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KINGPIN

reports and watched the television coverage, worrying for themselves and their fallen compatriots. They collected on a small forum called Stealth Division to assess the damage and take a head count of survivors. "I am scared to death for my family right now—for my children," wrote one cyberthief. "I just learned that my every move has been recorded."

Slowly, they realized that Cumbajohnny wasn't on the list of defendants. That's when he logged in to make a final appearance.

"I want everyone to know I'm on the run and I had no fucking idea the USSS had the capabilities of doing what they did," Gonzalez wrote. "From the news articles I can tell they've wiretapped my VPN and wiretapped the Shadowcrew server. This is my last post, good luck everyone."

Nick Jacobsen, Ethics, was kept out of the press release and quietly indicted separately in Los Angeles—his intrusion into the Secret Service's e-mail wouldn't emerge until well after the agency had collected its accolades for Operation Firewall. Even then, the dragnet was a clear victory for the government. CarderPlanet was shuttered, and now Shadowcrew was closed for good, and its leaders—save Gonzalez—were in jail.

The carders were confused, paranoid, and, for the moment, homeless. "It will take years and years for any message board like Shadowcrew to build up," wrote one. "And when or if it does, law enforcement will bust it again."

"And knowing what can be done, I doubt anyone will take the risk of putting another one up."