Man sentenced in GTA San Andreas leak
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Sep 23rd 2005 at 11:30AM }
On October 15, 2004 we reported that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had gone
gold without notification from Take-Two or Rockstar. Our source was one "Steve Dotolli" (actually, Stephen Dottoli) of
Inside Gamer Online. Mr. Dottoli had assured the gaming public that San Andreas would be released soon,
backing up his claim with pictures of the game's packaging, manual, and other production materials. One Joystiq
commenter didn't buy it, writing, "And who the hell is Steve Dotolli of Inside Gamer Online. I havent heard anything
from rockstar yet.."Well, as it turns out, Mr. Dottoli did have the inside scoop. Working for a compact-disc pressing plant, Dottoli
scored a couple copies of San Andreas hot of the press, literally. He then posted pictures of the game on his
site, Inside Gamer Online. Now Stephen Dottoli is paying the price. He was sentenced in
federal court in Camden, NJ yesterday to two years' probation, including six months
on home confinement and a $2,500 fine. Ouch!
Dottoli was previously ruled out as a suspect in the Internet leak of the game's code.
[Thanks, Wintrode]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Imp @ Dec 18th 2005 10:00PM
"On October 15, 2004"
This was before game launch. All of that material posted is protected.
Guy was an idiot. Broke the law. Proved it online. Got caught.
funkonaut @ Dec 18th 2005 10:00PM
Daaamn. Judge needs to lay off the caviar.
midnightz @ Dec 18th 2005 10:00PM
a bit of an overreaction though isn't it; 6 month's home confinement - for what purpose?!
Rocketboy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:00PM
So, now it's against the law to take a picture of something?
Bladawt @ Dec 18th 2005 10:00PM
#6: Since images were able to be copywritten.
Rocketboy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:00PM
There's a huge difference between a copywritten image, and a picture of a box..