Aussie piracy ‘mastermind’ facing sentence

Hew Griffiths (44), of Berkeley Vale on the Central Coast, faces up to 10 years\' jail and a fine of $US 500 000 after pleading guilty in the US Federal Court in Alexandria, Virginia, to criminal copyright infringement charges. Griffiths – who used the alias ‘Bandido’ – admits he was the brains behind the international counterfeit software ring called DrinkOrDie, which illegally copied software, computer games, music and videos worth millions of dollars. Griffiths ran the operation from his father\'s Central Coast home. The case has set legal history as Griffiths became the first Australian to be extradited to the US for intellectual property crimes. Full Sydney Morning Herald