4 Held, Materials Seized in Pirate Video Lab Raid

Investigators raided a pirate video-duplicating lab in Glendale and a distribution center in Norwalk and arrested four men early Tuesday, according to a representative for the Motion Picture Assn. of America.

More than 1,000 pirate videos and 63 video recorders were also seized.

MPAA investigators and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies entered an apartment complex in Glendale just as the films “Hercules,” “Wild America” and “Casper: A Spiritual Beginning” were allegedly being duplicated. Deputies arrested Cristobal L. Cordova, Henry Celi and Daniel Sanchez, all of Glendale, said Marisa Pickar, a spokeswoman for the MPAA.

A simultaneous raid was made at a residence in Norwalk, where Robert Sandoval was arrested. The Norwalk residence served as a distribution center, authorities said.

Inside the home were pirate videos, hundreds of blank cassettes and cassette casings, they said. All four men are being held at the Crescenta Valley sheriff’s station. Their bail has been set to $25,000 each, a department spokesman said.

“For California, it’s a large bust,” Pickar said.

Each year, the MPAA estimates, the motion picture industry loses more than $250 million in revenue because of video piracy, Pickar said. The agency has maintained an anti-piracy hotline and offers $2,500 for information that leads to a pirate video lab. About a third of all pirate video raids are discovered through the hotline, she said.