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Crime’s Critical Internet Moment
Crime’s critical internet moment came when email communication became commonplace, when email communication could be made among several different accounts and before users of the internet understood that emails could not be destroyed simply by deleting them. All of these conditions converged between October, 2000 and October, 2002, when the scheme to seize control of Level Propane was initiated and put Level Propane in bankruptcy court. When John Rudd communicated with his co-conspirators in October, 2000, he did so without any idea that these emails would ever be found. When Verbos and Anter exchanged emails to plan the customer check concealment scheme in 2001 and 2002, they had no idea that despite erasing them, the emails would still be found.
In this moment, criminals acted as if invincible because they could move quickly, coordinate easily and they believed, through email, communicate secretly as if in the darkest night without scheduling or logistics difficulties. Before the internet, criminals had to meet in person with all its difficulties: this was slow, this was risky and it made secrets hard to keep: because they could be followed, their rooms could be bugged, their phones tapped, and their meetings, when they could be arranged, watched. The internet appeared to solve these problems with email. Here, however, their emails left more than a trace – the emails left an indelible record of their crimes. This indelible record begs the question: Why aren’t these people in jail?
Here is a table of the internet’s attributes that made crime’s critical internet moment:
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Before the Internet
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After the Internet
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Had to meet in person
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Could meet miles away
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Phones could be tapped
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No phones to tap
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Could be seen together
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Never seen together
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Plans made slowly
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Plans made quickly
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Communication uncertain
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Communication sure
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Visible
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Invisible
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Participants had names
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Participants anonymous
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Coordination took time
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Coordination instantaneous
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Risk of interception
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No risk of interception
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