Pirates With Attitude
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 PWA ASCII art logo by R.Noble of MiRAGE |
|
| Origin | New York |
|---|---|
| Country | international |
| Years active | early 1990s |
| Category | warez / cracking |
| Founder(s) | Orion BarManager |
| Affiliated Group(s) | International Network of Crackers |
Pirates With Attitude (PWA) was a major international warez release group between 1992 and 2000. The group was established by two former International Network of Crackers members known by the pseudonyms Orion and BarManager. PWA was also very well known during the tail end of the BBS-era for their development of modifications and enhancements ("mods") for the PCBoard BBS software.
On May 4, 2000, the United States Department of Justice released a press report stating that conspiracy and copyright infringement charges had been brought against several members of PWA under the NET Act (No Electronic Theft Act). The day after the DOJ's report, PWA released a .nfo file officially announcing their retirement. PWA was one of the first groups ever to be prosecuted under this act of law.
[edit] Members
Alleged members of Pirates with Attitude according to U.S. Department of Justice:
- Robin Rothberg, aka "Marlenus," (9/11/67) 32, of Newburyport, Massachusetts (pled guilty)
- Mark Veerboken, aka "Shiffie," of Belgium
- Steven Ahnen, aka "Code3," (4/13/58) 42, of Sarasota, Florida (pled guilty)
- Christian Morley, aka "Mercy" (4/13/73) 27, of Salem, Massachusetts (convicted)
- Justin Robbins, aka "Warlock," (2/10/76), 24, of Lake Station, Indiana (pleaded guilty)
- Jason Slater, aka "Technic," (4/28/70) 30, of Sunnyvale, California (pled guilty)
- Todd Veillette, aka "Gizmo," (11/21/59) 40, of Oakdale, Connecticut (pled guilty)
- Thomas Oliver, aka "Rambone," (7/14/65) 34, of Aurora, Illinois (pled guilty)
- Mark Stone, aka "Stoned," (3/24/66) 34, of California (pled guilty)
[edit] External links
- U.S. INDICTS 17 IN ALLEGED INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE PIRACY CONSPIRACY - Mirror of US DoJ website posting
- PWA'S FINAL RELEASE - RIP 1992 - 2000 – PWA NFO file declaring the group disbanded
- Pirates With Attitude file and information repository on Defacto2
