FBI arrests Oscar movie 'pirate'

In The Last Samurai Cruise plays an American soldier

The FBI has arrested a man in the US who allegedly distributed preview tapes of films over the internet.

Hundreds of tapes including The Last Samurai were discovered at the home of Russell Sprague, 51, at his home in Illinois on Thursday.

The special tapes are only meant to be seen by Oscar voters and are said to have originated from an Academy member.

Sprague is due to appear in a Chicago court on Friday to face criminal copyright infringement charges.

Agents said the films had originally belonged to 69-year-old actor Carmine Caridi, an Academy member.

Caridi told investigators he sent VHS copies of about 60 movies he received each year to Sprague. He allegedly told investigators he thought Sprague was just an interested film buff.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley said Caridi has not been charged but additional arrests have not been ruled out.

'Embarassed'

Caridi's attorney, Richard Millard, told the Los Angeles Times that the actor "was embarrassed to learn that his name was associated with the film that was being improperly distributed."

He added that Caridi "had no idea anyone else would be seeing" the films he sent Sprague.

The FBI said Sprague converted the VHS tape into DVD format and then sent the original tapes back to Caridi.

Caridi has been a member of the Academy for more than 20 years and appeared in films such as The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III.

The Motion Picture Association of America, which represents studios, last year banned the distribution of so-called screener tapes over piracy concerns but partly lifted the ban after complaints from filmmakers, producers and independent production companies.