Russian Hacker Convicted

     The US Attorney General announced the conviction of a Russian citizen for running a web site that sold stolen credit card numbers, stolen id's, and bank account #s.  He was convicted under RICO statutes that were established to thwart organized crime several decades ago.
   His defense rested on the claim that none of the participants knew one another; therefore, were not co-conspirators.   The jury thought otherwise and the guilty party joined a number of others convicted in the same case.   The hacker had been arrested by authorities in the Maldive Islands a year ago, and has been in custody since.  He is considered a flight risk.
          The Russian government called his arrest and conviction a breach of international law, but that was it.  In light of the Kremlin's recent activity in Ukraine, officials probably want to maintain a low profile.
       Others have been arrested in the case and await trial.  Justice officials say the site took in over $100 million before being shut down in 2012.   Little comment has been publicized about ongoing RICO investigations regarding these types of web sites.