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File under L for Larceny: Man charged with stealing DVDs from Brookline, Boston and Cambridge libraries

Brookline Police report a man thought he'd figured out a way to steal DVDs from local libraries: Get a series of library cards under bogus names - some for children for whom he was the alleged guardian - check out as many DVDs as he could for each card and then not return them.

Police say detectives from both Brookline and Boston closed his accounts for good earlier this month when they arrested him for the scam:

During the arrest they located over 50 DVDs and video games and a number of empty cases belonging to several area libraries, including Brookline, Cambridge, and Boston. The items taken from Brookline Library have an estimated value of $4,124.50. He is being charged with 6 counts of Larceny Over $250 by False Pretenses and 2 counts of Identity Fraud.

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Comments

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How did you ever find me?

Plus, thanks for making it harder for the rest of us.

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DVDs are essentially an obsolete item. If he planned to sell them he wouldn't get much, and certainly not the face value. Maybe he planned to keep them for his own collection. What a jerk.

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He really wanted to make sure he had Season 3 Disc 2 of Everybody Loves Raymond all to himself.

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Based on the teeth-gnashing and wailing every month when the "Here's what's leaving Netflix!" list comes out. DVDs may not last forever, but I'd still rather have them when it matters than trust the whims of the cloud and the fallibility of digital media.

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What you're seeing is a vocal minority of Netflix users. They're obsolete. They're the same types that wailed when BlackBerry became outdated, perpetually whining there was still a big market for them.

However, for the not-so-well-off, having DVDs at the library gives a chance for those who can't afford high-speed internet (and Netflix on top of that) a chance to see movies they wouldn't ordinarily be able to. This guy is quite literally stealing from the poor, and to what end?

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I am one of the "not-so-well off" who borrows library dvds to keep up with movies but even moreso tv series like Game Of Thrones, The Americans, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt etc. Judging by the length of the waiting lists at BPL, we are numerous.

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How long do you have to wait for Game of Thrones DVDs? I would assume they would be pretty popular.

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When season 6 became available I waited maybe 6 weeks, not an excessive time because DVDs can only be checked out for one week, and cannot be renewed if there is a waiting list. BPL usually has multiple copies of highly popular current releases. To use another example I am currently #119 on the list to borrow The Big Short, of which the library has 5 copies.

The 7 day limit means you have to either seriously binge watch or endure a gap of several weeks between episodes, since you can't renew and so have to put another hold after your return.

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What's the predicament with Mozart in the Jungle !?...

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Especially compared to other parts of the US, high speed internet access for streaming movies is still quite a bit of a luxury.

This guy may have had a partner or accomplice who would be selling these dvds, tablets, etc. in areas where they are still in pretty high demand.

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$4,124.50 / 50 = $82.49 per DVD. Whoa!

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There are institutional prices on DVDs that the consumer doesn't see. Whereas you're paying $20 for something, if it's a copy you're going to rent out or lend out, you are getting a different price. I am not sure how it relates to libraries, but even these DVDs may have been more expensive educational discs, or box sets.

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Not just DVDs

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Lt. Bookman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_(Seinfeld)

Quite a couple!... Lt. Bookman and The Fickle Pissant Librarian.

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