Boston Mooninite Planters Avoid Trial
Two Men Hired by Ad Agency Contracted by Turner to Place Devices in Boston Perform Community Service, Apologize
By Multi Channel News Staff -- Multichannel News, 5/11/2007 10:43:00 AM
The two men who were accused of planting some three dozen battery-powered devices around Boston and Cambridge Jan. 31 managed to avoid trial, AP reported.
Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, offered contrite apologies before the Charlestown District Court, and the two men performed community service at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Boston -- 80 hours and 60 hours, respectively.
Berdovsky and Stevens had been hired by Interference, a New York-based guerilla marketing firm contracted by Turner Broadcasting System to promote a movie for its Aqua Teen Hunger Force series on Cartoon Network spinoff Adult Swim.
The marketing firm placed one-foot-tall light boxes containing circuit boards and batteries, which depicted cartoon characters from the series called Mooninites, including one flipping passersby the bird.
The stunt sparked bomb scares in Boston that forced local police, the FBI and the Coast Guard to shut down major highways and waterways.
In fallout from the marketing stunt gone awry, Turner Broadcasting System agreed to pay Boston authorities $2 million to compensate the city and law-enforcement agencies for costs of responding to bomb scares, and Cartoon general manager Jim Samples resigned in February.
In exchange for the apologies and community service, prosecutors agreed not to pursue the criminal case against them, AP reported.
Attorney General Martha Coakley told AP it would have been difficult to prove to a jury that the men intended to create panic, and she did not believe they realized the problems the ads would cause, adding, "We believe this was an appropriate and fair resolution."
“I deeply regret that this incident caused such anguish and disruption to so many people," Berdovsky told the Charlestown District Court, according to AP, while Stevens said he saw the devices as “harmless entertainment,” adding, I had no intention of upsetting or alarming anyone.”
In a phone interview with AP, Berdovsky added, “I am looking forward to what the future has to bring. I'm just going to be working really hard and working on my art and working to build a really peaceful community for all of us to live in.”
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