Delivering Weekly Censorship Updates to the Adult Entertainment Industry
Vol. X, No. 23, June 15, 2007 - A Member Service of the Free Speech Coalition Stories without byline submitted by FSC contract writer, Scott Ross
Contributing writers: Matt Gray and Dave Grimaldi
X-Press Editor-in-Chief: Scott L. Lowther
Special thanks to Cubik Corp. for formatting and Val Vizmanos for distribution
Copyright 2007 Free Speech Coalition. Permission to reprint granted to FSC members; please give credit.
Downtown Los Angeles Condo Owners Insist Adult Store Relocate
LOS ANGELES, CA - It often seems as if efforts to shut adult businesses down are limited to Podunk Bible Belt towns, but the recent outcry against a new adult retailer in downtown Los Angeles proves that opponents of free speech are everywhere.
An adult retail store, the name of which was not reported by the Los Angeles Downtown News, the paper that broke the story, opened on the ground level of the restored Bartlett Building, part of the Historic core of downtown Los Angeles.
The multi-use building, with retail space on the ground and condominiums upstairs, is part of the efforts to revitalize downtown Los Angeles. The building’s developer spent $15 million converting the structure, built in 1911.
Due to the pressure of local residents, storeowner Bruce Kim told the Downtown News that he would likely shutter his store soon.
“I cannot sell the adult movies I have to move,” Kim told the Downtown News. “But I spent all of my money on this store. They’re killing me. When I signed the month-to-month lease, I told the landlord that I was going to sell DVDs and adult movies, and he said he didn't care what I was selling.”
Building developer Barry Shy said that Kim never disclosed that he would be selling adult videos. Kim insists that he informed the leasing agent handling the space about his intent to sell adult videos, and was told it didn’t matter.
Kim is on a month-to-month lease and has been told he will be evicted if he does not cease selling adult videos.
http://www.downtownnews.com/articles/2007/06/04/news/news03.txt
Webmaster Pleads Guilty to Obscenity Charges
ORLANDO, FL - The U.S. Justice Department announced last week that Danilo Simoes Croce, the Brazilian webmaster who operated domains under the company name Lex Multimedia, pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to use the mail for delivery of obscene material.
Croce entered his guilty plea before Judge Gregory Presnell of the U.S. District in Orlando, agreeing to pay a $2,000 fine and to forfeit $98,000 in cash. Croce also will forfeit to the U.S. government all “equipment and materials connected with his business operations in Florida, all copies of certain obscene films in the company's possession, and all Internet domain names used by Lex Multimedia,” according to a Justice Department statement.
Lex Multimedia also conducted business under the names Lexus Multimedia, MFX and Dragon Films.
Although Croce’s websites were all hosted on servers located offshore, employees of Lex Multimedia located in the Orlando area fulfilled orders placed for videos through the websites, according to the Justice Department. Payments for the videos were deposited in the company’s bank accounts in Orlando before being transferred offshore.
Croce was indicted by a federal grand jury in Orlando in September, and was arrested shortly following the indictment while on a trip there to oversee the operation of his business, the Justice Department said. Croce was then detained for a period of 45 days before being released on $10,000 bond.
In addition to fines equipment forfeiture, Croce faces a maximum of five years in prison on the conspiracy to deliver obscene materials charge. Sentencing in the case is set for Aug. 29.
Former Substitute Teacher Granted New Trial in Internet Porn Case
NEW LONDON, CN - The substitute teacher convicted in January on four counts of risk of injury to a minor after allegedly failing to prevent a classroom of seventh graders from seeing online pornography has been granted a new trial.
In January, a jury found Julie Amero guilty on four felony counts of risking injury to a minor or impairing the morals of a child after hearing what Superior Court Judge Hillary B. Strackbein termed “erroneous” computer forensics testimony from a Norwich, Conn., police detective.
“Certainly, findings found by the state lab may contradict evidence presented by the state expert,” said Judge Strackbein. “The jury may have relied, at least in part, on that faulty information.”
The state forensics expert that testified in Amero’s trial insisted that adult Websites in question had been consciously loaded. A key defense witness was not allowed to counter that testimony because the original defense lawyer failed to file the proper paperwork.
Amero’s case drew international attention, with computer experts across the globe siding with the defense expert, who believed the porn sites in question were the result of malware, software inadvertently installed on the computer that launched a series of adult pop-up ads. Many argued that charges should have never been filed in the case.
Adult industry attorney Larry Walters told XBIZ that in cases involving the Internet and related technologies, a lack of technical knowledge on the part of the prosecution, judge or jury can be very problematic.
