Feds Bust Piracy Group Working With Industry Insider

Major Pirates Busted

Federal authorities have busted a major Internet music piracy group, reports THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER. The indictment claims that ADIL R. CASSIM's group was known as RABID NEUROSIS, and conspired to copy and release songs, often before the production companies had put them on the market. The stolen music was stored on computer servers and garnered the group a reputation that enabled it to trade music with other piracy groups that had massive libraries, authorities said.

The indictment was unsealed in ALEXANDRIA's federal court WEDNESDAY, the same day PATRICK L. SAUNDERS pleaded guilty to his role in maintaining computer servers used to distribute the stolen goods. The group was charged in VIRGINIA, says the report, where AOL maintains its servers and through which the group often communicated via instant messenger.

THE EXAMINER wrote, "to gain access to music not yet on the market, RABID NEUROSIS members worked with music industry insiders, including employees at radio stations and retailers who often received advanced copies of music releases, prosecutors said."

BENNIE GLOVER, according to the indictment, was one of those insiders. "He worked for a compact disc production plant in NORTH CAROLINA where he had access to albums produced by UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP. GLOVER is accused of providing CASSIM with the albums often months before their commercial release."

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