Man sentenced in GTA San Andreas leak

On October 15, 2004 we reported that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had gone gold without notification from Take-Two or Rockstar. Our source was one "Steve Dotolli" (actually, Stephen Dottoli) of Inside Gamer Online. Mr. Dottoli had assured the gaming public that San Andreas would be released soon,
backing up his claim with pictures of the game's packaging, manual, and other production materials. One Joystiq commenter didn't buy it, writing, "And who the hell is Steve Dotolli of Inside Gamer Online. I havent heard anything from rockstar yet.."

Well, as it turns out, Mr. Dottoli did have the inside scoop. Working for a compact-disc pressing plant, Dottoli scored a couple copies of San Andreas hot of the press, literally. He then posted pictures of the game on his site, Inside Gamer Online. Now Stephen Dottoli is paying the price. He was sentenced in federal court in Camden, NJ yesterday to two years' probation, including six months on home confinement and a $2,500 fine. Ouch!

Dottoli was previously ruled out as a suspect in the Internet leak of the game's code.

[Thanks, Wintrode]