illegal rackets was the brain child of Chicago organized crime figure Patsy Riccardi who was murdered in July, 1985.1214 Myron and Michael Wisotsky were convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in late 1985, for tax evasion which arose from skimming activities at their sexually oriented book-stores.1215 A bookstore operator told the Commission: Subject: 80 percent of the skimming goes on in coin Interviewer: Right, how does that happen? Subject: Because who can tell how many customers come Subject: I had a machine. I'm running a hundred Subject: Alright, the guy who collects the machine is 1214 New York Hearing, Vol. I, Thomas Bohling, p. 182. 1215 New York Hearing, Vol. II, Marcella Cohen, p. 32; United States v. Wisotsky, 83-741-Cr EBD (S.D.Fla.). somebody like I was in (city) in total control. They Subject: The only way you can catch me stealing, is if (6) Copyright Violations Organized crime elements involved in the production of videocassettes and movies have been known to infringe copyrights by the "pirating" of films produced by legitimate studios and the use of music or other parts of a 1217 legitimate enterprise without royalty agreements. (7) Fraud Layers of corporations and hidden transactions of all descriptions are used by organized crime families involved in pornography to conceal true ownership and activities. 45. 1218 1216 New York Hearing, Vol. I, Bookstore Operator, p. 144 1217 "Arno said he had been previously somewhat reluctant to inform the agents that he was involved in the reproduction of pirated motion pictures as this was a violation of federal copyright statutes. Arno said that there were several problems connected with the production of these video tape cassettes, because there was a lot of pressure from the FBI recently in this area and that several producers of pirated films had been busted in the recent past and were now working for the FBI." New York Hearing, Vol. II, Marcella Cohen, p. 17, 38. 1218 See, The discussion in the Recommendations for Law Enforcement Agencies. "To effectively conceal the full extent of its involvement in the nation's pornography industry, organized crime has developed a maze of organization structures through complex legal maneuvering. Pornography businesses are often represented on corporate papers by persons with no apparent ties to the company's true owner. Business transactions are commonly conducted with hidden corporate affiliates which creates an Other crimes associated with organized crime involvement in obscenity include child pornography, 1219 possession, transfer and sale of machines guns and silencers, 1220 and illegal gambling.1221 Foreign appearance of legitimate competitive business practices. corporations and banks have been used to circumvent normal business accounting methods. For protection purposes, pornographers frequently form several corporations for one operation. They know that law enforcement authorities, when serving search warrants as a result of possible obscenity violation, are restricted to search only the corporation named. The other corporations remain protected from police inspections." Investigative Report on Organized Crime and Pornography Submitted to the Attorney General of California, 5, 6(1978). 1219 New York Hearing, Vol. II, Marcella Cohen, p. 38. 1221 Pornographer Michael Joseph Glita, member of Accardo family was reported to the United States Senate Rackets Committee as the number two man in a North Side Chicago numbers racket. New York Hearing, Vol. I, Thomas Bohling, p. 182. V. Reuben Sturman 1222 Law Reuben Sturman, also known as Robert Stern, Roy C. English, Robert Butler, Paul Shuster, and Paul Bekker, of Cleveland, Ohio, Los Angeles, California, and elsewhere, is widely believed to be the largest distributor of pornography in the world. enforcement authorities believe that the Sturman empire has financial control of nearly two hundred businesses in nineteen states, one Canadian province and six foreign countries.1223 Sturman is closely associated with known organized crime family members. James Fratianno described Sturman's connection with Robert DiBernardo, a member of the LCN Gambino (and/or de Cavlacante) Family: if he has a problem he goes to Debe.1224 and DiBernardo have had a long term business relationship, they were partners, plus Sturman something, he [Sturman] would do it."1225 More than twenty years ago Sturman was a small time candy, tobacco and comic book distributor who moved slowly into 1222 New York Hearing, Vol. I, Marilyn Sommers, p. 199; E. Whelan, Prince of Porn, Cleveland Magazine 143 (Aug. 1985). 1223 New York Hearing, Vol. I, Marilyn Sommers, p. 200. 1224 New York Hearing, Vol. I, Interview with Jimmy Fratianno, Edward Chapman, p. 115. 1225 Id. pornographic magazines.1226 Avoiding any serious legal problems, he built the business into a mammoth operation encompassing all phases from production to retail sales with a myriad of corporate identities. One account describes his organization as follows: "[Sturman] structured his many companies from retail 1227 Sturman's influence on the pornography industry is so great because his enterprise produces a very wide range of items and distributes them to retailers through countless disguised channels.1228 According to Los Angeles police, 580 of the 765 adult video arcade machines there are owned by companies controlled by Sturman.1229 Police report that Sturman typically installs equipment worth $22,000 to $60,000 at no cost to the store owner.1230 In exchange, he reaps fifty percent of the income from the peepshows.1231 A store Owner in San Diego, 1985). 1226 E. Whalen, Prince of Porn, Cleveland Magazine, 82(Aug. 1228 The Porn Peddlers, San Diego Reader, Vol. 15, No. 10, Mar. 13, 1986, p. 17. |