Nintendo Wii Game Thieves in Fullerton Face Federal Judge


Two members of an Orange County trio caught illegally selling more than $12,500 worth Nintendo Wii games in a 2010 undercover sting learned their punishments this week inside the Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse in Santa Ana.

David Anthony Olivo and Alex Michael Sasser escaped prison but will be on federal probation for two years, according to punishment issued by U.S. District Court Judge James V Selna.

Joel Vittatoro (AKA “Jigger”), the remaining defendant, signed a guilty plea in April though he has not been sentenced, according to court records.

A federal grand jury indicted the trio in November after an investigator with the Entertainment Software Association posed as a customer at OC Game Squad in Fullerton and was sold a one-terabyte external hard drive loaded with 500 Nintendo Wii games for only $50.
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The stolen games–which retailed for $25 and included Tiger Woods PGA, The Simpsons, and Resident Evil 4–are protected by copyright laws.

According
to federal sentencing guidelines, the offenders could have faced as
much as six months in prison, but Selna and Assistant United States Attorney Douglas F. McCormick believed probation was adequate punishment given the circumstances.

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