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Well, you have all heard all the stories, here is a set
of all the text file releases i have been able to find, it isnt
a mag or anything so dont worry about the interface, just use
esc to go to the next file. This thing has made alot of people
rethink their risks, and many people have left or gone down,
including a few of my good SDA artists. I have taken
my board down, but not becuase of this, but other reasons
SDA/PreVueS/DWi Western HQ has moved to another board,
splatterhouse is gone from what i have heard, and of course
all the different USA boards, which is a shame.
But to all that are leaving, I wish you good luck, and that
you have a good future, and too all that are staying, [including
me] Hope this is worth this risk. Carding is a much bigger thing
and of course a federal offense, and i greatly discorage it
TGR, TNSHB, any others that are going to possibly be on trial, good
luck, alot of us are behind ya. Mike wish we could of talked to ya
today when we called, anyways good luck all of you[leaving staying
etc etc]
Note: These are just a few things i put together, not any views of mine
the above stated is just my note to all people, and not a attack on anyone.
Shadow PhanTom UAFP
[Unasociated Free Press]
Well, I am sure you have all heard that I had a small legal problem today,
and I know how stuff gets blown out of proportion, so I thought I'd
explain the story myself. Here goes...
I have carded a few items in the past 3 days, and I have NEVER done this
before. The Grim Reaper got CBI accounts and placed orders, and I picked
them up. Well, one of the places Grim ordered from was Paradise Computers,
they knew it was a bogus order, but told us the package was shipped. Then
they called the FEDS. Anyhow, the Feds must have been watching the pickup
spot, then following me around till I met up with Grim to deliver his share
of the stuff. As soon as we went to make the exchange, the Secret Service,
FBI, state police, and local police were running at us with bulletproof
vests and automatic guns. They handcuffed us, separated us, and took each
of us back to our homes for them to search.
So I haven't talked to Grim Reaper since I saw him lying next to me on
the ground being arrested. But here's my story. About 20 agents came
to my apartment and grabbed all computer equipment without a receipt. So
we still have 1 modem, and this computer system. Anyhow, they grabbed\
every piece of paper they could find. Unfortunately, I am a very
organized person, and had "the who's who in the pirate world" written
down for my use. So if you ever gave me your real name, number, or
address, it is now in the hands of the Secret Service and FBI. This
list was quite large, as it took 2 years to compile.
These boys did their homework. They knew Enterprize was USA HQ and they
knew my handle, and they knew I supplied the group with software. They
weren't going for just anyone here guys, they knew they needed to bust a
group leader. Well, they did. Got me on carding, pirating, and a ton of
other legal terms having to do with both of these.
I was charged with 6 different counts, each holding a 5-30 year prison
sentence. It doesn't look good for me at all. I'll post a file as
soon as I get arraigned and let you guys know what is going on.
But I will say this now, and I MEAN it. I love the groups, the software,
and the competition. But regardless of what happens to me, I am done
forever. No more NotSoHumble Babe, no more USA. I hate to do this to
everyone, but I really don't have a choice. And regardless of who I am
that got busted, be strong and support what you believe in your hearts:
piracy. Don't let them win. You guys can all go on without me. Just
promise me you won't give up and throw in the towel. If anyone wants
to contact me, you can leave e-mail on Enterprize for me, or call voice
AT YOUR OWN RISK. They told me they were tapping the phone lines.
Just got to say a few goodbyes...
Genesis: man, this stuff is in your blood, don't allow my mistakes to
mess up something you've loved your whole life. You Gotta Ski!
Silencer: well, you warned me and I didn't listen. I needed to listen to
the kid with a knowledgable mind. Sorry, the second time I left
a group and left you hanging...
Cool Hand: Joe, you are a really nice person to talk to, and you've got a
wife and kids. Remember that man, is this stuff worth it?
Line Noise: Neil, I guess you are one of the happier ones to hear of my
bust. No THG, no USA. You will rule the world man, but be
more careful than I was.
The PieMan: Well, you can quit threatening to turn my board in if you ever
get caught. My board was officially busted.
Fab.Furlough: Deep down inside, you are a backstabber. But I still love
you man...
And to all I didn't say anything to, doesn't mean I don't care. I hope USA
will continue to live and prosper. And I will do anything I can(legally)
to help USA prosper. Goodbye...
The NotSoHumble Babe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date : 01-XX-92
Time : Who knows
Commenter : [> ANONYMOUS <]
Of course, that was the version she wanted to play to the general
public. The NotSoHumble Babe and The Grim Reaper were not just doing this
for the first time, it had been a routine thing for quite a while.
(For at least 4 months, when TGR carded his 486/33).
I guess it would be helpful to take a few steps back, and get a look
at the whole picture as I know it (From reliable sources, and from personal
experiance with these two people).
The NotSoHumble Babe was always known for her good contacts in the
software field, that is the reason for USA's quick appearence. People
probably wondered how she did it? I am sure she had many ways, but the one
tactic she used which gained her the interest of the FBI was telling the
software Co's she was a distributor. All of them believed this expept for
one. When this one checked her Employer Identification Number, and found
it didn't check out with her, they knew something was up. They then had
her lines monitored, and because of this found out they had more then a
business fraud on their hands, they found out they had a veteran Credit
Card abuser, and the leader of a major pirate group. This then in turn
caused a lot more investigation to take place, and in turn the interest
of the Secret Service. Since they were being monitored, the SS knew all
their plans. When TGR had ordered his next shipment of carded goods, the
SS notified the company of what was going on, and set the trap. Now,
after several months of investigation on The Grim Reaper (Mike Arnolds)
and The NotSoHumble Babe, the case was about to come to a close, they
had everything they needed to convict these two people in court, and whoever
else they wanted.
As Amy said in her text above, she and Mike were on the way to meet each
other to split the goods they had carded. When Amy went to FedEx to pick
up her shit, and go meet Mike, they were surrounded, and arrested.
This took place on 1-29-92 at approximately 2:27pm.
Mike and Amy were taken back to their houses, where all of their equipment
was looked over. As she said, anything without a receipt was confiscated.
Then, came the big talks from the Feds - Interrogation.
This day totally changed Mike's and Amy's life drastically. Things would
not be the same. And because of this, they were both pretty moved.
Because of this insecure feeling, and because they are both unable to take
this shit themselves, and not implicate other people, they decided to
cooperate 100% with the authorities. Anything they didn't have on paper,
anything the Feds found unclear, Mike and Amy are/were right there to make
a clear picture for them. Amy failed to say this, I see. I know first hand,
The Grim Reaper and The NotSoHumble Babe are going to drag as many as they
can with them. A loser thing to do, but that's what they are going to do.
Looks like it's time for us all to either call it quits for a while, or
be very fucking careful. TGR and TNSHB are both history. They fucked up.
And now they will pay for their mistakes. But we don't need to be party to
their bullshit. Delete their accounts from your board, blacklist them,
lock out newusers, change the system pw, and even go as far as deleting all
USA affiliates if you feel it is necessary.
What about USA? What about Genesis and BBS-A-Holic? Well, Genesis was one
of her partners in crime. Thomas always made it a habit to get something out
of each of her shipments, so to do this, he had to contribute somehow, nothing
is free. He helped card about 25% of the shit they got, so I am sure he is a
nervous mother fucker right now. The Feds are monitoring his local FedEx
anyway, so if he goes there to pick up his last package, his ass is in jail
too. He also was a very avid user of the 950-0511 extender, as the Feds are
aware of, and they might pop him for this, who knows? The board? USA?
I have heard, but not from Genesis, that USA is now officially dead.
BBS-A-Holic is down, and no idea when it will come back up.
But when it does again come online, I will not be a member on that system.
Thomas is considering turning himself in, if he does this, he said he too will
cooperate with the Feds, which means if you were his friend yesterday, and
helped him card shit, or anything, then you might share his cell tomorrow.
