legislators describing the substantial role which organized crime, both in traditional (LCN) and non-traditional forms, plays in the pornography business in the United States today.1135

In addition to attorneys, many other professional persons assist organized crime families and their associates in the pornography business. Realtors handle land transactions knowing the ultimate purpose of the transaction is to facilitate the sale of obscene material.1136 Landlords rent property to organized crime families knowing they will be used to warehouse obscene material or to sell, produce, distribute, or display obscene merchandise.1137 Bankers process accounts and provide all manner

of banking services (including the failure to report currency transactions as required by Title 31 United States Code.) Printers and film processors develop the visual images taken by pornographers and turn them into finished products for sale or reproduction. Transportation companies and interstate carriers show no discretion in shipping obscene materials to increase organized crime family profits. Academics are paid to act as experts on behalf of organized crime members and associates who are brought to trial and challenged in public debates. Public figures including prosecutors, judges, city, county and state

1135 See, Appendix One, infra.

1136

New York Hearing, Vol. I, James D. Harmon, p. 14A-5. 1137 "The building in which Star [Distributors, Inc.] rent space is managed and partly owned by John Zaccario. . . a fact first revealed in a New York City Tribune Copy story. Selle, Pornography Warehouse Target of Irate Protesters, N.Y. City Trib., Oct. 29, 1984.

These

officials, zoning board members, and health department officials may be subjected to monetary and political influence. people sometimes may ignore the organized criminal activity or impose minimal sanctions when punishment is unavoidable.

Following are highlights of reports provided to this Commission relating to traditional organized crime involvement in and control of the pornography industry.

1138

One report came from a group of law enforcement officers, coordinated through the Investigative Services Division of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department, which undertook a study in 1978 to determine the extent of organized crime involvement in the pornography industry. One reason for the study was, "(knowledge) that organized crime generally involves itself in situations where the gain far outreaches the risk. The "An initial pornography industry fits this description. probe determined that law enforcement could document Organized Crime control in certain geographic areas. However, it did not appear in 1977 that any single law enforcement body was possession of documentation reflecting the situation national level".1140

(emphasis added)

The project participants determined

"1139

in

on a

that traditional

organized crime was substantially involved in and did essentially

1138 Organized Crime's Involvement in the Pornography Industry, Investigative Services Division, Metropolitan Police Dept., Washington, D.C. (1978).

1139 New York Hearing, Vol. I, Carl Shoffler, p. 214.

1

control much of the major pornography distribution in the United States during the years 1977 and 1978. The group further concluded that the combination of the large amounts of money involved, the incredibly low priority obscenity enforcement had within police departments and prosecutors' offices in an area where manpower intensive investigations were essential for success, and the imposition of minimal fines and no jail time upon random convictions resulted in a low risk and high profit endeavor for organized crime figures who became involved in pornography.1141 During its seventy-eight year history, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been engaged periodically in investigation of persons and organizations who violate the federal obscenity laws. Though the FBI has not recently been involved in many large scale obscenity related investigations, 1142 Federal Bureau of Investigation director, William H. Webster, along with present and former special agents of the FBI have provided current information about the

pornography industry.1143 In the late 1970s' the FBI prepared a

report detailing the extent of organized crime involvement in pornography. In preparing that report, the Bureau conducted a

1142 See, Washington, D.C., Hearing, Vol II, William H.

Webster, p.

16.

77-81.

1143 Id. at 75; New York Hearing, Vol I, Homer E. Young, p.

survey of the fifty-nine FBI field offices.1144 Based on the

survey and other sources, FBI intelligence analysts concluded:

Information obtained (during the course of the enclosed
survey) points out the vast control of the
multi-million dollar pornography business in the United
States by a few individuals with direct connections
with what is commonly known as the organized crime
establishment in the United States, specifically, La
Cosa Nostra .
Information received from sources
of this Bureau indicates that pornography is (a major)
income maker for La Cosa Nostra in the United States
behind gambling and narcotics. Although La Cosa
Nostra does not physically oversee the day-to-day
workings of the majority of pornography business in the
United States, it is apparent they have "agreements"
with those involved in the pornography business in
allowing these people to operate independently by
paying off members of organized crime for the privilege
of being allowed to operate in certain geographical
1145

areas.

In 1985, at the request of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, Director Webster conducted a brief survey of the fifty-nine FBI field offices concerning their knowledge of involvement of traditional organized crime in pornography. Director Webster advised this Commission, "About three quarters of those offices indicated that they have no verifiable information that organized crime was involved either directly or through extortion in the manufactures or distribution of pornography. Several offices, did, however, report some

p. 81.

1144

1145

Washington, D.C., Hearing, Vol. II, William H. Webster,

Federal Bureau of Investigation Report Regarding the Extent of Organized Crime Development in Pornography, 6 (1978).

involvement by members and associates of organized crime."1146

1147

The FBI reported that on April 30, 1981, Joseph Palladino, a known dealer in pornography in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, met with Gennaro J. Anginlo in Boston. Anginlo is the underboss of the New England Organized Crime Family.1148 Palladino complained that one Carlo Mastrototaro was opening an adult bookstore in the Worcester area to compete with the one jointly owned by Pallidino and Mastrototaro. Palladino could not understand why the New York family had authorized Mastrototaro to operate a competing pornography business. Prior to this, Palladino said he had considered Robert DiBernardo of the New York family to be his "compare". In response, Anginlo became angry because Palladino had first sought an explanation from DeBernardo. Anginlo said this prevented him from contacting DeBernardo's boss in New York and he would now have to deal with Sam Cufari, capo of the Genovese family in Massachusetts.1149

One former FBI agent told the Commission:

In my opinion, based upon twenty-three years of
experience in pornography and obscenity investigations
and study, it is practically impossible to be in the
retail end of the pornography industry (today) without
dealing in some fashion with organized crime either the

1146 Letter, William H. Webster, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation to Henry E. Hudson, chairman, Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, Nov. 15, 1985.

1147 Letter to the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, March 24, 1986.