The heat in Max Butler's safe house was nearly unbearable. It was the equipment's fault. Butler had crammed several servers and laptops into the studio apartment high above San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, and the mass of processors and displays produced a swelter that pulsed through the room. Butler brought in some fans, but they didn't provide much relief. The electric bill was so high that the apartment manager suspected Butler of operating a hydroponic dope farm.

Geez, he ran his market like any other Internet site:

"Butler's prudence had kept him safe. Even though new online forums popped up, he decided to build his own, CardersMarket. He incorporated the standard features: Vendors submitted their product to an approved reviewer, who ran test transactions. Fake IDs or bogus plastics were scrutinized for fuzzy logos, missing microprint, and signature panels that couldn't take ballpoint. Buyers were rated on each transaction. And vendors who didn't deliver what they promised saw the epithet "ripper" branded across their profile—the equivalent of a single-star review on eBay. Butler assembled a team of handpicked admins—trusted forum capos with the power to delete posts, ban users, and appoint reviewers."

Technology is neither good nor bad, but it can be used for good and bad purposes.

I like that he might get the irst life sentence for hacking.

And that he plays Dungeons and Dragons.