What do you know about The Grim Reaper, The Void, and Vision-x? -
The Grim Reaper is getting popped for the second time, therefore, I think
his ass will be in jail a few years, once he is sentenced. The Void?
I am not sure, but I assume since he had carded all of his computer
equipment, that it was all confiscated, along with all of his backups.
Mike being in jail, or not, will never again run a board. As for Vision-x,
who knows. Warlord has not made a public statement yet, so noone knows yet.
He does live in 313 as did the other two, so if I were him I would be scared
shitless, especially since he was supposed to receive a carded 386/25 from
USA. Felony Net and Toxic Net are all history. Perhaps Warlord will bring
them back, though, but I don't foresee this any time soon.
The Grim Reaper and The NotSoHumble Babe were charged with Credit Card
Fraud, ammounting 18,200$, and software piracy adding up to 72,000$.
Once you add Genesis' (Thomas') part in, the credit card fraud will probably
amount to 21,000$, but, that's just my guess, based on all this shit he told
me about that he assisted in, and some he did on his own.
When TNSHB says to call her board and leave her your questions, or number
to call you back at, it is just a simple way to drag you in. Dont fall for
it. Lives and freedom are too precious to ruin for a bitch like her.
Just for the hell of it, here are their telephone numbers, if you want to
verify all this shit, just call and ask them. (I advise you do this from a
payphone a LONG way from your house, and dont identify yourself)
The Grim Reaper (Mike) 313-981-1903/313-981-1296
The NotSoHumble Babe (Amy) 313-442-2523
Genesis (Thomas) 213-328-7507
Hope this has all been helpful. If you want more history on these people,
send a public message on OoofNet in care of [>ANONYMOUS<], and I will give
the desired history out.
[> ANONYMOUS <]
Message : 74 of 99 Posted : 02/03/92 at 7:38 am
Subject : bust To : Everyone
From : Cool Hand User Note: INC Vice Pres.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Ok I will let everyone right now know what is happening with TNSHB TGR and I
dont want to hear no stories that have been handed down 5 times, here it
goes...
also Why should My word be taken here well it is because I talked to TNSHB &
TGR several times a day since this happened and I had both of them in coference
yesterday so I know what is going on and This may concern a lot of you so read
it!
Now yes TNSHB (The Not so Humble Babe) & TGR (The Grim Reaper) were busted last
week.. TNSHB got it for Carding, Phreaking, Forgery, and Piracy and maybe some
other charges1 TGR got it for Carding.. Yes they are in big trouble.. ok.. The
letter TNSHB put out see did while she was depressed and feeling bad.. and that
is how she saw it at the time she may want to recant a few things now but maybe
not... The second file The Truth.zip well thats the last thing it is.. Anyomous
who did that was sought after how do I know Well he called me 3:00am after the
bustat work and was dying to know what happened.. See he could not find out
anything cause everybody's bbs was down or it was to late to call.. So I filled
him in... In that letter he did he put an opion of mine in there that only him
and I knew about so I know it was him... Now the truth file may have some truth
in it but for the most part it is 3rd hand Info so dont beleive it.. Now with
that out of the way.. This does effect all of us in the pirateing community..
see first this net and most bbs's either have feds on them or soon will have
them here... They know who we are and what we are doing they are compiling a
lot of data.. and TNSHB kept tape recordings of those who called her and very
organized note which the feds have now... They did not get much from TGR...
also TNSHB and TGR are cooperating with FEDS in what they want.. They have to
cause they are looking at a lot of time in Prison.. What would you do in thier
shoes.. Now the big question is what are the feds going to do about the piracy
situation.. I quess it is two soon to tell.. It is ashame that carding and the
other stuff gets releated to our hobby.. I tried to call kenneth welch and
peter beruk friday at the SPA and see if they would tell me anything but alls
they wanted was my phone number what a bunch of dick heads.. It is obvious they
dont want us to know what they are doing they dont want to help they just want
to bust people because they are laten Homsexuals with nothing better to do in
thier lives.. I am sure if they told me They were comming I would sell my pc
and find a new hobby and I am sure most of you would follow... if you all have
any questions I will answer them or ask TNSHB & TGR to get your answers..
Vision will still carry on and we will start netting Monday also USA is not
dead but will suffer from this and probaly not be the contender it once was
time will tell.. Sysops close your systems to new users and delete dead wait
and those you do not know.. voice validate everyone. Later
Cool Hand
? MidNite Oil BBS ? Burnin' The MidNite Oil!
? CelerityNet 1.4 ? Posted 02/02/92 @ 7:16 am
02/03/92
'Lamer Pirate Magazines, Etc...'
By THE GRIM REAPER
This was originally going to be an article for iNSANITY Magazine #4
called 'Lamer Pirate Mags, Etc' to straighten out the complete bullshit
and lies in Badnews #7, but seeing as there are so many rumours floating
around, and the future of iNSANITY is undecided I decided to just put
out this textfile to explain what is really going on, less a few lamers out
there spread all kinds of bullshit and lies, as they seem to do so often.
Pretty much everything in Badnews #7 was a complete lie, as most of
you already know by now. There didn't have any backdoors to ViSiON-X, and
there aren't and weren't any that allowed someone to get the user list. What
happened on Showdown was the Sysop PW was given out to the wrong person,
and they used it. So again, nothing but BS and hype on their end. While
I think the FiRM overhyped themselves, they didn't deserve the ragging they
got by BaD, and Bad having failed in their own attempt at a Pirate Group
have no right to criticize ANYONE until they've accomplished the same.
Perhaps a few of the other groups could have said something to them (and
many talked about it) but they didn't deserve the 3rd Degree from a lamer
mag.
The main reason for this article was that while many found the
BaD Mag to be so completely full of shit to the point it was hilarious, some
got to thinking that down the line someone might actually believe some of
the BS. They claimed to be the group that caused the downfall of THG, PE and
others, which was a complete joke... They had absolutley nothing to do with
any of that. USA had killed of THG, etc... What else was there to straighten
up?
02/03/92
'Lamer Pirate Magazines, Etc...'
By THE GRIM REAPER (Cont'd)
'Did they shoot your Dog????'
- Anonymous Lamer
So what's up? Well, to make it short and blunt, The Not So Humble
Babe and I were involved in a carding incident. She most likely was being
watched by certain people since she had been using false corporations and
fake Tax ID Numbers to order games, and for suppliers for USA. The Secret
Service either stumbled across us that way, from one of the orders gone
bad, or from the illegal cash and hardware coming in to Enterprize. The
NSH Babe (Amy) had a cash flow from Dist Sites and other hot hardware from
USA Sites totalling about $3500-5000 a month. She had sent one of her hot
laptops she gets every month to Optical Illusion in Canada, and asked him to
sell it for her. He wanted to be nice, and tried to sell it. A local from his
416 area wanted to buy the laptop. He went to sell it, and was busted by a
plainclothes police officer for possesion of stolen property over a $1000.
I found some CC #'s, she had alot of experience with UPS and FedEx from
ordering games, and she thought of a way to pick up the packages. We both
placed orders (I placed about 2/3rds since she was picking up, and she placed
about a 1/3rd). Most of the stuff wasn't for myself, and was meant for other
people (Trying to be nice, Eh?). In any case, we shouldn't have done it.
TNSH Babe wanted to order a ALOT of stuff, becuz over time she owed people
in USA alot of hardware they had paid her for, and she had never sent to
them. We ordered a bit too much, more than I thought we should have.
'They had Bulletproof Vests and Grenades??'
- Nother |<-Rad D00D!!
So then what? Well they found out the packages were coming, and
were waiting for TNSH Babe to pick them up. They went back to her place
and she gave them permission to come in and search. (Dunno what happened in
between then), she talked to them, and they wanted to have her give some of
the stuff she got to me when we were supposed to meet for the first time at a
Meijers parking lot. There were some weird things going on at the time, and
an alarm was flashing in the back of my mind, but I decided to ignore it.
Anyhow, she handed me a hard drive or something, then basically they moved in.
