A Clear Signal to Pirates : Cities Cracking Down on Cable TV Cheats

A seldom-prosecuted white-collar crime--the pirating of cable television--is now getting the attention of city governments in Orange County.

The reason: cities are losing thousands of tax dollars and are ready to do something about it. Cable television fees paid by subscribers to companies in the county are taxed by city governments, and fewer paying customers means less money to the cities.

Huntington Beach, for one, is estimated to be losing $80,000 a year due to cable TV theft. Other cities are also losing such money, the amount varying on the number of cable “pirates” in each community.

The Huntington Beach City Council will consider a resolution at its Nov. 4 meeting that urges the county district attorney’s office “to bring the full weight of the office to bear . . . in the apprehension, prosecution and conviction of residents who illegally engage in theft of cable signal.” The Westminster City Council has already passed a similar resolution.

Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi said last week that his office is ready to join the crackdown on cable pirates. “A crime is a crime,” he said. “We stand ready, willing and able to prosecute on cable television theft.”

Orange County cable pirates have seldom been brought into court, mainly because cable companies have rarely sought to have them arrested. Precise statistics on prosecution are not available, because prosecutors do not separate cable theft into a single, reportable category. But cable officials in Orange County have said few cases have been brought to trial.

“What we’ve usually done in the past is try to convince the people we’ve caught into becoming customers,” said Don Weddle, public affairs director for the Garden Grove-based Paragon Cable.

But Weddle said that his company is now taking a tougher stance, especially on repeat offenders and technicians who illegally make a business out of tapping people into cable on the sly. Paragon serves Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Stanton, Los Alamitos and parts of Cypress.

Other cable companies also report that they are cracking down on cable TV theft--and getting city support for their efforts.

Said K. James Petro, regional manager for Copley Colony Cablevision in Orange County: “We are committed to stopping theft of service in our system so our paying customers are no longer picking up the tab for the guy next door.”

Cable television attracts subscribers with promises of clear reception and a wide array of channels. Subscribers pay a monthly fee; in Orange County, the average fee for basic service is about $23 a month. There are additional charges for subscription to premium channels, such as HBO and the Disney Channel.

Most city governments charge a 5% franchise fee on cable TV. Huntington Beach, Westminster and Placentia charge an additional municipal utility fee to cable subscribers.

“Cable theft costs everybody,” Petro said. “It not only hurts the cable industry but is costing local and state governments significant revenues. . . . Part of the problem is that many people do not perceive cable theft as a crime. In reality, theft of cable television service is as criminal as shoplifting. As in any theft situation, when somebody steals, somebody else pays.”

Detection of cable pirates is made by the cable companies themselves. They then turn to city police to help document a case and turn it over to the district attorney’s office.

Both state and federal laws forbid theft of cable television signals. Those convicted of violating the federal law can be sentenced to up to six months in prison and fined $1,000. Those convicted of violating the state law can get an even higher sentence: up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Officials say people steal cable signals by two major means. One method is by illegally tapping into a utility line that brings the basic cable signal to homes and apartments. The other is by using an “unscrambler,” sometimes called a “black box,” to get a premium channel without paying more than the basic service charge.

Unscrambling equipment can cost up to $500, according to David Barford, vice president and general manager of Comcast Cablevision in Orange County. But he said equipment used by thieves to tap into basic cable lines can be fairly inexpensive.

“People who tap into the lines are pretty crafty,” Barford said. “We have 87,000 customers in the cities we serve--Newport Beach, Fullerton, Placentia and Buena Park--and we estimate that another 5,000 persons are illegally hooked up into our system.”

Cable companies use vans loaded with sophisticated electronic gear to patrol through neighborhoods and detect cable piracy. The cable that brings service to subscribers carries a radio-like signal. Usually when a cable has been illegally tapped, there is some loss of that signal into the atmosphere. The loss of signal is called “leakage.”

“We have equipment that ‘sniffs’ for that signal leakage,” said Cliff Kagler, an official with Paragon Cable. “We have people out there every day, driving through neighborhoods. The chances for a person’s being caught is pretty good.”

Barford said that in addition to seeking criminal charges against illegal users of cable TV, Comcast Cablevision is considering filing civil suits. “We’d seek civil damages just as in the case of the loss of any valuable property,” Barford said.