The HBO Kid

How Frank Cardamone Built America's Largest Cable-TV Piracy Empire

Long before hackers stole streaming passwords and criminals sold illegal IPTV subscriptions online, there was Frank Cardamone.

In the early 1980s, Cardamone became one of the most infamous pirates in America—not on the high seas, but in the rapidly expanding world of cable television. To thousands of customers across northeastern Pennsylvania, he was known simply as "The HBO Kid."

The nickname wasn't subtle.

Cardamone printed it on business cards. He reportedly displayed it on the vanity license plate of his Corvette. Authorities would later say he turned the moniker into a thriving underground business built on one simple promise: free premium television. 100 illegal converter boxes. home in Taylor, Pennsylvania. Prosecutors identified him as the alleged mastermind behind the piracy network. prison time and fines. -scale technology piracy cases to a close.