22,350 Counterfeit Audio Tapes, 7 Suspects Seized
Sheriff’s investigators culminated a two-week investigation Thursday by arresting seven suspects at an East Los Angeles home and seizing 22,350 counterfeit audio cassette tapes with an estimated street value of $156,000.
About a dozen deputies conducted the 10 a.m. raid in the 4000 block of Rogers Street, said Deputy Gabe Ramirez, who described the house as a distribution center. Ramirez said deputies were joined in the raid by Maurice Richardson, an executive of the Assn. of Latin-American Record Manufacturers.
The suspects--all Mexican nationals--were charged with failure to disclose the origin of recordings and were being held at the East Los Angeles sheriff’s substation on $5,000 bail each. They were identified as Felipe Gutierrez, 26; Raydavid Perez, 18; Jorge Lopez, 19; Delfino Sanchez, 27; Ruben Baranco, 22; Amador Vasquez, 18, and Lauro Reyes, 21.
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