Indictment Set in Screener Piracy Case

Russell William Sprague, the Illinois man accused of illegally copying scores of awards-consideration movie screening tapes, is set to be indicted and arraigned Feb. 17 in federal court in Los Angeles.

Sprague, who put up his house in Homewood, Ill., as collateral to meet the $25,000 bond for his release, is charged with copyright infringement and illegal interception of a satellite signal. According to a complaint filed Jan. 22 in Chicago, Sprague obtained videocassettes of Oscar contenders from Carmine Caridi, a friend who is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Sprague also is facing civil suits filed by Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The studios are seeking minimum damages of $150,000 per pirated film from each defendant.

Lorenza Munoz