An Arizona man was arrested Feb. 4 on computer charges after being accused of interrupting Super Bowl XLIII and broadcasting a sex scene from an adult film.
Federal authorities have arrested an Arizona man on suspicion of
fraud and computer tampering for allegedly interrupting the live
broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 with a clip from an adult film.
Frank Tanori Gonzalez, 38, of Marana, was arrested at roughly 5:30
p.m. Feb. 4, according to reports. He stands accused of taking over the
broadcast of the game to air 37 seconds of a sex scene from an adult
film. At the time, Gonzalez was an employee of Cox Communications, and
was terminated shortly after the incident, according to reports.
"The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to
investigating individuals who breach their administrative
responsibilities by committing fraud and computer tampering," FBI
Special Agent in Charge Nathan T. Gray
told the Arizona Star.
In a statement issued to the media Friday, Comcast called the interruption of the 2009 game an "intentional, malicious act."
"We appreciate the FBI's diligence in thoroughly investigating the
programming interruption and determining what happened," the company
said.
The company did not reveal how the Comcast signal was accessed by Gonzalez, according to reports.
That year's Super Bowl, in which the Arizona Cardinals lost to the
Pittsburgh Steelers, was shown locally on KVOA. The station reportedly
sent its signals - both standard definition and high definition - to
Cox Communications, which passed them onto Comcast. Those watching the
standard-definition feed of the game on KVOA saw the clip.
KVOA officials have said the station's signal didn't have porn on it when the station sent it over to Comcast.
Email
Print