“We run into this a lot with Internet cases,” Walters said. “Sometimes, the prosecutor, judge or members of the jury just don’t understand the technology or terms of art involved, and that can be the difference between guilt and innocence.”
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hcu-amerotrial-0606,0,4739321.story?coll=hc-headlines-home
Gay Erotic Comics Seized at Canadian Border
OTTAWA, Canada - A shipment of erotic comic books slated to be delivered to the Montreal location of gay-themed chain store Priape earlier this year was seized by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) because the comics were deemed to be obscene, according to the Canadian “queer news” site Xtra.ca.
The comics seized by the CBSA are French translations published by a company called H&O Comics in France, and include such titles as “Dads & Boys” by English artist Josman, as well as work by the Japanese artist Gengoroh Tagame.
CBSA spokesperson Chris Williams said that the comics were deemed to be obscene because of “depictions of incest to sex with pain and sexual mutilation, defecation and vomiting.”
The content matter of the particular comics at issue helped Priape store owner Bernard Rousseau decide not to fight the seizure. “We didn’t protest because it was mostly about younger boys and incest,” Rousseau said. “We have protested before, but we decided that after looking into the matter, it is too much.”
Rousseau said that given the consequences under Canadian law for selling materials determined by a court to be obscene, an abundance of caution is called for. “You have to be careful what you sell because you can go to jail and I don’t want to get involved,” says Rousseau. “I’m too old for that.”
http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=1&STORY_ID=3155&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=9
Kink.com Challenges Trademark Office Ruling on ‘F-Bomb’
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Kink.com owner Peter Acworth is fighting the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recent decision to deny his trademark for fuckingmachines.com on the basis of a statute dating back to 1905.
Acworth's company Cybernet [now Kink.com] originally applied for the trademark two years ago, but was denied on the basis of a statute dating back to 1905 that forbids trademarks with "immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter." The word “fuck” has consistently been deemed to violate that statute.
Acworth's attorney Marc Randazza filed an appeal of the office’s decision on June 5, which will now lead to a hearing before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Randazza, who works for the firm Weston, Garrou, DeWitt & Walters, a firm well known within the adult industry, told the Orlando Weekly that he believed the decision was unconstitutional.
"The Applicant respectfully challenges this characterization of the word 'fucking' and its allegedly 'offensive and vulgar' root: 'fuck,'" Randazza wrote in the appeal. "[T]his much maligned four-letter word has no intrinsic meaning. Fuck [can] play a role as a figurative term, for example, 'to fuck' can also mean 'to deceive.' It is a word of force that can assist us in our expressions of joy when used as an infix, as in 'abso-fucking-lutely'. 'Fuck' helps us express rage when we scream 'fuck you' at a football referee, or at a motorist who has just cut us off in traffic.
“'Fuck' can help us express pain, as it is quite frequently the first thing out of most men's mouths when they strike their thumb (accidentally) with a hammer. 'Fuck' is a vehicle for our disappointment, when we see that our report card is not as good as we had hoped, or when our significant other is late for dinner, or leaves us altogether. 'Fuck' is an old friend, who can always make us laugh."
In other words, “fuck” isn’t as immoral or scandalous as it once was.
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/features/story.asp?id=11596
Panama City Judge Declares Fred Salaff Not Guilty
JOYITO, Panama - XBIZ reported last week that American adult film producer Fred Salaff has been deemed not guilty of the prostitution and faulty paperwork charges filed against him more than years ago in Panama. Salaff has been under house arrest and barred from seeking employment since his arrest more than two years ago.
Salaff was arrested after police raided his Devils Film shoot and charged him with pressuring prostitutes to perform and failing to file paperwork necessary to legally film an adult movie in the area, as well as neglecting to prevent minors from viewing the on-set activity. Several children reportedly climbed a wall to peek into Salaff's set during the shoot.
"I followed the law completely," Salaff said. "Kids climbed a neighbor's tree. It was an invasion of my privacy."
Salaff also said he thanks those in the industry who supported him during the trial. "It has been two-and-a-half years of a nightmare, gross travesty of justice, loss of reason, separation from family and all the rest," Salaff said, "but it's finally over."
http://xbiz.com/news_piece.php?id=23485
Sex, Lies and Legislation
by Matt Gray
One would expect that it would make sense that, in crafting public policy, our elected leaders (in their infinite wisdom) would make an earnest attempt to rely upon bonafide research and facts to decide what is in the best interest of California and Californians, right? It might surprise you to know that such an approach would be the exception to the rule. Sad, but true.
