Posted on 12/06/2005 6:06:10 PM PST by Serious Capitalist
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- A nationally known motivational speaker is facing child pornography charges. Police in Arkansas arrested Michael Fortino -- a man who lives in Pittsburgh, but travels the world. Fortino's Web site has been shut down, but a cached version of it showcases him as a motivational speaker. He was apparently in Arkansas to give one of those speeches when he was arrested.
"For every one time somebody does something wrong, it takes four rights just to break even," said Fortino on a clip on his Web site. Now, police have charged him with three counts of possessing child pornography. Police said Fortino took his computer to a Best Buy store, in Fayetteville, Ark., to be repaired. Store technicians found several pictures of children engaged in sexual acts on the computer hard drive, officials said. Former President Bill Clinton once praised Fortino, and President George W. Bush has called him a role model for future generations. Fortino and his wife live in a 9,000-square-foot home on the North Side. It's known as the "mayor's mansion" because it was built back in the 1890s for the man who was then the mayor of what was called Allegheny City -- now the North Side. Neighbors and friends said they were surprised to learn of the charges against him. "That's a big shock. You would have never known that about the guy," said neighbor Sonny Johnson. Fortino has been released on bond, and will be arraigned later this month. Channel 4 Action News tried to contact Fortino, but he did not return calls.
So will this enhance his stature, or diminish it?
Wow, just the thought I had about that movie! Great minds.....
Sounds like a lifestyle change is imminent for Mr Fortino.
Donnie Darko?
I was hoping that I would be the first on this thread to make that connection!
Unless he didn't know they were there.
I used to work in tech support a long time ago, and I have to say, you'd be amazed how stupid the average person is when it comes to computers. My guess is - assuming these actually are his photos and someone didn't plant them there - that he simply thought putting them in a innocuous-sounding folder called "Excel spreadsheets" or something like that would make them magically invisible. Of course, to a geek, hundreds or thousands of JPEG files residing in an "Excel" folder would in reality be a red flag telling them that's where the juicy stuff is.
I know people in the biz and they don't-do not have the time-could not care less and most people sit there for the repair to watch to save..
This is what external hard drives are for.
/sarcasm
Sometimes.... I question your commitment to... Sparkle Motion!
OH, I know... I do work in the tech support bidness, and I know how stupid many users are.
But really... when you know you have something ~illegal~ on your computer... seems you'd wanna cover your tracks a little better. In his case... I guess not.
But my main point remains: it is an easy and foolproof way to absolutely ruin anybody. All you need is a few minutes of access to their computer. Imagine what a vindictive ex-spouse could do to somebody.
Another point... having worked for quite a while doing tech support...
I don't have time or inclination to look for this sort of stuff on computers. In fact, there's stuff that I avoid looking at anymore. Temp Internet Files, cookies, anything like that... I just don't go near it anymore.
I got weary of learning things about people that I wish I didn't know.
Depending on how zealous local law is, he is looking at at least ten years or so. Several local cases of same recently.
Sicko.
I would expect that a forensic investigation of his computer would reveal when those files might have been written.
Further investigation should reveal if additional files exist (hidden, encrypted, erased, cached, etc..) and if there is a history of use or access to these files.
Otherwise, I would think that a good defense lawyer would have him out before the sun set.
It makes no sense at all. But, evidently this Einstein did it.
Book him Dan-o!
The computer geeks know where to look.
A user can think that they have hidden or deleted any incriminating evidence. But someone who knows what they are doing can scan a drive for the document or media type off their choice.
Deleted files are still there, so many people do not realize this. Even overwritten files can be recovered to a degree. Cached copies can exist in various nooks and crannies even if the original file is wiped or viewed off of removable media.
I wouldn't be surprised if some less than reputable techies try to collect stuff this way.
So what you're saying is the computer geeks are the ones really getting off on this and the dumb average person is getting nailed. hmmm...
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