📸 Photo

KINGPIN

Once the move was complete, Mularski went to court and won a sealed search warrant against his own server, allowing him to rifle through DarkMarket's user database, access logs, and private messages.

There was one more thing to do. Post-Shadowcrew, it was de rigueur for carder forums to make users click on a terms-of-service agreement prohibiting illegal content and stipulating that the site's operators weren't responsible for anything on the board. Forum runners believed the legalistic language might shield them from prosecution. DarkMarket had a particularly long and detailed user agreement, so nobody noticed when Master Splyntr added a line.

"By your use of this forum you agree that the administrators may review any communication sent using this forum to ensure compliance with this policy," he wrote, "or for any other purpose."

"I think it's important to note that Iceman is a foolish wannabe hacker who goes around and hacks sites for fun and pleasure."

El Mariachi knew how to push Iceman's buttons. After the hostile takeover, Dave Thomas returned to the Life on the Road blog to browbeat his foe relentlessly, calling him "Iceboy," "Officer Ice," and "a fucking piece of shit on my shoes." He challenged Iceman to meet him in person, so they could resolve their dispute like men. And he implied he could hire a hit man to track down the carding kingpin and end his life.

Max responded with growing fury. He hadn't forgotten the hassle and expense of finding a new host after Thomas shut him down in Florida. The aggressiveness he'd kept buried since Boise boiled from his gut and into his fingertips. "You small dick limp sack of shit. I could fucking tear you apart with my bare hands but a COWARD snitch like yourself would call the cops and scramble for a weapon at the first sight of me," he wrote. "You better pray to your god that I am never outed, because not only will you look like even more of a jackass than you already do, but then I will have no inhibition about coming over and wringing your snitch punk neck."