A Precautionary Tale

I just finished a post a few minutes ago when I saw this news article and had to include it. It is for this very reason that I have kept everything about my own Anger Management sessions vague. I feel sorry for this guy, but now I'm a little worried about the attendance records I kept for the class... Will 'Mr Blue' be upset that I included his absences, and will "Mr Yellow" and "Mr Rainbow" want revenge, now that the world knows that they missed the very same classes, AND came late on the exact same gays-- err, I mean DAYS?

Allentown Man Gets Prison For Recording Anger-Management Classes

He posted secret video on YouTube

By Riley Yates Of The Morning Call

An Allentown man who secretly recorded his court-ordered anger management classes and posted them on YouTube was sentenced to state prison Friday.



Richard P. Mason III told Northampton County Judge Paula Roscioli that he wanted his daughter to see the group therapy sessions, which were ordered as part of his sentence on a terroristic threats charge, said Second Deputy District Attorney William Matz Jr.



Instead, the recordings landed Mason, 41, with a probation violation and a new sentence of 18 to 36 months in state prison on the threats case. Prosecutors are also considering bringing new charges against Mason for violating the state's wiretap law, Matz said.

The case is ''unique,'' Matz said. ''First for me; I think the first for our office.''


Mason was arrested in June 2007 for threatening to kill his brother in Hanover Township, Northampton County, while armed with a gun, according to court records. He pleaded guilty last year and was given three years of probation and 36 hours of community service.

Matz said Mason had attended several anger management classes before he decided to record them using his cell phone.

Mason admitted in court to posting online at least one video, which he said got 1,200 hits, Matz said.

Under Pennsylvania law, it is illegal to record someone without their permission.

Other attendees of the therapy learned of the recordings and ''obviously it was a major issue with them,'' Matz said.



The video has been taken down from YouTube. If investigators can recover it, Mason could face a separate wiretap charge for each time it was viewed on the Internet, Matz said.

Unauthorized recordings are a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine. On 1,200 counts, the maximum penalty would be 8,400 years in prison and an $18 million fine.

Regarding this article, all I can say is: Where did they find a man who can serve 8400 years in jail? I've GOT to meet his doctor! Maybe it's Dr. Will Telliv?