mail Fraud charge ONLY. Fighting the charge was useless with that guilty plea on the table. She was manipulated by the prosecutor just as much as he manipulated the system to have me placed in prison. That was his sole focus. I am not looking for sympathy or making excuses; I'm just stating actual facts that are backed up by documents.