I saw a car pulling up, and figured what was going on. One guy said, 'Secret
Service' (Bout 6 people), and it kinda went downhill from there. But
seriously, they weren't that bad and I cooperated with them.
They wanted to go back to my house and look around, and wanted permission.
They said they would have gotten a search warrant, and it was in my best
interest to cooperate, so I let them come in. Basically there wasn't anything
in the house, I always throw everything out when I am done with it. As
far as the computer went, I didn't even have anything Unzipped on the Hard
Drive that I hadn't paid for. They wanted to look further on the computer
and in the end did take it, but gave me a receipt. I paid for my entire system,
so don't listen to some of the lamer textfiles floating around. There wasn't
anything on my system, so I might get lucky and they'll give it back. They
also took 3 or 4 computers from Amy's place, but left Static with his. This
was the first time either of us had done anything like this. There had been a
few attempts in the past, but nothing that had ever been followed thru, or had
worked. No no, I've never been busted for this before (more lies), or
anything. I've never been arrested for anything before.
02/03/92
'Lamer Pirate Magazines, Etc...'
By THE GRIM REAPER (Cont'd)
'I formatted my Hard Drive 3 Times!!'
- Local 313 Sysop
I don't know if it was overreacting, but our dumb situation seemed
to affect alot of other people. The locals over here went apeshit, and
many of them formatted there drives and deleted files (20+), and took
their boards down temporarily. Many of the major Pirate boards decided
to power down for a while. Unfortunatley many of the truly good boards
in the world have gone down, possibly forever. BBS-A-Holic has gone down,
Enterprize is now PD Only, many INC boards, LSD2 possibly for related
reasons, The VOID of course, and many others. Many big namers are
considering quitting the pirate scene because they think it's not worth it,
and they're right. Some of the boards may come back. BBS-A-Holic was
one of my favorites. Many considered The VOID one of the Top 10 Boards
in the world as far as Quality went, and I appreciate the users and the
support, I worked hard to try to make it the best, and put my heart into
it. As are many others, Black Spyrit might be retiring, so I don't know
if another iNSANITY Issue will be coming out. It was truly a great Mag if
you never saw it. The best.
'I heard they were thrown in jail, and fined $72 Million Dollars!!'
- Another neverending Lamer
No matter what or who the issue, this never stops eh? I wouldn't
believe any of the bullshit textfiles, mostly from jealous people and the
few enemies you get when you end up getting towards the top. Especially
the Anonymous (surprise) textfile taken off of OOFNet (Surprise again, huh?
Heh) are as always complete BS.
Try not to be a lamer. There are too many of 'em, and they do nothing for
the Pirate world. If you are going to do anything, do SOMETHING. Organize
a group of some type, Coordinate Couriers, do some VGA or ANSi work, or get
in a group, but don't be a Lamer. Call LD, and establish a Rep, and see what
you are missing. All Locals aren't Lamers, but 90% are.
A Lamer - A person who calls only Local boards, does nothing but leech files,
and doesn't contribute to groups in any ways.
Neither BaD, any locals, or Socrates had anything to do with us getting
into trouble in any way.
'Don't try this at home kids.'
- Grim '92
All things considered, I wish it wouldn't have ended this way.
I don't think any of this was good for anyone in the pirate or BBS world.
USA is now pretty much a dead group. Many of the best boards have gone down,
and others are considering calling it quits becuz it just isn't worth it.
INC never was a for profit group, and had no illegitimate cash flow unlike
USA.
- Adieu's
-=INC=- '92 - The Conferences sure were a blast, you guys really cracked me
up at times and kept it from getting boring. I have alot of
good memories. Sorry if I let you guys down. Call me sometime.
Cool Hand - Dumb, eh?
You were loyal, and a great organiser.
Lestat - A good friend, and a killer accent. Call me.
Bloody Butcher - Your Dad still carrying around with that axe?
Optical - Hmmm, we shoulda known better...
Drew - Hard to get ahold of, hey.
<ACiD> Artists - You guys where always great Manufacturer, Tracer, The Eel,
and Black SpyriT ofcourse. Ed, give me a call anytime.
Socrates (A local 313 Lamer) - You are a true coward, and a true Lamer.
How you live with yourself is beyond me.
OOFNet - Dead pirate groups, Lamers, no ANSi, and Telegard boards... What
more to say?
Sought After - Give it up already. I heard you wrote one of those bullshit
textfiles, eh?
P.S. This article is meant for iNSANiTY Magazine #4. Please make sure it
makes it in there. (Black SpyriT)
' The Scene, as I see it, and a warning to all
my modem acquaintences '
By: Sought After
T/Date: 11:47pm Feb 3 1992
After seeing what has happened to The Grim Reaper, and TNSHB, their
boards, their groups, all that has happened since their bust, and the
reaction everyone is showing, I got pretty shook up about it.
(Yes, I got shook up)
Everything seemed normal, as far as police procedure, but after
talking to TGR and hearing that he and TNSHB were not charged with anything,
after all of the things they (Mostly her) were involved in, I became
suspicious as to what was really happening. I mean, people don't just get
busted by the S.S., State, and Local authorities for the hell of it. And when
they are busted, they are BUSTED. They are taken downtown, and they are
charged with the crime(s) they committed, etc. From what I know, they were
not charged with anything. Enterprise was the Courier HQ for USA, a board
containing MANY warez, a board that had a HD loaded with shit the Feds would
take an intertest in. Now, why did the Feds take 3 of her other computers,
and not take the Enterprise as well? Reguardless if she could prove she owned
that computer/modem, etc by receipt of purchase, it would still contain
stuff that is illegal to have, therefore it would need to be confiscated,
and the data looked over by the authorities, then the computer would be
returned to the owner AFTER the trial, and they had been sentenced in a
court of law, IF the Judge saw fit to return it, and not until then.
Now, this is totally opposite of procedure normally taken by the Feds.
They should have been charged with numerous Federal charges, they should
have been in jail until a Michigan State Judge decided bail, or to release
them, and ALL of her equipment should have been confiscated, not just some.
This is the first time I have seen anything like this happen, this is why I
have decided to do what I am doing.
I called THE GRIM REAPER up voice last night, and asked him how things
were going. I wanted to get his side of the story. We discussed various
things concerning this 'bust', and I noticed a lot of what is floating around
has been exagerated, but not really. (Something is being hidden from all of
us by TGR/TNSHB, this I am sure of, that is why I am writing this file, that
is why I made so many phone calls to see what the hell is going on)
I program for a living, mostly Telecommunications Security type programs,
to keep 'hackers' out of corporate databases. Since I do this, I do make
friends with government agents, bell security, etc, and can find out what
is going on. (No, I have NOTHING to do with ANY type of investigation on
ANYONE ever at ANY time. I am not one of them, I just use my knowledge gained
through years of hacking to keep hackers out, but I do meet people who are
interested in what I can do, and they do have lose tongues, that is all.
I am not in any way, shape, or form involved with any law enforcement agency,
wheather National, State, County, or Local. Nor any software company, nor any
phone company. I am not a payed informant for any of the above. <Had to say
that, it is a good formality, especially in times such as these, so forgive
the nerdiness of that comment> I would never go as low as busting ANYONE,
that is one reason I am telling you guys what is going on, SO, now you know
where I get my info, so don't go making any uneducated assumptions, ok?
Thanks)
There has been an investigation conducted by the FBI for the last 1.5
years. This investigation was to be done differently from any in the past.
Normally in the past, just one or two people would be arrested for whatever
they were doing, but the rest of the people in the 'scene' were not really
touched. This only put a bit of fear in a minority of the 'scene' for a
short period of time, and before long whatever it was that was being done
(Carding, Phreaking, Pirating, whatever) was back into action full speed.
What does this mean? This means the Feds were having a very small success
rate, and basically waisting government time, money, their time, and it all
ammounting to a lot of paper work, and the amount of frauds increasing.
