***  MEDIA ADVISORY*** February 20, 2007                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM MEDIA MADHOUSE TO THE JAILHOUSE?OWNER FACES PRISON FOLLOWING JURY VERDICT ON CORRUPT BUSINESS INFLUENCE             The owner of The Media Madhouse, located at 30879 U.S. 20 West, Elkhart, Indiana, maybe looking at 11 years in an Indiana jailhouse following a jury verdict Saturday evening in the Elkhart Superior Court No. 2.  Larry H. Lein III, age 42, 52328 Oak Manor Drive, Granger, was found guilty of two counts of Corrupt Business Influence (RICO) and one count of Attempt to Obtain Stolen Property.  The RICO charges are both Class C Felonies punishable by up to 8 years imprisonment on each count, while the Attempt to Obtain Stolen Property is a Class D Felony subject to up to 3 years in prison.  Lein faces a total of $20,000 in possible fines.  The sentencing in the matter has been scheduled for April 2, 2007.             The trial began on Tuesday, February 13, with testimony continuing into Saturday afternoon.  The jury deliberated approximately 3 ½ hours before returning a verdict of guilty at approximately 6:30 p.m.             In December of 2004, the Mishawaka Police Department initiated an investigation into organized rings of shoplifters, known as “boosters” that were trafficking in tremendous amounts of merchandise which had been stolen from local retailers.  One of those local retailers was Target Corporation.  Mishawaka Police were assisted by Investigators of the Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorneys Office as well as the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department.  In addition, Target Corporation, through their loss prevention personnel, provided critical assistance in the investigative stage of this case.             On March 8, 2005, the investigation led to the issuance of a search warrant for both locations.  Officers and personnel from all of the respective agencies converged on both locations which were served simultaneously.  Officers were then able to seize various items including DVD’s, game systems, game and memory cards, that had been stolen  from local retailers and sold to Media Madhouse.             “Organized criminal rings of any nature are the surest way to degrade a community with a continuing sense of lawlessness”, said Prosecuting Attorney, Curtis T. Hill, Jr.  “Whether it is organized drugs, organized brothels, or organized theft rings, a system that thrives off of the cooperation of a team of conspiring criminals is a direct slap to the public good”, said Hill.  “The Target Corporation, is to be commended for joining forces with area law enforcement to thwart Larry Lein’s criminal excesses in Elkhart County”, said Hill.             The State’s case was presented by Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys David Francisco and Kristine Florea.   Â“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law”