Gizmodo Semi-Explains the iPhone -- But Not About Title 18, Sec 2314

Tonight Gizmodo semi-explained how they came by the next-generation iPhone: an apparently drunk developer left it in a bar in California. On March 18. Which then somehow wended its way to Gizmodo-to be posted about a month later. (We presume some of that time involved the Gawker Media legal department doing their job.) Gizmodo is currently being absolutely roasted in the comments for naming the drunk Apple employee. They do not confirm the amount paid to the “finder” of the iPhone in the post-but their boss confirmed our earlier-reported $5000 figure to the Times. And this is interesting! Title 18, US Code, Section 2314 and 2315: “Whoever transports, transmits, or transfers in interstate or foreign commerce any goods, wares, merchandise, securities or money, of the value of $5,000 or more… shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.” Isn’t it funny how the figure $5000 keeps cropping up? Some lawyers who are not your lawyers discuss it here; their opinion is that there is no practical (punitive) legal action for Apple to take, except to recover the phone-and neither is there any publicity-friendly legal action for Apple to take.