Software companies lose an estimated $2 Billion a year, IEC's (LD Companies)
usually lose about $5 Billion a year, and who knows how much Credit Card
companies lose a year. These large corporations can only take so much, and
since all this shit is either a Federal thing, or is done over state lines,
the FBI are the guys who handle it. Now the FBI know what is going on out
there. They know that they are not doing any good, so that is why they
decided to conduct this extensive 'open file' investigation of the whole
scene. When they make a bust, the new tactic has been to find out as much
information about the "bustee's" friends in the scene as possible. Who
his friends are, what they are known to do, who they know, etc. They then
let this person off that gave them the info.(I only assume they let them off,
by the way TGR and TNSHB's case has been handled, and what a DA told me)
This type of busting can best be visualized by the term you find in most
BBS softwares, "Read messages by threads?". Do you understand now? The busts
are being/going-to-be conducted by threads. People who were close friends,
associates-in-fraud, closely associated will be taken down in threads. The
whole group of people. The first major bust done like this is TNSHB and
THE GRIM REAPER. What next? If Cool Hand goes (Just hypothetical, my friend),
then who with him? The Cracksmith, and their buddies?
Right now I am pretty positive that THE GRIM REAPER and The Not So Humble
Babe are doing the same thing other people have been doing with the Feds,
and that is giving the Feds everything they know about everyone. I am talking
detailed shit. Why? Because the more the Feds know, the better they know how
to handle each group of people. A lot of people are in danger right now.
Especially people who were in close and consistent communication with
TGR and TNSHB. Sucks, eh? No joke. Well, what to do to make it safe for
yourself? QUIT THE SCENE NOW! NOT TOMORROW! The sooner the better. And, when
you quit publically announce it, as myself, and as The Eel has done. Why
publically? Because then the little 'informants' will get the word to the
Feds, and then you will be marked off their list. If you quit now, then
the Feds most likely will not have a chance to bust you for anything.
You won't have a Pirate board to bust, you won't be phreaking, you won't be
talking to people who are, you won't be uploading and downloading the latest
wares, you won't be keeping that high-profile which draws so much attention,
therefore you are not a target. Just because someone implicates you as a
major guy to bust because of <Fill in the blank>, doesn't mean you are going
to be busted. They have to find SOME proof to back up the statement. Quit now,
and they have no proof. How do you guys like your freedom? I kinda like to be
able to wake up in the morning, at any hour I like, eat my own food, take
showers whenever I want, go wherever I want, do whatever I want, have no
limitations upon myself, have some pussy, live life, go places. What is all
that called? It's called freedom. Freedom is what makes life liveable.
Not all the people who get busted will get to be the Fed's tutors in who
we are, what we do, who we know, etc. Only a very few. I think the rest of
the guys who get busted, most likely only 2-5 people will get as lucky as
that, if you want to call losing your computer lucky, wheather they were
charged or not. Some of you are pretty damn established in the modem world,
as was I, and don't want to give it up. You might want to risk staying in.
But it's not worth it. Don't take chances. Look, I am not a religious person
at all, but I am a person who would rather be safe then sorry. About 5 years
ago I went to a Christian Church, learned their teachings, and did what I
needed to become one of them, so that in the end, according to their
teachings, I would go to Heaven. I don't really believe in a Heaven or Hell,
or in going to Church, but I did that ONLY in case it was true. I mean, what
would I lose? I did it, it's over, if it was all true I do go to 'heaven' when
I die, and if I had otherwise not done it, I would have gone to 'hell', and if
it turns out untrue, then it was at least an educational experiance, and no
loss to me. If you only dropped the scene for a few months and watched what
happens to those who stay, perhaps that will even do. I don't plan on ever
comming back to the scene, but for those who really are unsure about giving
up, just quit and see what happens in the next few month. When you see
what happens to those who do stay, you will be glad you didn't take that
chance. Look, all of you guys in the scene are VERY talented. Some more then
others, but at the very least you can operate a computer. That is a required
skill these days. But for those of you who can crack, code, those of you
who are artist, those of you who organize, you can utilize your skills in
the real world, and make a HELL of a lot of money. Just gotta call the
right people. I would guess there are only about 500 of you guys that I can
think of, maybe 1,500 in the whole country. Not many out of a country that
has 250 Million in it, is it? That means that all of you could find a job
utilizing your knowledge learned from the computer, your abilities (Cracking,
coding, artists, organizers, etc) in a way that is productive in the long-run,
earn money from it, and feel good that you accomplished something that counts.
Do you guys realize how much socializing is done on the boards? It is all
politics, diplomacy, socialization, communciation, and having skill in each
of those is really helpful. Yuo know that you all have most likely learned
that you can read someone's personality by the way they organize their
thoughts on paper? Neat I think. Anyway, you guys have the chance to pull
out of the scene now, and put your skills to good use. Otherwise, some Fed
could knock at your door the next morning, arrest you, take your computer,
and take you to Court. After court you most likely will pay a very large
fine for any pirated wares, restitutional charges for any phreaking/Credit
Card theft, and fines for Carding, etc. This goes on your permanent criminal
record, and scars you for life. Then, it would be like 90% harder to get that
good paying computer-related job, or anywhere you wanted to work. Pull out
now, guys. It is the only wise decision. Don't let the feds have a reason
to bust you. Yes, getting busted for software piracy does suck, and I
personally don't think it should be illegal, but don't take the cance of
getting a criminal record for having the newest K-Kewl warez, and the fine
that comes with it. At LEAST wait for this shit to die over. I am
leaving the scene most likely forever because I want to leave it all behind.
I have had a good 'career' here. Was -=INC=- Secretary, was -=IUD=- President,
was in iCE and ACiD, was in FelonyNET, ran Crewel Lye, got recognition, did my
job effitiently, I have gotten all I can get out of it, it is time to move
on. I am not going to lose all I have because I stayed around too long.
I hope I have gotten the point accross. I am not blowing shit up
anyone's ass. I am telling you guys this because you have a future ahead
of you, even people as old as Cracker Jack ;), and you don't need to go
through the crap the Feds can give you. I like you all, even though some
people I had disagreements with, they were still good people, and not
disserving of a bust.
I am going to finish this now, I don't know what else to say.
Already 12k long, pretty fucking big. heh. Well, I will close out by
sending my last greets to all I can think of.
Line Noise - Hey guy, was great being in INC. The people were great,
the atmosphere was great, and the group had moral it seemed (Till the end).
Also, I do applaud you for running your group w/out drug money, and hot
hardware to support the cashflow for software. You are a very intelligent
person, and I know you will succede in life. Take it safe, and easy man,
and no hard feelings. You did what you thought was right.
Cool Hand - Really enjoyed talking to you as much as I did. You are
a great person, even though we were incompatable in the end. I think we were
both a little unreasonable, but hey, no hard feelings. You were a great
person to work under, and I enjoyed your 'care-free' personality. You remind
me of that character from the movie Total Recall, Cohagen. As the people were
giving out of air in Venusville, Cohagen said, "Fuck 'em". That is a phrase
you often used, and I found it quite humorous. As TNSHB said, you have two
kids and a wife, 3 very good reasons to be careful now. I would give the
scene up, at least temporarily, don't leave them w/out a husband man, they
need you. Take care.
Bloody ButCher - You were a true friend, and the most loyal of people I
have ever met, thanks. I will miss our 'About that time again' conversations.
But, I will always know that Mai gno Lam! heh. Take it easy man, and Ace
your classes!
The Grim Reaper - Looks like they got you man, and you were one of the
luckier ones, eh? Well, hope it all works out for you. I did enjoy all our
conversations, and will miss them. Hey Cool Hand, this was a loyal fucker,
too. He and Bloody make your group shine. (As much as I hate to admit that ;)
Now I guess I am off to Rio for some sun, as you suggested. Take care!
The Triton - Haven't seen you ANYWHERE? Anyway, enjoyed the chats we had.
