ANDREW CUOMO - NEW YORK A HOTBED OF PIRATES, A.G. SAYS

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, claiming that 50 percent of all pirated movies are sold in New York, has chastised judges for being too lenient with those caught taping movies in theaters with camcorders. Cuomo told a New York news conference on Monday that first-time offenders should be fined as much as $1,000 and up to a year in jail and that repeat offenders should be charged with committing a felony. (Currently movie piracy is treated as a misdemeanor.) "We need a new law on the books of the state that punishes this act like the crime it is," Cuomo said. Also attending Cuomo's news conference were MPAA chief Dan Glickman, writer-comedienne Tina Fey, and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker.

06/05/2008