Ex-RTD Worker Charged in Illegal Computer Use
A former Rapid Transit District employee has been charged with using an RTD computer to help her run a video pirating operation, prosecutors said Monday.
Karen F. Fox, 40, a former RTD junior systems programmer, was charged last week with 18 counts of illegal computer access and use and four counts of videotape piracy.
A co-defendant, Michael A. Pagan, also 40, was charged with two computer law violations. All the charges are misdemeanors.
An investigation by the FBI, RTD police and a private agency hired by the Motion Picture Assn. of America found that Fox was allegedly making illegal copies in her Pasadena home of rented videotaped movies and selling them for $10 each.
Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn said Fox was using her computer at RTD headquarters to catalogue her extensive videotape library and keep track of orders for pirated tapes.
Investigators raided Fox’s home March 10 and seized 805 videotaped movies, along with seven VCRs, Hahn said.
Hahn said Fox gave some of the copied material to Pagan, a former RTD systems programmer.
Pagan and Fox, who was fired by the RTD last month, surrendered to RTD police on Friday and were released on $5,000 bail each. They are scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 13 in Municipal Court.
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