BRENDAN I. KOERNER — O.J. Simpson’s latest tussle with the law — he ‘s being sued by DIRECTV for piracy — bodes strangely well for satellite thieves. The only reason that DIRECTV caught on to the Juice’s alleged crime is because the ex-tailback was under federal surveillance as part of a drug-ring investigation. (Cover-our-ass disclaimer: Simpson was never charged in that case.) According to the complaint, the feds tipped off DIRECTV that Simpson was stealing channels, and they even allowed a DIRECTV employee to accompany them on a December 4, 2001 raid of Simpson’s home. That’s when “two illegal pirate devices, known as ‘bootloaders’ were found in operation.” The lesson seems clear: Without a fortuitous assist from the FBI or the DEA, DIRECTV isn’t all that adept at sussing out pirates. Hmmm, probably not the message they’re looking to send.
