MONTREAL — A man described by the FBI as one of the most prolific movie pirates in North America was remembered Tuesday not as a criminal but as a good friend and the love of his girlfriend’s life.
Montrealer Geremi Adam, who had just been released from prison after serving a landmark sentence for movie piracy, died on Sunday, his girlfriend said.
“It’s two days now and I wake up with the truth jumping out at me,” Cynthia Laporte wrote on her Facebook page. “RIP Geremi, love of my life.”
Only a few days before, she had excitedly posted, “My man is coming home today!”
The exact cause of death has not been confirmed. Laporte told a Montreal newspaper that Adam had recently started taking morphine.
Adam was sentenced in mid-March to two-and-a-half months in jail.
With time already served on an unrelated charge, Adam did only another week or so behind bars before being released.
Adam’s sentencing for the piracy also included 100 hours of community service and a two-year suspended sentence with a number of conditions, including a ban on going to the movies or carrying recording equipment outside his home or job.
His sentence was considered a landmark one because it was believed to be the first time someone had received a jail term in Canada for such a crime.
But Adam’s friends remembered a different side of him on Tuesday.
Frederic Allard, who played paintball with him, said in a Facebook message he had spoken briefly with Adam on the social networking site last week. He said in the message posted Monday he appreciated him helping him improve his computer skills.
“He was a guy without fear, always ready to take on challenges, dangerous or not, in anything, I can assure you,” Allard wrote.
“He was always ready to help the next guy and the door was always open for the guys. I’d like to believe this is a bad joke but I’m afraid that’s not the case, unfortunately.”
Adam was labelled in 2006 by the FBI as among the most prolific movie pirates in North America and one of the best because of the quality of his products.
In two previous cases, one in Montreal and one in Calgary, the accused were handed fines or probationary sentences.
Adam pleaded guilty to two counts, under the Copyright Act, for distributing copies of the Hollywood films Invincible and How to Eat Fried Worms on the Internet under the alias maVen in 2006.