Britney's Black Market Baby Pics?

It's not the Lindbergh kidnapping, but to Britney Spears, it's bad enough.

Pictures from a photo shoot featuring Spears' and husband Kevin Federline's month-old baby boy have been stolen, the pop star's camp said late Friday.

The press release sounded more geared to scare off potential publishers of said photos than to round up suspects. Spears' reps warned that dissemination of the allegedly purloined pictures would be an "invasion of privacy of Ms. Spears, Mr. Federline and their infant son."

"Anyone who publishes, sells or otherwise exploits any of these images in any way will be subject to liability and damages for willful infringement of copyright," the statement said.

It was not known if Spears had sicced law enforcement on the case. A call to a Spears rep seeking comment was not immediately returned.

As of Monday morning, the baby photos, six professionally shot portraits, most depicting Spears cuddling with her son, were easily had on the Web. This, despite at least three fansites heeding the warning of Spears' camp and taking down the pictures over the weekend, reports said. One of the back-tracking sites, TangibleBrit.com, turned its front door into an apologia, declaring that it was "deeply sorry for any pain" it had caused Spears. The site said it had received the photos via an anonymous email.

Word of the reportedly stolen photos came on the heels of a New York Post report that had Spears, 23, backing out of a deal to sell her baby's photos to People magazine.

A "crying" Spears nixed the reputed seven-figure payday, fearing "she was selling out her baby and couldn't give up the pictures," a source told the newspaper.

People offered a qualified denial, telling the Post it hadn't purchased any Spears photos "this week."

Spears' camp did not specify if the pictures reportedly intended for People were the same ones now identified as stolen. But TangibleBrit.com said its anonymous tipster claimed the photos were to be published in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

What was clear--what with all the clamoring over baby photos, stolen or not--was that Spears' son, Sean Preston, all of 37 days old, is a "must get" for the media.

To date, the pop princess' first born has maintained a low profile. The only Baby Federline photos to turn up in magazines have been of the grainy, shot-with-a-telephoto-lens variety, à la Bigfoot in the woods.

Historically, Spears has welcomed cameras into her life, so long as she's getting a cut. Last year, she reportedly brokered deals for official coverage and photos of her wedding to Federline. And this summer, she and Federline offloaded the footage from their camcorders for the purposes of creating a UPN reality series.

If Spears currently seems unwilling to make a deal where her son is concerned, then she also was recently unwilling to make a deal where Las Vegas is concerned.

Negotiations that would have brought Spears "a lot" of money to become a pop artist-in-residence at an unnamed "major casino project" have ended, according to the wheeler-dealer at the center of the talks.

"She had certain requirements. We weren't willing to accept those requirements," said Jack Wishna, a consulting firm CEO working on behalf of the unidentified casino.

Wishna speculated that Spears, pulling an anti-Celine Dion, wasn't interested in living and working in Vegas as a new mother. (Dion quit touring, and put down roots at Caesars' Palace following the birth of her son.)

The mystery casino is looking for three A-list music acts to headline its 1,500- to 2,000-seat planned showroom on a rotating basis. Spears was being asked to commit 12-15 weeks a year to the gig, Wishna said.

"Will she wind up in a deal in Las Vegas? You know, Vegas has surprised a lot of people," Wishna said. "I wouldn't close the door on anyone."

(Originally published Oct. 21, 2005 at 6:05 p.m. PT.)