The MPAA has developed a reputation for goading government officials into going after hapless grandmas and cute little girls for downloading movies, but every now and then they actually do catch a real criminal. For once, they’ve arrested the right guy.

The LA Times says a man named Johnny Ray Gasca has been sentenced to seven years in a federal prison for sneaking equipment into a movie theater to record screenings of The Core, Anger Management, and 8 Mile.

But this wasn’t Gasca’s first time ripping all of us off. The guy’s nickname was “The Prince of Piracy”, and he reportedly used incredibly sophisticated monitoring devices and high-tech remote controlled zoom lenses to get better quality pictures. Gasca used so much state-of-the-art equipment, that when they first caught him, eyewitnesses report that he was surrounded by “glowing green light”. He must have spent a fortune on batteries. No problem, he made as much as $4500 a week for stealing films. A nice salary, but not enough compensation to make up for being someone’s bitch in federal prison.

Gasca was caught in 2002 and ejected from a private screening of The Core. He then fled the country and hid out for 15 months. They got him back, and have now given him what he deserves.

Take note. It’s weasels like this who are to blame when you’re being strip-searched on your way into the theater. It’s these idiots who are making a profit off illegal bootlegging and jacking up ticket prices for the rest of us, not little Bobby in his parent’s basement experimenting with the internet. Say you don’t care what the guy next to you is doing when the lights go out? Well I do. Johnny Ray Gasca is the problem, the industry’s fans are not. Nice to see he’s being used to send a message to the right people.