United States

D.C. Man Pleads Guilty in DVD Bootlegging Case

A Capitol Hill man from whom federal agents said they seized thousands of dollars of counterfeit DVD box sets of “The West Wing” pleaded guilty to a federal charge.

John Glasgow, whom the feds also accused of possessing tens of thousands of dollars in bogus electronics, admitted breaking federal law and faces two years in prison.

During court proceedings Wednesday, Glasgow acknowledged possessing 1,334 counterfeit camera batteries, valued at almost $30,000. The batteries were knockoff versions of those manufactured by Sony, JVC and Canon, according to prosecutors.

Court filings and Washington, D.C., government records obtained by the News4 I-Team show Glasgow registered multiple businesses at an apartment on Independence Avenue SE, between the U.S. Capitol and RFK Stadium.

Neither prosecutors nor a signed plea agreement referenced illegal trafficking of DVDs by Glasgow, but a court filing from federal agents in December said they found hundreds of counterfeit TV series box sets when they raided Glasgow’s apartment in 2012. In addition to thousands of dollars of suspected “The West Wing” bootlegs, agents said they found counterfeit copies of “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Sopranos” and “The Twilight Zone.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted several suspicious parcels before they arrived at Glasgow’s address, court filings from federal agents said. When undercover agents attempted to deliver the packages, they said Glasgow accepted delivery, according to the court filings. The filings said those shipments included an estimated $2,800 worth of DVD sets of “The West Wing.”

Glasgow and his attorney declined requests from News4 to comment after his court appearance. He’s scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge July 19.

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