Michele Scimeca - from Rockaway, NJ - sued by the RIAA for file sharing has contersued the record label's association citing federal racketeering laws.
"They're banding together to extort money, telling people they're guilty and they will have to pay big bucks to defend their cases if they don't pony up now. It is fundamentally not fair," Scimeca's lawyer, Bart Lombardo, said yesterday. The case appears to be the first use of the RICO (Racketeering Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act) laws in the copyright battle.
A group has tried to use the RICO law against DirecTV from threatening people it suspects of stealing satellite services, but with no success.