Political appeal and expediency are more likely to trounce the truth. In all subject areas for creating laws – including adult entertainment, healthcare, firearms, animals, and sex offenders – there are a number of lawmakers who are willing to say anything in order to promote their legislation and/or agenda; and they do so with absolute immunity.
To protect against such double standards, Article 1, Section 7(b) of the California State constitution says, “A citizen or class of citizens may not be granted privileges or immunities not granted on the same terms to all citizens.” Lawmakers notwithstanding, apparently. But, were a lobbyist to make the same untrue statements, he or she would have committed a misdemeanor. Yes, truth is often stranger than fiction in legislatures around the country.
So when Assembly Bill 1551 (Calderon, D-Whittier) was published with claims that adult entertainment engendered crimes against women and children, blight, reduced property values, and as a result, seeks to impose multiple taxes upon adult products to ameliorate those fabricated claims, we wanted to know upon what facts those claims were based. Clearly, they’re not based upon the many academic studies about “secondary effects” that have demonstrated no such adverse results.
The bill’s author’s office joked about “having their sources.” But, once light-hearted discussions evolved into a formal Legislative Records Act request, it came to light that no such evidence existed. In other words, the bill is based upon the doctrine of . . . “don’t confuse us with the facts.”
So AB 1551, which will likely force many adult entertainment businesses to choose between going out of business or moving out of state, is the fanciful creation of a seasoned lawmaker who has attacked the adult entertainment industry with baseless claims which are based upon no facts or evidence. In fact, the claims are in direct contradiction to actual facts and evidence and research about “secondary effects.” Apparently aware of this reality, Assemblyperson Calderon said the industry should not take the legislation personally. I doubt that those of you in the industry who earn your living through adult businesses will take solace in Mr. Calderon’s cavalier perspective.
The State Board of Equalization (BoE), which is the state agency charged with overseeing and distributing funds from monies collected from the AB 1551 tax upon adult products and services, has now entered into the fray. The BoE is compiling expected revenues from the sale, rent, or lease of adult entertainment products, and appears to be making the erroneous assumption that a California-based figure will be representative of what the potential revenues of this bill might generate when taking the entire U.S. into account. In other words, the BoE’s estimation of money to be collected from the tax – the figure that will be presented to the policy committee through testimony for AB 1551 – is based upon mere assumptions that product and revenue distribute equally through the U.S., regardless of competitive pricing and market leverage, and are based upon flat and equal population distribution.
I realize a degree of deference is supposed to be observed with regard to our elected officials. But, when this Bill is viewed in its entirety, from the creation of the legislation to the methodology to be used by the state agency charged with overseeing its implementation, that’s difficult to do. I’m reminded of the old saying, “They are all the blind leading the blind.” What other conclusion can one draw?
AB 1551 was not heard on June 11th, and has yet to be set for its first hearing in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation committee (chaired by none other than Mr. Calderon). It may now be heard as early as June 18th. If you have not yet written to the members of the Revenue and Taxation Committee to express your opposition to AB 1551, you still have time, but don’t wait. This Bill has the potential to be devastating in California as well as elsewhere in the country if its model and passage are adopted by other states.
The members of the committee are Assemblyman Calderon (Chair), Assemblyman Devore (Vice Chair), Assemblyman Arambula, Assemblyman Eng, Assemblyman Feuer, Assemblywoman Hayashi, Assemblywoman Ma, Assemblyman Plescia, and Assemblyman Spitzer. All can receive mail at: State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. A cc: of your letter to Capital Alliance would be appreciated, at 1029 K Street, Suite 25, Sacramento, CA 95814 so that we can track the responses received by the Assembly.
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Matt Gray is a senior lobbyist for Capital Alliance, a Sacramento-based lobbying and government strategies firm, contracted by the Free Speech Coalition members to serve as FSC’s California lobbyist. He can be reached at 916-444-5551 or by e-mail at matt@thecapitalalliance.com
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JUNE 22-24 - Erotica L.A., Los Angeles Convention Center
JULY 11-13 - XBiz Summer '07 Forum, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
JULY 16-18 - ANE - Adult Novelty Expo, Universal City, CA
AUGUST 3-5 - Internext, Hollywood, FL
AUGUST 27-30 - Annual Gentlemen's Club Owners Expo, Las Vegas, NV
AUGUST 27-30 - STOREROTICA Convention and Tradeshow, Las Vegas, NV
SEPT 21-23 - ADULTCON, Los Angeles Convention Center
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