You are an interesting character. Still going to shove your "Big Philipeno
dick up Vigilante's ass"? Would be good, someone should dispose of that loser.
Take it easy man, perhaps I will come see you sometime? We live near enough.
The Cracksmith - You were one of the fairest people I met in the scene
man, thanks for trying to smooth things out for me before I left INC.
Anyway, good luck to you.
Warlord - Selfish pig. Get your mind off yourself and think of others for
once, and perhaps then you might get something besides an XT. Greed gets you
know where.
Genesis - Shit, what happened to you man? After Amy's demise, never
saw you again? Oh well. I enjoyed all of our talks we had months back.
You were another of the most unique people I met in the scene. Hope things
all work out for you, take it easy.
Striker - A most dedicated Courier indeed! One that INC doesn't
realize is so good. Good luck guy.
Warlock - Another dedicated personality, sorry I never got to make you
a real Courier in the group, you sure as hell earned it. Take care.
Honus Wagner - A gifted artist and true friend.
Black SpyriT - A gifted artist and one I would consider a friend.
Remember, "Moan, groan, hold on a sec, Dave".hahah. My ghod, he was a
humourous person sometimes wasn't he? And, I love your initials - BS.
Every time I see them I think the opposite of what I should.
BTW, your magazine was truly the best out there.
Centurion - We never met for lunch? Still want to? (As long as we don't
discuss group politics).
RaD MaN - Another gifted artist. Appreciate the membership in the
finest ANSi/VGA group, I am honored. Take care, and use your skill in a
profitable way, and get off the damn phone, your bill is too high ;)
JED - The most talented of artist, I thank you for the ANSi's you made
for my members, I hope to see more of your art someday, eh? Take care.
The Eel - You are a truly great person, and have foresight, and plan
for the future. Let us hope the rest do the same. Take care.
The Dark Knight - Thanks for having faith in me, sorry to let you down.
You too are one of the few who seem so loyal. I consider you also a true
friend. Take care.
Optical Ilusion - A True loser you are. I hope the bbs world is
rid of you forever.
Navajo - Another truly talented artist, I appreciate the VGA you did.
Cyberpunk - A dedicated person again. Take care.
Lestat - I remember when I made you a Trial Courier in INC, one of the
first as I recall. I see you made it quite far in there, glad for you man.
You are a really cool person, and allow me to quote TGR, 'You have a killer
accent'. No joke, a genuine accent indeed. Take care man.
SCi-Fi - You Couriered for me for a while. And greeted me in a WARES
release, Norton Commander 4.0, I believe. Greets in return. Take care.
Dark Spyre - A backstabber and loser of the highest order. I am sure
others will see that in time. You have earned the rep you have.
The Guardian - Was a short stay for you. Good luck my friend.
The PieMaN - You are a cool person, hope things stay well for you.
Axiom Codex - Another true friend out there. Gee, there were more of
you then I thought. That's nice to know. I won't abandon you guys. I will
vacation for a while, then call you. No law against talking to you guys.
Take it safe man.
Tank - Thanks for the ANSi's man, they were your last, I shall remember
them as commemratives.
The NotSoHumble Babe - Everyone gets what they deserve, especially when
they are as stupid as you. Oh well, losers are losers.
Shadowalker - Or was it ShadowLord? (grin)
Lord Blix - Life is so short. (Where are the rest of the Heart
Breakers?)
Marshall Law - Another talented artist, and I never got my ANSi from
you. What happened? Take care.
AfterMath - Good luck with V-X man, it's a GREAT software. But be wise,
and don't engauge in such foolish things as did the previous admin. You
are a great guy. Take care.
Ryec - Good luck with V-X man. I hope to see it continue to thrive, and
win everyone's respect. It is a truly awesome software. And I know it will
get into production now that someone dedicated is in charge.
Zodact - Sorry things didn't work out w/INC. Is Razor dead now too?
That's all the people I can think of. To those I forgot, may you take it
easy, and learn from all this shit. I will quote someone, "You may very
well be witnessing the end of the pirate world". It's no shit. Uncool
thought, but neat to witness it, eh? I hope you all take the message in this
letter seriously. It is no joke man, life is very serious. Good luck to all.
Black SpyriT - Put this in iNSANiTY #4 along with Mike's, will you? I always
promised you an article, here it is ;) Take care
' The Scene, as I see it, and a warning to all
my modem acquaintences '
By: Sought After
T/Date: 11:47pm Feb 3 1992
After seeing what has happened to The Grim Reaper, and TNSHB, their
boards, their groups, all that has happened since their bust, and the
reaction everyone is showing, I got pretty shook up about it.
(Yes, I got shook up)
Everything seemed normal, as far as police procedure, but after
talking to TGR and hearing that he and TNSHB were not charged with anything,
after all of the things they (Mostly her) were involved in, I became
suspicious as to what was really happening. I mean, people don't just get
busted by the S.S., State, and Local authorities for the hell of it. And when
they are busted, they are BUSTED. They are taken downtown, and they are
charged with the crime(s) they committed, etc. From what I know, they were
not charged with anything. Enterprise was the Courier HQ for USA, a board
containing MANY warez, a board that had a HD loaded with shit the Feds would
take an intertest in. Now, why did the Feds take 3 of her other computers,
and not take the Enterprise as well? Reguardless if she could prove she owned
that computer/modem, etc by receipt of purchase, it would still contain
stuff that is illegal to have, therefore it would need to be confiscated,
and the data looked over by the authorities, then the computer would be
returned to the owner AFTER the trial, and they had been sentenced in a
court of law, IF the Judge saw fit to return it, and not until then.
Now, this is totally opposite of procedure normally taken by the Feds.
They should have been charged with numerous Federal charges, they should
have been in jail until a Michigan State Judge decided bail, or to release
them, and ALL of her equipment should have been confiscated, not just some.
This is the first time I have seen anything like this happen, this is why I
have decided to do what I am doing.
I called THE GRIM REAPER up voice last night, and asked him how things
were going. I wanted to get his side of the story. We discussed various
things concerning this 'bust', and I noticed a lot of what is floating around
has been exagerated, but not really. (Something is being hidden from all of
us by TGR/TNSHB, this I am sure of, that is why I am writing this file, that
is why I made so many phone calls to see what the hell is going on)
I program for a living, mostly Telecommunications Security type programs,
to keep 'hackers' out of corporate databases. Since I do this, I do make
friends with government agents, bell security, etc, and can find out what
is going on. (No, I have NOTHING to do with ANY type of investigation on
ANYONE ever at ANY time. I am not one of them, I just use my knowledge gained
through years of hacking to keep hackers out, but I do meet people who are
interested in what I can do, and they do have lose tongues, that is all.
I am not in any way, shape, or form involved with any law enforcement agency,
wheather National, State, County, or Local. Nor any software company, nor any
phone company. I am not a payed informant for any of the above. <Had to say
that, it is a good formality, especially in times such as these, so forgive
the nerdiness of that comment> I would never go as low as busting ANYONE,
that is one reason I am telling you guys what is going on, SO, now you know
where I get my info, so don't go making any uneducated assumptions, ok?
Thanks)
There has been an investigation conducted by the FBI for the last 1.5
years. This investigation was to be done differently from any in the past.
Normally in the past, just one or two people would be arrested for whatever
they were doing, but the rest of the people in the 'scene' were not really
touched. This only put a bit of fear in a minority of the 'scene' for a
short period of time, and before long whatever it was that was being done
(Carding, Phreaking, Pirating, whatever) was back into action full speed.
What does this mean? This means the Feds were having a very small success
rate, and basically waisting government time, money, their time, and it all
ammounting to a lot of paper work, and the amount of frauds increasing.
