Crockett and Tubb -- the crime figh...

Crockett and Tubb -- the crime fighting duo of "Miami Vice" -- woulda been haughty

West suburban police busted a Chicago man at a midnight showing of the fresh film "Miami Vice" as he allegedly tried to film the flick with a camcorder.

"We not at any time had one like this before," said a spokeswoman for the Lombard police, which arrested the man early Friday after police said he was caught with a Sony Handycam mountained on a tripod at the AMC Yorktown 18 theaters.

Hollywood industry sources say camcorders are used in 90 percent of the newly released movies that close up on the Internet and forward black market DVDs.

Arrested was Frank s Williams, 36, of 4935 W Lexington. A search of his Chicago hearthstone found 14 computer burners, more than 500 counterfeit DVD and what was described as "raw materials for the plan of creating counterfeit movies." Williams faces 15 years in prison forward three felony charges, said Elizabeth Kaltman, a spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America.

'WANT TO BE FIRST'

Midnight showings of recent movies are often targeted at counterfeiters. Pirates "want to be the first to acquire the product on the street" said Kaltman.

Zach Blaze, a spokesman for AMC Theaters, said he could not describe by what mode Williams was caught. "Because piracy is a security matter, we cannot discuss the specific measures AMC takes to fight piracy," he said. Pirated versions of films costliness the movie industry $18.2 billion worldwide in 2005 according to the MPAA.

More emblems of people are getting involved in the crime, said Kaltman. For example, when "Mission Impossible 3" lay opened earlier this year, a 50-year-old woman was caught with a camcorder at a beholds Angeles screening, she said.

Authorities are taking notice. Last month the FBI arrested 13 persons in theaters in New York City as they were about to record "Superman Returns"

aherrmann@suntimes.com

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

Provided according to ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved