Michelle and Bobby v the RIAA: case over?
p2pnet news view | RIAA News:- A gang of hired hoods tries to extort a defenceless woman .
‘Pay us or we’ll make your life so miserable you’ll wish you were dead,’ says one of them
The woman says she won’t be bullied and refuses to give in to their threats.
So they kick her. Then they kick her again. And again and again —- and when she can’t take any more, they leave her battered and in despair, and turn on her children ….
But it’s not a script for comic or Hollywood film.
It’s been happening to families across the US since 2003 and no police or enforcement agency, no admistrative department, does anything about it.
To the contrary, they support and encourage the continuing brutality.
The RIAA modus operandi is to attack parents first, knowing perfectly well their allegations of massive illegal online ‘product’ distribution are completely unfounded.
Once they’ve they’ve used the never-questioning mainstream media on- and offline to carry spurious reports, they turn on their real victims, the children who, without ever having been near a court, are found guilty — by the mainstream media on behalf of the labels.
Patti Santangelo was one of the RIAA’s first victims and when the case against her was ultimately dismissed, the new (real) targets became her daughter, Michelle, and son, Robert.
But the years-long mental abuse inflicted on Michelle and Bobby Santangelo by the RIAA could now be over.
If a court approves settlement terms agreed to by both parties, the case will be concluded and the two can get on with their lives.
I understand the RIAA has agreed to accept $7,000 from Michelle and Bobby, to be paid over six months.
The RIAA had originally demanded $78,000.
“However, the Court’s approval is required, so it would be incorrect to say this is a done deal,” says their lawyer, Jordan Glass.
“The Court may still reject an agreement for any number of reasons, such as the amount of time being requested to complete an agreement since it stays open on the Court’s docket for longer than perhaps desirable. But the parties are hopeful.”
p2pnet readers contributed $15,000 to help Patti, and Glass, who’s been acting for her and her children pro bono, says he wouldn’t have been able to continue without the donations, which were used to cover disbursemenst and expenses.
Patti Santangelo v RIAA: the path of courage
Patti Santangelo is a wonderful person and I’m really the RIAA’s vicious war against them is now all-but over, I wrote recently, going on »»»
They were the first family to really put up a fight against Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG and their RIAA and it could be said they paved the way for many, if not most, of other RIAA victims who, inspired by her example, decided they weren`t going to take it either.
Tanya Andersen is now famous as the woman who took the RIAA on and won. And as she told me this morning, that might never have happened had it not been for Patti`s example.
Her case was the one that got me going, Tanya said. When the RIAA came afte
She stood up against them and made other people understand they could do the same.
Way back, Recording Industry vs The People`s Ray Beckerman briefly represented Patty and I asked him how he felt.
I think she`s a very special person, he told me, A great lady. Instead of taking the easy way out, she took a whole world of heat and abuse on her own shoulders, in order to stand up for principle.
All America should look to her with pride and admiration, and every one of us owes her a debt of gratitude, because it`s people like Patti Santangelo who make freedom possible for the rest of us. If there were more people like Patti, the RIAA`s campaign would have ended years earlier than it did.
Sent her ‘crying from the room’
The labels claimed Michelle admitted to downloading and uploading copyrighted files.
“However, that is not what Michelle said and it is certainly not what she meant,” said Jordan in a submission to New York judge Colleen McMahon.
“Of course, with RIAA’s counsel physically beating on the table, slamming down post-it notes with question after question and scaring Michelle out of her seat, sending her crying from the room, she did not know which way was up for dozens of questions,” he said.
The quote comes in another p2pnet story in whch we said in its “latest ugly move,” the RIAA wanted to put 10-year-old Kylee Andersen, “through the same misery”.
In 2006, p2pnet asked Michelle what it’s like to be called a thief. Here’s what she said »»»
I find it very hard to express my feelings in writing.
I love music.
I was watching TV the other night and the Music Awards show was on and for the first time in my life, I had zero interest in any of it.
I was taught from a very early age about the rights and wrongs of life and I would not, and did not, steal from the record companies. I wouldn’t steal from anyone. Being called a thief by the RIAA actually hurts my feelings and I am of course embarrassed by this case. My mom understands more than anyone how I am feeling.
I have come to understand that because I was a teen at the time the RIAA captured files from the family computer, that I was supposed to (according to them) automatically understand what it was all about.
I kept trying to explain Im not a computer geek. I needed help just to put up a MySpace page because I am just not good with computers.
I recently read a posting about the Warner Music boss whose kids downloaded music and my mom told me that she doubts very much they knew they knew they were stealing since they had no
reason (financially) to.
“They just did not understand,” is what she said. I was just very angry about it because it seems so unfair.
I’m glad that Kazaa had to pay since I never downloaded that program. And Mom has researched how bad of a program it was.
Im mostly worried about Mom right now she has an awful lot to deal with and this lawsuit just distracts her completely.
As for my little brother, Bobby, hes a lot like me when it comes to computers. His friend made up his MySpace page too. He’s an athlete and not all that much of a music fan.
Michelle’s reference to Kazaa reference came because the p2P filesharing application, owned by Australian company Sharman Networks, was being sued in a class action brought by Catherine Lewan, a Kazaa user attacked by the RIAA.
The suit was quietly settled behind closed doors.
She was among those who paid extortion money to the RIAA and in a court document, said Sharman, “configured KaZaA such that its intended use would be illegal“.
Stay tuned.
Jon Newton – p2pnet
April, 2009
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April 27th, 2009 at 9:43 am
way to kick riaa ass.
yes this is sarcasm
April 27th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
“I understand the RIAA has agreed to accept $7,000 from Michelle and Bobby, to be paid over six months”
What? I will not give these parasites even one peny!
Do not seetle do not seetle and do not seetle!
NO WAY!
Particualry since very soon these recording industry parasites will no longer wish they were dead and nobody will be able to recover the extorted money unless we go after the exec.
April 28th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
(Fires up uTorrent and Frostwire in protest…shouting has absolutely no effect)