Bootleg-DVD Operation Raided

In a major bootleg-movie sweep, Los Angeles police shut down a counterfeiting operation Wednesday that film industry officials said could make more than 1 million DVDs a year.

Police from a new anti-piracy unit raided an apartment on Burlington Avenue in the Pico-Union area, where officials confiscated 5,680 DVDs that included camcorder copies of such recently released movies as “Anchorman.” Police also seized 40 DVD burners, 6,000 blank discs and $2,000 in cash.

Police arrested Gonzalo Arista, 42, and four others on suspicion of trademark infringement. Arista’s alleged makeshift factory was in an empty apartment.

According to investigators, the counterfeiting ring manufactured and distributed pirated DVDs to vendors in the Santee Alley area downtown, considered the center of bootleg movie trafficking in L.A.

One suspect, Alejandro Silva, 22, was apprehended on a parking lot roof near Santee Alley. Police said they recovered nearly 600 counterfeit DVDs from his car.

The action follows a May 20 raid in which police shut down what appeared to be a bootleg DVD factory allegedly run by Arista’s brother, Fernando. Police seized 8,000 DVDs from his apartment on South Bonnie Brae Street. He has been charged with 11 felony counterfeiting counts.

In July, the LAPD established an anti-piracy unit devoted to investigating and prosecuting counterfeiting and trademark violations. Wednesday’s raid was coordinated with piracy investigators from the Motion Picture Assn. of America.

“Our investigation resulted in the confiscation of $227,000 in pirated material,” said Capt. Michael Chambers, commanding officer of the LAPD’s Organized Crime and Vice Division and head of the anti-piracy arm. “This action puts a dent in a significant criminal operation.”