Police seize bootleg DVDs of 'The Passion'

SOMERSET, Pa. — State police found more than 1,500 bootleg compact discs, DVDs and videocassettes, including a couple dozen copies of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” during a traffic stop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

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Police didn’t immediately release the man’s name because charges hadn’t been filed. He was being held at the Somerset County Prison on an outstanding warrant from Allegheny County for drug possession, Sgt. Anthony DeLuca said.

The 30-year-old Philadelphia man was stopped Tuesday morning for tailgating and using his high beams on the westbound turnpike, DeLuca said. Police discovered a small amount of marijuana and, while arresting him, noticed several movies and music and obtained a search warrant.

DeLuca said the man had 1,040 compact discs of recently released music and about 475 DVDs. Besides “The Passion of the Christ,” DeLuca said police found “Starsky & Hutch” — which won’t be in theaters until Friday — “Twisted” and “Monster.”

“He admitted he purchased them in New York for $5,000” and was taking them to Pittsburgh, DeLuca said. He estimated they were worth $300,000.

DeLuca said there was no doubt the items were counterfeits, noting the movies seemed as though someone taped them during a theater showing and that the CD labels seemed to have been made on a color photocopier.

Police have contacted the FBI to help in the investigation.

Gibson’s film, about the Crucifixion of Christ, took in $125.2 million over five days, the biggest debut ever by a film opening on a Wednesday.