POMONA : Man Given Stiff Prison Term in Video Piracy Case

A man who ran an illegal video distribution center out of his Los Angeles home has received a three-year prison term, reportedly the stiffest sentence ever imposed for video piracy in Los Angeles County.

Frank Hernandez was sentenced this week by Pomona Superior Court Judge Robert Gustaveson, according to the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which has an anti-piracy division that works with authorities.

Hernandez was arrested in February by Temple City sheriff’s deputies, who raided his home on Highland Avenue in Los Angeles. They seized 1,038 pirate videocassettes, plus a large quantity of counterfeit cassette labels and sleeves.

“Video piracy is a huge problem for the motion picture industry and harms the consumer by offering substandard products as the real thing,” said Ed Pistey, director of the Motion Picture Assn.’s anti-piracy operation.