JULY 21, 1999

THREE BRIARWOOD MEN ARRESTED FOR COUNTERFEITING POPULAR COMPACT DISKS IN APARTMENT TURNED STUDIO

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced that three Briarwood men were arrested yesterday by the Queens District Attorney's Detective Squad and the Intelligence Division of the New York City Police Department for allegedly counterfeiting popular compact disks in a round-the-clock operation in a Briarwood apartment.

District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as Shafeek Jalat, 28, Mahmode Jamal, 38, and Madode Ahmed, 33, all of 140-10 84th Drive in Briarwood, Queens. The three are charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, criminal possession of a forgery device in the first degree and trademark counterfeiting. If convicted, the defendants face up to seven years in prison.

District Attorney Brown stated, "Counterfeiting the work of musicians is nothing less than stealing talent. It undermines the ability of artists to profit from their work and robs the public of the entertainment they enjoy."

According to District Attorney Brown, 26 duplicating machines, which was capable of producing 3000 CDs a day, along with two computers were seized in the makeshift studio. In addition, more than 2500 CDs over two-thirds of which were imprinted with a wide range of music from Ricky Martin to Frank Sinatra were seized. It is estimated that the retail value of the recordings is $24,000. The machinery not only allowed the counterfeiters to copy the CDs but to label them and create copies of the covers for the jewel cases. "When sealed in plastic, the CDs are difficult to distinguish from legitimate recordings," said District Attorney Brown.

The investigation was carried out by Detective Joann Karmel of the New York City Police Department's Queens District Attorney's Squad under the supervision of Sgt. Diane Coyne and the overall supervision of Lt. Kenneth Rosello and the command of Captain Harold J. Knorr and Detective Bernard Gifford of the New York City Police Department, Intelligence Division, under the supervision of Sgt. John Mullally and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief Daniel Oates.

Assistant District Attorney Jeanetta Alexander of the Queens District Attorney's Economic Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michael J. Mansfield and Deputy Bureau Chief John R. Mechmann and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Robert D. Alexander, is in charge of the case.

It is to be noted that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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