Software companies lose an estimated $2 Billion a year, IEC's (LD Companies)
usually lose about $5 Billion a year, and who knows how much Credit Card
companies lose a year. These large corporations can only take so much, and
since all this shit is either a Federal thing, or is done over state lines,
the FBI are the guys who handle it. Now the FBI know what is going on out
there. They know that they are not doing any good, so that is why they
decided to conduct this extensive 'open file' investigation of the whole
scene. When they make a bust, the new tactic has been to find out as much
information about the "bustee's" friends in the scene as possible. Who
his friends are, what they are known to do, who they know, etc. They then
let this person off that gave them the info.(I only assume they let them off,
by the way TGR and TNSHB's case has been handled, and what a DA told me)
This type of busting can best be visualized by the term you find in most
BBS softwares, "Read messages by threads?". Do you understand now? The busts
are being/going-to-be conducted by threads. People who were close friends,
associates-in-fraud, closely associated will be taken down in threads. The
whole group of people. The first major bust done like this is TNSHB and
THE GRIM REAPER. What next? If Cool Hand goes (Just hypothetical, my friend),
then who with him? The Cracksmith, and their buddies?
Right now I am pretty positive that THE GRIM REAPER and The Not So Humble
Babe are doing the same thing other people have been doing with the Feds,
and that is giving the Feds everything they know about everyone. I am talking
detailed shit. Why? Because the more the Feds know, the better they know how
to handle each group of people. A lot of people are in danger right now.
Especially people who were in close and consistent communication with
TGR and TNSHB. Sucks, eh? No joke. Well, what to do to make it safe for
yourself? QUIT THE SCENE NOW! NOT TOMORROW! The sooner the better. And, when
you quit publically announce it, as myself, and as The Eel has done. Why
publically? Because then the little 'informants' will get the word to the
Feds, and then you will be marked off their list. If you quit now, then
the Feds most likely will not have a chance to bust you for anything.
You won't have a Pirate board to bust, you won't be phreaking, you won't be
talking to people who are, you won't be uploading and downloading the latest
wares, you won't be keeping that high-profile which draws so much attention,
therefore you are not a target. Just because someone implicates you as a
major guy to bust because of <Fill in the blank>, doesn't mean you are going
to be busted. They have to find SOME proof to back up the statement. Quit now,
and they have no proof. How do you guys like your freedom? I kinda like to be
able to wake up in the morning, at any hour I like, eat my own food, take
showers whenever I want, go wherever I want, do whatever I want, have no
limitations upon myself, have some pussy, live life, go places. What is all
that called? It's called freedom. Freedom is what makes life liveable.
Not all the people who get busted will get to be the Fed's tutors in who
we are, what we do, who we know, etc. Only a very few. I think the rest of
the guys who get busted, most likely only 2-5 people will get as lucky as
that, if you want to call losing your computer lucky, wheather they were
charged or not. Some of you are pretty damn established in the modem world,
as was I, and don't want to give it up. You might want to risk staying in.
But it's not worth it. Don't take chances. Look, I am not a religious person
at all, but I am a person who would rather be safe then sorry. About 5 years
ago I went to a Christian Church, learned their teachings, and did what I
needed to become one of them, so that in the end, according to their
teachings, I would go to Heaven. I don't really believe in a Heaven or Hell,
or in going to Church, but I did that ONLY in case it was true. I mean, what
would I lose? I did it, it's over, if it was all true I do go to 'heaven' when
I die, and if I had otherwise not done it, I would have gone to 'hell', and if
it turns out untrue, then it was at least an educational experiance, and no
loss to me. If you only dropped the scene for a few months and watched what
happens to those who stay, perhaps that will even do. I don't plan on ever
comming back to the scene, but for those who really are unsure about giving
up, just quit and see what happens in the next few month. When you see
what happens to those who do stay, you will be glad you didn't take that
chance. Look, all of you guys in the scene are VERY talented. Some more then
others, but at the very least you can operate a computer. That is a required
skill these days. But for those of you who can crack, code, those of you
who are artist, those of you who organize, you can utilize your skills in
the real world, and make a HELL of a lot of money. Just gotta call the
right people. I would guess there are only about 500 of you guys that I can
think of, maybe 1,500 in the whole country. Not many out of a country that
has 250 Million in it, is it? That means that all of you could find a job
utilizing your knowledge learned from the computer, your abilities (Cracking,
coding, artists, organizers, etc) in a way that is productive in the long-run,
earn money from it, and feel good that you accomplished something that counts.
Do you guys realize how much socializing is done on the boards? It is all
politics, diplomacy, socialization, communciation, and having skill in each
of those is really helpful. Yuo know that you all have most likely learned
that you can read someone's personality by the way they organize their
thoughts on paper? Neat I think. Anyway, you guys have the chance to pull
out of the scene now, and put your skills to good use. Otherwise, some Fed
could knock at your door the next morning, arrest you, take your computer,
and take you to Court. After court you most likely will pay a very large
fine for any pirated wares, restitutional charges for any phreaking/Credit
Card theft, and fines for Carding, etc. This goes on your permanent criminal
record, and scars you for life. Then, it would be like 90% harder to get that
good paying computer-related job, or anywhere you wanted to work. Pull out
now, guys. It is the only wise decision. Don't let the feds have a reason
to bust you. Yes, getting busted for software piracy does suck, and I
personally don't think it should be illegal, but don't take the cance of
getting a criminal record for having the newest K-Kewl warez, and the fine
that comes with it. At LEAST wait for this shit to die over. I am
leaving the scene most likely forever because I want to leave it all behind.
I have had a good 'career' here. Was -=INC=- Secretary, was -=IUD=- President,
was in iCE and ACiD, was in FelonyNET, ran Crewel Lye, got recognition, did my
job effitiently, I have gotten all I can get out of it, it is time to move
on. I am not going to lose all I have because I stayed around too long.
I hope I have gotten the point accross. I am not blowing shit up
anyone's ass. I am telling you guys this because you have a future ahead
of you, even people as old as Cracker Jack ;), and you don't need to go
through the crap the Feds can give you. I like you all, even though some
people I had disagreements with, they were still good people, and not
disserving of a bust.
I am going to finish this now, I don't know what else to say.
Already 12k long, pretty fucking big. heh. Well, I will close out by
sending my last greets to all I can think of.
Line Noise - Hey guy, was great being in INC. The people were great,
the atmosphere was great, and the group had moral it seemed (Till the end).
Also, I do applaud you for running your group w/out drug money, and hot
hardware to support the cashflow for software. You are a very intelligent
person, and I know you will succede in life. Take it safe, and easy man,
and no hard feelings. You did what you thought was right.
Cool Hand - Really enjoyed talking to you as much as I did. You are
a great person, even though we were incompatable in the end. I think we were
both a little unreasonable, but hey, no hard feelings. You were a great
person to work under, and I enjoyed your 'care-free' personality. You remind
me of that character from the movie Total Recall, Cohagen. As the people were
giving out of air in Venusville, Cohagen said, "Fuck 'em". That is a phrase
you often used, and I found it quite humorous. As TNSHB said, you have two
kids and a wife, 3 very good reasons to be careful now. I would give the
scene up, at least temporarily, don't leave them w/out a husband man, they
need you. Take care.
Bloody ButCher - You were a true friend, and the most loyal of people I
have ever met, thanks. I will miss our 'About that time again' conversations.
But, I will always know that Mai gno Lam! heh. Take it easy man, and Ace
your classes!
The Grim Reaper - Looks like they got you man, and you were one of the
luckier ones, eh? Well, hope it all works out for you. I did enjoy all our
conversations, and will miss them. Hey Cool Hand, this was a loyal fucker,
too. He and Bloody make your group shine. (As much as I hate to admit that ;)
Now I guess I am off to Rio for some sun, as you suggested. Take care!
The Triton - Haven't seen you ANYWHERE? Anyway, enjoyed the chats we had.
You are an interesting character. Still going to shove your "Big Philipeno
dick up Vigilante's ass"? Would be good, someone should dispose of that loser.
Take it easy man, perhaps I will come see you sometime? We live near enough.
