WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) — A longtime Labor Department supervisor admitted Friday to running a bootleg movie operation out of his office inside the agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters.
Ricardo Taylor pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating copyright laws and was sentenced to 24 months probation. Taylor told News4 he sold the movies to his colleagues.
“I want to put this behind me,” Taylor said. That part of my life is over. I made a big mistake. I’m sorry to everybody involved, especially the Department of Labor.”
Taylor, 57, worked as the Labor Department’s mailroom supervisor for about 30 years before retiring after his crime was discovered. Court records show he used a five-bay DVD burner to copy movies, beginning his operation as early as 2008. As part of the operation, Taylor used his work email and contacts to make sales.
He sold the DVDs for $4 and $5 each. In 2013 alone, he made more than $19,000 by selling 1,268 copies, officials said.
In addition to his job at the Labor Department, he worked as a movie theater manager in the past decade. Court records said he kept a ledger of his sales, including customer names. The list has not been released to the public.
