San Diego Republican Boss is Former Game Piracy Ringleader
San Diego Republican Boss is Former Game Piracy Ringleader
May 1, 2008
The Raw Story has a lengthy expose on Tony Krvaric, head of San Diego's GOP committee.According to the report, the 37-year-old Krvaric, a naturalized US citizen who was born in Sweden, was the co-founder of Fairlight, a warez group formed in 1987. From Raw Story:
Fairlight... evolved into an international video and software piracy group that law enforcement authorities say is among the world’s largest such crime rings.
After co-founding Fairlight in Sweden, Krvaric established U.S. operations for the organization, including an arm headquartered in Southern California—a major center for the computer and video game industry.
Krvaric, known in the cracking community as "Strider," got his start pirating games for the Commodore 64, but apparently left Fairlight in 1992. In 2004, the ring was taken down following an international investigation which resulted in the arrest of 120 people. Krvaric was not among them, although another group member alleged that he remained involved.
Although Krvaric would not respond to The Raw Story's request for comment, he discounted the allegations in an e-mail to fellow Repubicans:
Apparently there’s a hit piece floating around on me, “exposing” my wild high school, teenage years where I was in a computer club where we swapped Commodore 64 games (similar to how kids swap mp3 music files these days). This was in the 80’s, on a computer that’s long since defunct!
...I don’t know who is spreading this, but just wanted to let you know what’s going on out there. Likely it’s someone who wants us to take our eye off the ball in 2008, be it the democrats, labor or someone else. Either way, we’re not going to let them get away with it.
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Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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Comments
I doubt it will have much effect on him, as most of the people who would be likely to care are not going to really understand what it is he was a part of.
Not like the dims are "better", they just use a different lube.......
As negative a view as some have of the pirating community, having been involved with a long standing trustworthy organization certainly can't be seen as a bad thing to those constituants who are accepting of pirating. After all, there are far worse groups to have been a member of.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
What we have here is a politician downplaying his involvement by comparing it to MP3 file sharing... tell me again how the government is reacting to that? Oh, right, massive legislation... by the way, how is RIAA reacting to that? Oh, right, massive litigation.
It seems to me either own up that what you did was wrong, or stand up for those who are sharing MP3's now, you can't have it both ways.
Also, point of fact: being the head of a 120 person internation piracy ring is a TINY bit different then swapping a game with your friend or borrowing a tape of a vinal recording.
Just wait, kids, in another few years the big story will be "Democratic Nominee Admits To Downloading English Patch For Mother 3."
IF (and that's a big if) he was one of the founders of that piracy group, he's been involved in organized piracy. That's the stuff that "funds terrorism", remember? Going after organized piracy rings is one of FBI's top priorities these days.
Furthermore, he's in California. The home of the MPAA, Silicon Valley and incredible amount of US based intellectual property production. If he was one of the co-founders of Fairlight, he's in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Say what you say, but if what's alleged is true, it's WAY more serious than some dumbass saying macaca on camera.
I can't really find anything in depth on this guys views. Maybe i just didn't look hard enough, but I have yet to find anything stating his opinions on the current state of copyright.
Maybe you could point me to your source?
What i did find was that he has voted against bans on burning the US flag. Something that has pissed of many a person.
He's also a naturalized Swedish immigrant.
I think a more accurate analogy would be to a kid who works for BestBuy, "borrows" newly released DVDs, cracks their copy protection on his home computer, and then passes out free copies to his friends.
@nightwing2000
Forgive the flippancy, but I expect there are some "high quality" and "trustworthy" underground associations that trade in kiddie porn too. I don't think any sort of "honor among thieves" reputation will (or should) carry over to mainstream politics -- at least not in a way that's good for the "thief." (Is this what you were suggesting, or did I misunderstand post?)
Then again, the reality is that guy did NOT pass around kiddie porn or pirate DVDs -- he pirated computer games that would have been lucky to sell 10,000 copies in their time, published by relatively tiny companies, 20 years ago. The mainstream won't understand any relevance, and even if it did, it probably wouldn't care.
If a woman's political career can be ruined by being in a Gril's Gone Wild video...
If a private group of Bush supporters can make up lies about McCain and Kerry to sabotage the presidential race...
If Clinton's college pot smoking is a political issue....
Then this guy deserves to be drummed out of politics for all of the same reasons.