The Cracksmith - You were one of the fairest people I met in the scene
man, thanks for trying to smooth things out for me before I left INC.
Anyway, good luck to you.
Warlord - Selfish pig. Get your mind off yourself and think of others for
once, and perhaps then you might get something besides an XT. Greed gets you
know where.
Genesis - Shit, what happened to you man? After Amy's demise, never
saw you again? Oh well. I enjoyed all of our talks we had months back.
You were another of the most unique people I met in the scene. Hope things
all work out for you, take it easy.
Striker - A most dedicated Courier indeed! One that INC doesn't
realize is so good. Good luck guy.
Warlock - Another dedicated personality, sorry I never got to make you
a real Courier in the group, you sure as hell earned it. Take care.
Honus Wagner - A gifted artist and true friend.
Black SpyriT - A gifted artist and one I would consider a friend.
Remember, "Moan, groan, hold on a sec, Dave".hahah. My ghod, he was a
humourous person sometimes wasn't he? And, I love your initials - BS.
Every time I see them I think the opposite of what I should.
BTW, your magazine was truly the best out there.
Centurion - We never met for lunch? Still want to? (As long as we don't
discuss group politics).
RaD MaN - Another gifted artist. Appreciate the membership in the
finest ANSi/VGA group, I am honored. Take care, and use your skill in a
profitable way, and get off the damn phone, your bill is too high ;)
JED - The most talented of artist, I thank you for the ANSi's you made
for my members, I hope to see more of your art someday, eh? Take care.
The Eel - You are a truly great person, and have foresight, and plan
for the future. Let us hope the rest do the same. Take care.
The Dark Knight - Thanks for having faith in me, sorry to let you down.
You too are one of the few who seem so loyal. I consider you also a true
friend. Take care.
Optical Ilusion - A True loser you are. I hope the bbs world is
rid of you forever.
Navajo - Another truly talented artist, I appreciate the VGA you did.
Cyberpunk - A dedicated person again. Take care.
Lestat - I remember when I made you a Trial Courier in INC, one of the
first as I recall. I see you made it quite far in there, glad for you man.
You are a really cool person, and allow me to quote TGR, 'You have a killer
accent'. No joke, a genuine accent indeed. Take care man.
SCi-Fi - You Couriered for me for a while. And greeted me in a WARES
release, Norton Commander 4.0, I believe. Greets in return. Take care.
Dark Spyre - A backstabber and loser of the highest order. I am sure
others will see that in time. You have earned the rep you have.
The Guardian - Was a short stay for you. Good luck my friend.
The PieMaN - You are a cool person, hope things stay well for you.
Axiom Codex - Another true friend out there. Gee, there were more of
you then I thought. That's nice to know. I won't abandon you guys. I will
vacation for a while, then call you. No law against talking to you guys.
Take it safe man.
Tank - Thanks for the ANSi's man, they were your last, I shall remember
them as commemratives.
The NotSoHumble Babe - Everyone gets what they deserve, especially when
they are as stupid as you. Oh well, losers are losers.
Shadowalker - Or was it ShadowLord? (grin)
Lord Blix - Life is so short. (Where are the rest of the Heart
Breakers?)
Marshall Law - Another talented artist, and I never got my ANSi from
you. What happened? Take care.
AfterMath - Good luck with V-X man, it's a GREAT software. But be wise,
and don't engauge in such foolish things as did the previous admin. You
are a great guy. Take care.
Ryec - Good luck with V-X man. I hope to see it continue to thrive, and
win everyone's respect. It is a truly awesome software. And I know it will
get into production now that someone dedicated is in charge.
Zodact - Sorry things didn't work out w/INC. Is Razor dead now too?
That's all the people I can think of. To those I forgot, may you take it
easy, and learn from all this shit. I will quote someone, "You may very
well be witnessing the end of the pirate world". It's no shit. Uncool
thought, but neat to witness it, eh? I hope you all take the message in this
letter seriously. It is no joke man, life is very serious. Good luck to all.
Black SpyriT - Put this in iNSANiTY #4 along with Mike's, will you? I always
promised you an article, here it is ;) Take care After toying with the idea of staying around a bit longer, just to
see what happened, I have decided it is just not worth it. I was probably
one of the most honest "pirates" around and prided myself on that, but
have often gotten myself mixed up with many not-so wholesome people in
the scene. For this reason I am leaving the modeming world (at least in
the sense that we know it) for an indefinate period of time. After taking
the advice of Sought After, to publically announce my departure, I decided
to jump on the bandwagon and release my little farewell. The past year
has been undoubtably the most interesting, if not the most enjoyable of
my life. I will always have something to tell my children and grandchildren
at the dinner table.
I have personally been involved with many great groups, and have
had the oppurtunity to meet some great people in the scene. For those of
you reading this who don't know me, I will let you know a little about my
career in the modeming world.
It all started back in late spring of 1991... I had always considered
myself a decent artist (or so I had been told) and had dabbled with computer
artwork off and on through my recent past. After seeing iCENEWS#1, calling
for new VGA artists, I applied and luckily got it. I quickly became friends
with Frozen Tormentor (then president and founder of Insane Creators
Enterprises, the ansi/vga group) and continued to do VGA, and one or two
ansi pictures. Eventually I became VP of the group, and after FT decided
to leave the scene, I became president. It was during this time I broke
away from the "who the hell is this guy" to the "hey I know who that is."
My board had become quite successful, as Spyrit's Crypt a Celerity board,
and I was always looking for ways to improve it, so I hunted for a cracking
group, and found a fledgling (on the PC) group, Razor 1911. I ended up
being a site and it all took off from there. From then I became great
friends with the Razor guys, and stuck with them through the good and the
bad times... Up until now, I have been involved with many projects and groups
including: iCE, ACiD, Insanity, INC (for a few days at least), Razor 1911
and numerous side deals along the way...
Many people have befriended me throughout my days in the scene, and
many have given me chances that I am very greatful for... I will now take
a little time to thank all those that made this past year something to
remember.
- All the callers, uploaders, posters and supporters of Spyrit's Crypt
who helped make it one of the best boards around, I thank you and wish
all of you the best of luck.
- Zodact: My friend my son, you have been there for me too many times to
count, late nights, early mornings, it was the best. Razor 1911 will
remain a legacy in my mind forever, and I only hope we can continue it
together sometime down the road in the real world. Take care, thanks for
giving me the chance you did, I have and always will think of you as a
great friend.
- Kingpin: You have always been a cool guy to talk with, and an excellent
artist... I may not like Iron Maiden, but I guess it goes to show you that
tastes don't have to get in the way of a friendship...
- Frozen Tormentor: I never really had much of a chance to talk with you
one on one, too bad you seemed like a cool guy and iCE will undoubtably
live forever. Lastly however, I am not a backstabber as you have pictured
me and just want to say... at least talk to someone before you decide what
their intentions are.
- Rad Man: Ansi... not much to fall back on into the real world, during
the chats we had however, you have been a cool guy. ACiD was probably the
best thing to happen to ANSI and I'm glad I had a part in it...
- The Cracksmith: I didn't get to know you very well, but what I did get
to know was a very cool person. Too bad we werent on the same side for
more than a few days, it could have been fun...
- Cool Hand: Can't say that I had much of a relationship with you either,
but from the times we did converse, I'd say you were an alright guy.
From all the people in the scene, I must say you were always dedicated,
(perhaps a bit too much) and I respect you for that...
- Sought After: The heartbreakers eh? what a lovely name... We had some
fun times, and all in all you are quite a cool guy... I better not say
anything bad or I might have a different phone number tommorow right? right?
Hah... I am taking your advice though as you can see...
- Hyperion: You were one of the nicest guys that I knew. That pretty much
sums it up... You were there for us all the times we needed someone and
I thank you for that, I wish I had gotten to know you even more than I have,
Razor 1911, Insanity, you did a great job on both...
- The Byter: Celerity, a legacy in the BBS world for sure. You always have
had the best and newest features first, and I am glad I had the oppurtunity
to run such a well crafted program.
