The Well-Loved Cable Guy > What the

What the

reply to major marco
"The investigation began after Time Warner reported cable thefts in the Winton Hills area to police, Steele said. A number of those arrested for receiving illegal cable service gave investigators Warren's telephone number."
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»www.seabee.navy.mil

ARRESTED for receiving illegal cable service??

That's news to me. Most I have EVER heard of, was signing cable thieves up for one year of service, under threat of prosecution. (you hang out with college students, you hear this occasionally)

Of coarse there were those commercials years ago warning cable thieves about a "$10000 fine", but I never heard of anyone getting that fine.

I don't condone it, but I'm just saying I have never heard of an arrest for stealing basic cable.

reply to fAcEtIOUs
the rest will (rightfully) laugh in the cableco's face. ha!

reply to major marco

reply to WickedWinter
Arrest, does not mean Jail. Most of them are booked and let go. They will settle with the cable company in a second.

And stealing any cable/satellite/etc... is a Federal crime. Even if the settle with the cable co.. the feds can go fwd if they want.

i think these folk can claim they "don't recall" or "can't remember" -- the Alberto Gonzales defense. if the attorney general can use it, regular folk can too.

reply to Noah Vail
covered with pornography. so i heard.

reply to morbo

reply to WickedWinter
Some years ago, I'm not sure how many, an apartment building owner in my area was criminally prosecuted by Adelphia for wiring his building with for cable off his account, and charging his tenants $10.00 a month for cable. He was found guilty and fined $35,000.00. He was turned in by an angry ex-tenant. It does happen.
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'there is a creeping consumption in the land' Dylan

reply to major marco
I agree. Unless "Warren" was providing them fake invoices for the work, then the people KNEW they were stealing it. But there is a such thing as "direct sales" where a tech/business man will go thru the neighborhood, offer free install, half off the first X months, and in some cases free HBO or other premium for X months too, just for signing up on the spot, as long as you have the money to pay for the first month of service. I am sure "Warren" was given checks by a few of these people, unless he said cash only. And if he DID get checks, you know the bank would not have cashed them if they were made payable to Time Warner.

reply to fAcEtIOUs
Nah, probably not. They will just get disconnected at the tap, and a terminator will be locked onto the tap outlet so they can't reconnect the service without the "special tool" that takes the terminator off. Sometimes those terminators get rusty and can be removed with a set of pliers though, which is probably how Mr Warren connected some folks.

reply to biggbrother
And people wonder why cable rates are so much higher than other services. GEE, I wonder why. It's because of assholes who "look the other way" while the service is being stolen. The same thing goes for software. Microsoft charges an assload of money for software because the percentage of people who actually pay for the software are making up for the loss in piracy. Same thing with hospital bills. Assholes go to the hospital, knowing they can't afford the bill, and never pay anything back for the services rendered. Thats why an emergency room VISIT costs close to $500. Think about what you're saying, as it applies to more than the "greedy cable company". Oh well, that America for ya. If you're broke, then I can understand why you'd steal something, but it don't mean that you're not obligated to pay for it later.

i completely disagree. cable companies and microsoft charge so much for their goods because THEY CAN. people are hooked on tv--can't get enough of that shit, and satellite isn't much of an alternative since not everyone can even get it. same with microsoft. the vast majority of businesses use it so they can charge excessive prices. there are no reasonable alternatives. piracy is just an excuse these companies love to blame for the price hikes that were already planned by those running the company. better to blame those "breaking the law" than to admit that they just want to raise prices to make more money.

healthcare is entirely different. yes, the poor and uninsured (illegal immigrants fit in here too--just take a look at California's massive problem) drive up costs, but most of the problem is due to skyrocketing prices for medicine, advanced equipment, and physicians.

reply to caco
I'm sure once you pulled the reports you'd find the only ones who were arrested were those who voluntarily admitted to the arresting officer, that yes, they did indeed steal cable.

Once they settle with the local franchise, NONE will be prosecuted.

Let's be blunt - a local DA would NEVER convince a jury that any regular joe (wise enough to not admit it) would do something as dangerous as climb a telephone pole.