LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:
It's not quite Shawshank Redemption for the digital age, but still you have to hand it to these inmates in Ohio. The two prisoners at the Marion Correctional Institution who were supposed to be dismantling old computers for recycling instead managed to build two working machines out of parts from here and there and stash the Frankenstein computers in the ceiling of a training room.
The caper unfolded two years ago, but has only recently been made public. Authorities got suspicious after IT staff noted an unusual level of internet activity on a contractor's account. Then they discovered a network of cables leading up into the ceiling and the computers. On the hard drives, according to one report - articles about making drugs, explosives and credit cards and, of course, plenty of adult-themed entertainment. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.