- The Rengegade Chemist: I only wish you were in Razor during it's prime
last year, you were a devoted member, and a nice guy to chat with. I'm
sure I will talk to you in the future...
- Genesis: Well even thought I only got one article out of ya, all that time
I appreciate any effort you were able to give... You were another one of
those "devoted" people, and were quite a humerous individual.
- Darwin: What can I say? A great friend, I only wish I had more time to
work with you on projects. You are a great programmer and should never
let that talent go to waste... We are only an ocean apart, lets get together
some time and chat over tea...
- Lord of Peasants: You were the key behind making Insanity as great as it
was, you are a great programmer, and I hope you never lose sight of that.
Thank you for devoting the time you did to making the magazine so special.
- The Grim Reaper, Line Noise, Paladin, The Eel, TomKat, Doctor No,
Force Ten, Golden One, Kublai Khan, All the iCE and ACiD artists,
Bryn Rogers, Night Ranger, Gnarly Beast, Sector9, Uriel, All the
Razor 1911 members, couriers and supporters.
- And all the people I am to tired to remember, sorry if I forgot you,
its been a real tough day, but you all know how thankful I am already
for sure...
Farewell from:
Black Spyrit: Razor 1911, ACiD, Insanity
Spyrit's Crypt: Razor 1911 World Headquarters
ACiD Eastern Agora
Rescue Raider Eastern Headquarters
Insanity Magazine Home
"To my friends in the scene, and those I don't even know"
Well, I know that the header looks cheesy, but what the fuck.
Anyway. I am sure that all of you have read all the little
text files floating around from Black SpyriT, Sought After, The
Eel, and others. Well, here is one to add to the collection.
I, "The Renegade Chemist" resign from the scene NOW. I have
had a real blast in the 4 or 5 years that I have been messing
around with computers and modems. And I have learned a lot, and
met a lot of great people. But I think that it is high time to
"hang it up" for reality.
I know it may sound really lame, but I am scared. I am not
even as big a figure as TNSHB or TGR or SI or BS, but I am really
truly afraid of getting caught in this game. Sure, I have enjoyed
it, starting from a lamer with the handle "Fletch Lives", moving
up towards a higher status in ModemLand. A lot of people have
helped me / hurt me on my way up, but all in all I appreciate all
of the criticisms, constructive and destructive.
Anyhow, I am cutting this short and to the point to save your
sanity ( after reading that 20k one from Sought After, hehe) ).
Black Light - Hey man, we had fun, didn't we? Let's hang out
sometime ( like we wouldn't, hehe ).
Chairman - Sorry that things are not going to work out with APeX.
I really would like to help, but things are getting too hot
for me. I suggest that you go back to the way Suburbia was,
and not worry about it either. I am sure I will see you soon.
Zodact - Funny how we met again after all those years ( well,
one or two anyway ). I wish that it could have been on
better circimstances for Razor at the time, but hey, life's
a bitch ( and the scene even moreso ). I know that we
will still talk alot and maybe I will even see you in college.
Maybe you can come down here for Spring Break, who knows.
Anyway, Razor 1911 ( at least the cracking part! ) was fun
while it lasted. Hopefully we can continue the tradition
in the real world.
Black SpyriT - Well man.. its been great working with you in
the past weeks, and hopefully we can continue in the future.
Need I say more?
Tarl Cabot - I feel like I owe you a lot, man. Out of nowhere
you showed up to help us out w/a courier system, and set it
up in record time. I appreciate all the hard work you put
in to make it work, and if you ever need a favor, just ask.
The task you are taking on yourself of organizing ( hmm.. )
right now is a great one, but not impossible. I wish you
luck, but one thing - be careful, my friend. It's really
not worth it. Talk to you soon.
Force Ten - Well, SDA has been good to me, and I appreciate all
of the work that you and the top members have put into it.
Also, TCSNet is and will always be the best pirate network
( in my eyes... ). Good luck with Revelation. Also, if you
see an ANSi done by me that says "SDA" on it every now and
then, well, I don't want to get bored.
The Master - Well dude. What to say. You were there in CWF
from the beginning, and I appreciate that. You're a good
guy, and I hope that you and Rick can get it together with
Revelation and TCSNet. Sorry being a Razor 1911 courier
did not work out for you, but I think that you took a bet-
ter path anyway. Good luck.
Prizm - Yeah, Yeah. Even you. I know that we had a falling
out not that far back, and I am sincerely sorry for anything
that I said or did to piss you off. I know that some of the
things I said were totally unnecessary and uncool, but you
still have a short fuse. Take it easy, man.
Sicko ( NOT of The BoG! ) - Well man. I know that you probab-
ly think that I dicked you over, and that's fine. I really
did not intend to, but that is the way that it worked out
in the end. The pirate world is a brutal place, no? Anyhow,
wish you luck with your wife and hope there will be lots
of little Sickos running around real soon.
Intrepid - Bastard with Rush tickets. Oh well. Keep up your
programming, you really have talent. Don't forget that.
Chat w/ya sometime soon.
LL Cool J - Hey dude. You have been a good friend for months
now, and I appreciate you letting me leech megs and megs
'o shit off of ABC to satisfy my wares-hunger ( especially
at 2400 baud for a while! hehe ). I am sure I will still
talk to you. Take it easy.
X-Terminator - Hey, didn't talk to you very much, but you
seemed a cool guy. Don't get busted doing anything dumb,
and get plenty of pussy. Later man.
CrackSmith - Well Drew. I only talked to you a few times, and
me and Freddy and you all chowed down at that Chinese place.
Hey, pretty good food. We should go again sometime. While
I know that we did not really get along real well in the
scene, it doesn't have to be that way outside of it.
Cool Hand - We had a lot of our differences out on the boards,
and I relished all of the exchanges that took place. It was
a lot of fun, but that's all it was, so don't take any of
that crap personally. Later man, and remember you have a
family to worry about.
The Unknown - Traitor ( hehe ). Good luck as the best INC
courier around. But don't do it after you get a license and
a car. Women are better.
Merlin - You and I were once good friends, and recently I
tried to open my mind and once again become your friend.
However, it seems my first judgement was right - you are
nothing but a spoiled and immature brat, and will never be
any more until someone slaps you in the face and wakes you
up.
Stiletto - Hey man, sorry that your status as a Razor courier
didn't last too long. But I am sure that I will have a
chance to talk to you about that sometime. Later, man.
Mad Hatter ( of iCE-TNO ) - Heh. Thanks for that informative
email the other day. Have a good one, man.
Old CWF crew - Well guys. Sorry to have let you down back
then, and best of luck in the future.
Hyperion - Didn't talk to you a whole lot, but from when I
did, you seemed like a great guy. I am sorry about what
happened, and I sincerely hope that you are better off in
the future. Good luck.
The Elemental - We have had our differences in the past, but
Cypher really is great software. Good luck.
The Weeze - Hehe. Kinda funny that this should happen right
after I drop you my voice number and such so that we could
work together on some pics. Anyway, keep up the good work
and take it easy man. If you are still interested, gimme
a ring.
Freddy Krueger - Well Sean, we had our good times and our bad
times, and I'm sorry I didn't grab that drive from you. Per-
haps some other unknowing soul will be taken for it :).
Spread - Met ya on Revelation, and you run a great board. You
will probably still find me leeching on there every now and
then. Take it easy, man.
All the old Razor team, friends in the scene that I may have
forgotten, and hell with it even people I don't know -
Take it easy dudes, and remember that the scene is a big
game. To quote Zodact, "The scene is a game, but when the
game gets to the point that you either win on a release or
get thrown in jail, it gets too risky." Also remember
that these computers were not originally designed for what
we use them for a lot of the time - learn something useful,
make this expensive hardware worth the money you shelled
out for it.
Goodbye, all!
The Renegade Chemist
[Razor 1911 Member]
[SDA Artist]