"Cartoon Network" busted

Well, I'm pulling myself back together. Ronny would have hated to see me mope around and thanks to everyone who expressed their condolences on his passing. It hurts a lot more than I ever expected but as I like to say, no way out but through, and so I'm jumping back into the fray.

I don't really know what to say about this bust except I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did. It seems like a pretty bold in your face operation to me. But you do have to admire their organization. It was an impressive operation although clearly not well thought out in terms of the ultimate consequences.

Smoking Gun has the story, along with photos. And you really have to read the complaint for yourselves. Fascinating reading and it describes how the operation works. One thing that stood out is the group fielded 50,000 calls in a year, averaging 400 a day. Think about what that says about demand and who do you think is buying this stuff at about $400 an oz? It's not street people - it's the professional class.

More importantly - buyers beware. These idiots kept records. If you're a Cartoon Network subscriber, the feds have your number.

Meanwhile, I think the task force was a bunch of Scrooges for busting them right before the holiday. They waited this long, they could have waited until after the holiday instead of ruining thousands of consumers' Christmases.

[hat tip JackL]