T C G Cards ©< Yahoo! Daily News, >

PRESS RELEASE

Cops Nab Alleged Pokemon Pirate

FALLS, Pa. (APBnews.com) -- An Acme supermarket merchandise manager is under arrest on charges that he diverted large shipments of Pokemon trading cards worth more than $130,000 and resold them, police said today.


Paul Ritchey, 44, of Fairway Terrace in Warrington, was arraigned yesterday on charges of theft, receiving stolen property and theft by deception, said Falls police Lt. Neil Harkins.


Harkins said the charges against Ritchey emerged in April when store officials discovered unexplained shipments and disappearances of Pokemon trading cards.


Store records show that between Oct. 4, 1999, and Dec. 30, 1999, the store received shipments of Pokemon cards totaling $133,559.51, but only sold $852.85 in cards for the same time period, according to an arrest affidavit.


Accused of hoarding shipments


Ritchey became the focus of an internal investigation when store detectives James Nolan and Shawn Thompson learned that the merchandise manager had allegedly signed for all the shipments of Pokemon cards received during that time or ordered employees to forward the shipments directly to him, Harkins said.


Several employees allegedly told investigators that they noticed large deliveries of the cards in storerooms and in Ritchey`s office, Harkins said.


Store manager Michael McClellan told police that he had never seen the shipments arrive, and he was certain that they were not reaching the floor for sale, the complaint states.


`Special customer`


When approached by other store managers about the shipments, Ritchey allegedly told them he had a special customer who was buying the cards in bulk, according to the affidavit.


Police said on April 18, store detectives witnessed Ritchey leaving the store with a shopping cart containing a shipment of Pokemon cards. When confronted by the officers, Ritchey told them he was returning the shipment to the store, the complaint alleges.


Ritchey allegedly admitted in a written statement that he had been stealing the cards since December 1999 and selling them to a woman in large quantities, Harkins said.


Mystery woman


Police did not release the woman`s name, and it is not clear whether the woman resold the cards for a profit, police said.


Ritchey allegedly told police he did not know the woman personally and that their relationship consisted of her calling him with a time and place to meet, Harkins said.


Invented by the Japanese company Nintendo in 1996, the cards, which feature 151 cartoon characters and were first created as a computer game, have become a worldwide phenomenon. The Pokemon craze has spawned paraphernalia ranging from video, action figures, trading cards, stuffed animals and, most recently, a feature film, Pokemon: The First Movie, which drew record crowds when it opened last December.


The cards have become wildly popular, and the rarest can reportedly fetch prices from $50 to $200.


Ritchey was released Monday on $75,000 recognizance bail.


[LugiaMew2 5/10/00; 5:02]

Wednesday, May 10, 2000

[Sorry, I couldn't think of a Title!!]:

Screenshot from Pokemon Trainers Mag. ©< ,Pojo Website, >

Here is a picture from an advertisement in the brand new issue of Pokemon Trainers Magazine in Japan.  The ad makes it official: Neo expansion series No. 2 goes on sale in Japan in June! The advertisement offers little information other than to confirm the release date, but there is something very interesting about the “theme” of the ad: You’ll see a gold tablet in a field, and in the background are pyramids. The gold tablet has the Pokemon Neo logo and then the words “Iseki o koete,” which is the title of the new series. Translated, the title essentially is “Beyond the Ruins.” Then, near the bottom of the tablet are the same kind of hieroglyphics that we saw on the celebrated Ancient Mew card. Could it be that we’re going to see a whole expansion set based on this mysterious theme? We'll have to wait until June and find out!  

Congratulations, Pokémon!


[LugiaMew2 5/10/00; 4:47]

Pokémon Scores in Sweden:

Pokemon Sweden ©< ,Pokemon World, >

On April 12, Pokémon received a great honor at the first-ever Swedish Game Awards in Stockholm. The event was called Spelgalan 2000, and over 500 people showed up to see which games would earn the very first batch of "FIA" awards.

Pokémon for Game Boy Color took home a FIA award in the Peoples' Choice category, proving that it's fun to Catch 'Em All in any language.

Congratulations, Pokémon!

Updates/Other NewZ

Well, I recently went to Pokemon World and I found out that they have just made an official Pokemon Trading Card Game GB Website! it has awesome tips, tricks, and games. Check it out here.


[LugiaMew2 5/10/00; 4:47]

Sunday, May 8, 2000

Just a Few Updates and Info:

Mr. Ishihara unviels Pokemon ©< ,Pokemon World, >

New Gold/Silver PKMN Unvield/Other GS NewZ
On May 9th, 2000, Mr. Ishihara, the creator of Pokémon, unveiled five new characters from the upcoming PokémonTM Gold and PokémonTM Silver game paks at the first ever kids Pokémon press conference. Local Los Angeles children from Calvert Elementary school, acting as journalist for a day, were the first in the United States to see the new Pokémon characters. The excitement built as each character was unveiled with their never before known North American names. Ho-OhTM , LugiaTM , ChikoritaTM , CyndaquilTM and TotodileTM were greeted with wild applause.

PokémonTMGold and PokémonTM Silver will be available on October 16, 2000 and introduces brand new characters and adventures for the popular kids' craze. These titles promise to become the biggest selling video games of all time, with an expected 10 million cartridges sold in the first six months.

[LugiaMew2 5/8/00; 4:43]

Saturday, May 7, 2000

Just a Few Updates and Info:

No Image Available
New Message Board


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