[Rumori] Re: [Snggles] more RIAA fun (was Mondo Kim's in NYC raided by RIAA)

[PeterALopez]

FWD via Snuggles' doomation

from an employee there:

Subject: Yes, i was arrested and in jail....for working at Kim's All
headers
Dear Loving Friends,
On June 8, 2005, i along w/ 4 other Kim's employees were
arrested during a raid on Kim's.   The RIAA hired some pigs
to come and bust the store, the arrest was totatlly
arbitary.  They were supoosed to be busting down on
bootlegs, thanks to the media exposure on Star Wars
bootlegs (it happened to be a live 50 cent concert, so if
he was involved in any way FUCK 50 Cent!). They took me
since i am the manager on the 2nd floor.   Mr. Kim was no
where to be found.
The store was shut down, employees lined up, a few of us
got cuffed w/out being told we are being arrested and with
out utilzing our miranda rights.    We were taken to the
holding cell, where we waited approx 5 hrs before they
fingerprinted us and put us into a chain gang to take us
downtown (despite them telling us they were going to give
us desk passes so we would not have to spend the night in
jail...FUCK THE POLICE!!!).  So we went downtown, beforehand they confisicated our cell
phones and thanks to technology, was not able to memorize
anyone's phone numbers.    The pigs still have my cell
phone & ipod.    So we got put into a pen w/ a bunch of
other dudes.   The cells were packed constantly, filled w/
30 or so people at a time, having 10 bull pens down there,
body heat made things harder in the dank cells.  Hours later i was separted from the rest of my co-workers
and put into a different cell, separated from the one guy
whom had the name & number to the Kim's lawyer.   Those
whom don't know, i have a hard time w/ authority.  i spent 30+ hrs in jail for working at Kim's.   All the
other employees were released from there cells before me, i
had a panic attack that was prompted by all this stress,
not eating (jail is not really vegan friendly) nor sleeping
the entire time i was in.   i got really claustrophobic,
thought everyone was stealing my air (for those who live in
NY, the jail cell  was 10x hotter then the 2nd ave. F stop)
my heartrate doubled, i couldn't breath and i started to
crack.   i started to waddle back and forth like orphans do
from not being mothered long enough or at all.
My man Jerry Lim, whom is the only numbered i remembered,
for we call each other every day.   He worked his ass off
to help me out, big ups for Lim, whne you see him, hug him
and buy him a drink.   Calling mutual friends whom have
lawyers and money to help bail me out.   The Correction
Officers were very reluctant to help him help me out in any
way.  When i bummed a quarter off a fellow inmate, i was at the
point of cracking, mumbling w/ the entire cell yelling and
overall carrying on like it was a party for them.   Some
also had arbitrary arrests, like walking through the park
at night or some for more "serious" crimes like selling
weed.   i would like to take this moment to give Guiliani &
Bloomberg a big fuck you!   i can honestly say i hate these
men.  Hours later, at a point i was almost convinced i was going
to spend 72 hrs or more in jail (they can legally hold you
for 72 hrs, but if it falls on the weekend, you stay over
the weekend regardless), i got called, went to my
arrainment and senteced to one day of community service.  i was arrested apparently for making and distrobuting
bootleg material (a felony offense aka your going to
Rykers), which is not true, obviously.    Charges were
lowered to a misdeamor and i was sentenced to a day of
community service.   That was a relief in a since.   You
can only imagine how intensely pissede i am at Mr. Kim at
this moment and was ready to quit when i go out.   Below is
a clipping from NY Times, which article helped speed up our
arrainment (so i hear).   Mr. Kim is supposedly turning
himself in on monday, i have no idea was it going out (that
is how it was the entire time i was locked up, the pigs
liked to keep you in the dark).  So, i am sorry i can't call everyone right now, but i
thought this may be best way for mass communication.  Needless to say i hate cops even more now and have even
less faith in the united states legal system.  Thanks for all your support.   Hope to see you all soon.
luv,
chu

from nytimes.com

Police Raid Video Store in East Village in Piracy Case



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By THOMAS J. LUECK

Published: June 10, 2005



A longtime fixture in the East Village, Mondo Kim's, a
mecca for independent music and video at 6 St. Marks Place,
was raided and closed for five hours on Wednesday by police
officers who left with boxes filled with CD's, DVD's and
computer equipment. Five store employees were charged with
trademark counterfeiting.


According to several employees of the store, known widely
for the its independent labels, and sometimes ornery staff,
the police arrived about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, and ordered
all customers to leave.

Then, all of the 20 or so clerks, managers and other
employees who were working in the three-floor store, which
sells DVD's, CD's, books and production equipment, were
told to line up on the ground floor. The police quickly
identified four men and one woman and led them away in
handcuffs. They ordered everyone else to leave and searched
the store until about 6 p.m., when officers filed out
carrying boxes.

The police said yesterday that investigators had carried
out a search warrant for counterfeit trademarked goods and
that the material seized included nine computer towers, a
CD burner, a laptop computer, 471 compact disks and 53
videos.

The employees charged with counterfeiting were identified
as Theo Frimpong, 39, of the Bronx; Diana Kinscherf, 19, of
Queens; Donald Stahl, 26, and Charles Bettis, 29, both of
Brooklyn; and Craig Willingham, 32, of Manhattan.

Mondo Kim's is on a block of St. Marks Place, between
Second and Third Avenues, that has long been a crossroads
of bohemian culture. It and three other Manhattan stores
known as Kim's Video and Music are widely known among the
cognoscenti of new, experimental and esoteric music and
film.

Many customers seek out the four Kim's outlets for
recordings they are unable to find in even the largest
music stores, and they often say they patronize the St.
Marks Place store despite the attitude of its staff, which
is not always welcoming.

"It was a rite of passage to go in there, rent a movie and
get snobbed on by some disdainful clerk," said Mike
Doughty, the former singer of the band Soul Coughing.

Veterans of the East Village arts scene said the store had
a devoted clientele.

"They fill a niche," said Mike Stuto, an owner of Hi Fi, a
bar on Avenue A. "It's the difference between a corner
bodega and a special newsstand that carries every
publication you can imagine, but may not have Time
magazine."

Colin Moynihan contributed reporting for this article.