http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-lewis/chris-christie-rips-off-m_...

November 1, 2009

Chris Christie Rips Off Monty Python, Troupe Threatens Suit

By Martin Lewis

Having been exposed for their copyright theft and facing a possible
lawsuit from Monty Python, the Christie campaign moved into damage
control mode at high speed on Sunday night to try and limit the
political fallout from their illicit action.

Within an hour of the story appearing, the Christie commercial using
pirated footage of a Monty Python skit was scrubbed from the
campaign's website and their separate campaign site on YouTube.

The only evidence left was the tell-tale wording on the clip's YouTube
page "This video has been removed by the user"

Monty Python captured the video before it was removed.

The Christie campaign should now be expecting the Spanish
Inquisition...

Chris Christie, the Republican candidate for Governor of New Jersey in
Tuesday's knife-edge gubernatorial election, has been called out as a
copyright thief.

The 47-year-old lawyer, who was controversially appointed by George W.
Bush as a U.S. Attorney in 2001 on Karl Rove's recommendation after
being a top Bush fund-raiser in the 2000 election, has created an
election commercial that steals copyright-protected material from
British comedy troupe Monty Python -- without permission or credit.

The official campaign advert -- titled "Deja Vu" -- attacks incumbent
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine by using scenes from a famous skit on
the "Monty Python's Flying Circus" TV show that features Michael
Palin.

The ad is on Christie's official YouTube campaign site, and has
already aired on national TV.

But neither Christie -- a lawyer for 22 years -- nor anyone in his
campaign bothered to seek any permission for using the copyrighted
material in his election spot.

Alerted to the theft of their copyright, members of Monty Python are
most unhappy.

Michael Palin, who appears in the clip pirated for the advert, is
especially displeased that his likeness is being used by the
Republican candidate without permission.

"I'm surprised that a former U.S. Attorney isn't aware of his
copyright infringement when he uses our material without permission.
He's clearly made a terrible mistake. It was the endorsement of Sarah
Palin he was after -- not that of Michael Palin."

Monty Python's Terry Jones says that the troupe is strongly
considering suing the Republican for his copyright infringement:

"It is totally outrageous that a former US Attorney knows so little
about the law that he thinks he can rip off people. On the other hand
-- another of Bush's legal appointees was Alberto Gonzales and he
didn't seem to know much about the law either...," Jones said.

There is a long history of Republican politicians stealing content by
entertainers for their political advertisements and rallies.

Three months ago, Jackson Browne won a financial settlement and
apology from Senator John McCain for the politician's unauthorized use
of his song "Running On Empty" in the 2008 election.

Other musicians who have successfully protested the theft of their
music by Republicans include Jon Bon Jovi, Don Henley, John Mellencamp
and rock bands Foo Fighters and Heart.

Christie is no stranger to the world of crime.

As the New York Times reported on September 23rd this year, Christie
has family ties to the notorious Genovese crime family.

As a child, he mingled at family parties with Tino "The Greek" Fiumara
-- the brother of his aunt's husband -- described by the Times as "a
fearsome and ranking member of the Genovese crime family: twice
convicted of racketeering, sentenced to 25 years in federal prison,
and linked by investigators to several grisly murders, including one
in which a victim was strangled with piano wire."

(A United States Senate sub-committee investigating organized crime in
the early 1980s attributed three murders to Fiumara, including the
1967 slayings of two brothers of one of his co-defendants in the 1980
trial. In 1983, Lt. Col. Justin Dintino of the New Jersey State Police
called Fiumara "a callous killer who has resorted to violence with
little provocation," and said Fiumara had ordered the murder of the
godfather of one of his own children.)

Asked what he had learned from his family connection to Tino "The
Greek" Fiumara, Christie says:

"It just told me that you make bad decisions in life and you wind up
paying a price. Really, for most of my life, he spent his life in
prison. That teaches you a lot."

Asked in 2007 about the presence of organized crime in his home state
-- such as the Genovese mob in which one of his family members is so
prominent -- Christie said:

"the Mafia is much more prominent on HBO than in New Jersey."

With Monty Python about to sue Christie for his copyright theft, he
may have more in common to discuss with Tino "The Greek" Fiumara at
his family Thanksgiving this year.

_______________________________________________________

Harry