The joys of being a porn star…

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — A porn actress who claimed she performed oral sex on a state trooper who stopped her for speeding lost her chance to avoid the ticket he issued because she failed to appear in court Friday.

Justis Richert [pictured], 21, of Knoxville, must pay the $159 ticket within two weeks, but she could have avoided it altogether because the trooper has resigned and wasn’t in court, officials said.

Investigators also are looking into more than 25 other traffic stops by Moss; they said women came forward with their own complaints after hearing publicity on the actress’ traffic stop.

SALT LAKE CITY - Two Cleveland men have been charged by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City with distribution of obscene materials and related offenses, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman of the District of Utah announced today. 

The indictment returned today charges Cleveland residents Sami R. Harb and Michael Harb, doing business as Movies by Mail, with three counts of engaging in a business of selling or transferring obscene DVDs, and three counts of using the mails to deliver obscene DVDs. 

Representatives from Movies by Mail were unavailable for comment at press time.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count, according to a U.S. Justice Department press release. A summons was issued ordering the defendants to appear for arraignment on July 12 in Salt Lake City before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells.

The indictment supersedes a complaint filed in federal court in Salt Lake City on June 8, 2007, and unsealed on June 14 following a search of the Harbs’ offices and warehouse in Cleveland.

According to the indictment and other court documents, three DVDs including Max Hardcore’s Pure Max 18 and Extreme 12, and Extreme Associates’ Cocktails 5, were ordered from a Web site operated by the Harbs and mailed to an address in Salt Lake City as part of an FBI undercover investigation. The indictment alleges that these movies are “obscene.” Court documents disclose that Movies by Mail delivered 683 packages to addresses in the state of Utah during 2006; 149 of them to addresses in Salt Lake City. 

In late May, the Department of Justice indicted producer/director Max Hardcore on federal obscenity charges filed in Tampa, Florida. The ten-count indictment charges him with “transporting obscene matter via mail and computer.”  

The indictment states that Hardcore “knowingly used an interactive computer service [...] in and affecting interstate commerce for the purpose of selling and distributing obscene matter,” citing the transmission of five online video clips. Hardcore is also charged with mailing five DVD copies that were deemed obscene. 

STOCKHOLM - The Swedish Supreme Administrative Court ruled Monday that prison inmates would be allowed to have pornographic magazines in their cells, upholding a March 2006 district court decision in a case brought by the Prison and Probation Service concerning a convicted rapist.

The case in question stemmed from a ban on the convict from receiving pornographic material, based on arguments that it was a security risk for a sex offender to possess porn in prison. The lower court, in Sundsvall, overturned the ban, on the grounds that any potential threat posed by a prisoner possessing porn was eclipsed by the principle of freedom of speech. The Service appealed the decision, but the Supreme Court ratified it as a sound verdict.

Pornographic movies, TV channels and websites, meanwhile, are all prohibited in Swedish prisons, as is any porn of a violent nature, or involving children.

 Chicago IL [Chicago Tribune] - A judge closed two Lake County strip clubs and an adult video store Thursday because they don’t have licenses to operate as adult businesses.

Circuit Judge Margaret Mullen’s order closed Dancers on U.S. Highway 12 and Lake-Cook Road near Lake Zurich, and Baby Dolls and Video Magic, both on U.S. Highway 41 near Wadsworth, said Assistant State’s Atty. Dan Jasica.

County officials have been battling the businesses since 1998 when the Lake County Board passed an ordinance requiring that adult businesses be licensed and follow regulations that include closing on Sunday and state holidays. In 2003 Circuit Judge Raymond McKoski upheld the ordinance after Baby Dolls, Dancers and Video Magic filed a lawsuit challenging it.

Jasica said Lake County has two adult businesses that are licensed — 41 News, an adult bookstore on U.S. Highway 41 near Wadsworth, and Select Video on Russell Road near Wisconsin.

[Pahrump Valley News] - Former “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss expects to open her laundromat, called Dirty Laundry, in the Pahrump Valley Junction Shopping Center today.

“It’s not the biggest laundromat but I thought the best location,” Pahrump resident Fleiss said in a telephone interview.

Her new business will go into a space formerly used by Cingular Wireless a few doors down from Albertson’s Supermarket.

The name would conjure up images of more sinister intentions, but Fleiss said everything is to be above board.

“Call it what it is, right?” she said. “Everything is brand new — new machines, water softener — and I’m going to cost less than the other laundromats.”

Like any proud new business owner, Fleiss boasted about the advantages of shopping at her premises. There will be an attendant on duty, the fee for dropping off laundry will be 65 cents per pound, Fleiss said, cheaper than charges at laundromats in Las Vegas.

It’s been a long process to get the plumbing installed, she said. A grand opening is planned in less than two weeks, probably July 1, with free food, cake and the first 20 washes for free.

The transition from being in the national news spotlight, with prostitutes catering to Hollywood celebrities, to a laundromat owner doesn’t strike her as a major step down.

“I don’t perceive any work being menial,” Fleiss said.

Following her prison term, Fleiss settled in Pahrump, a community she likes.

“People ask me, ‘Do you miss L.A.?,’” Fleiss said. When it comes to her new home in Pahrump, she said, “I really enjoy it. I’ve had good neighbors.”

But her ultimate motive for moving to Pahrump is to open a brothel for women, something Fleiss said is still in the works. There’s a real demand for it, she said.

“You’d be surprised how many e-mails I get from women: ‘Are you open?’” Fleiss said.

Contrary to what is rumored, Fleiss said she would qualify to own a brothel under the law, despite her criminal record.

“I qualify or I wouldn’t be out here. To be in this business, you can’t be squeaky clean. So everything in this business, if you dig deep enough, you’re going to find something,” Fleiss said.

The current federal trial involving Crystal brothel owner Joe Richards has tied up her plans to open the brothel, Fleiss said. She gave a deposition in that case, according to published reports in the Las Vegas Review Journal. The case has been postponed until November.

Fleiss said he has absolutely no plans to go into business with Richards.

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Prosecutors in central Illinois contend a Peoria High School coach had sex with two 15-year-old girls who played for him.

A grand jury Tuesday indicted 34-year-old Andre Williams. He’s charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.

Williams has been a faculty member at Peoria High School for 13 years. He’s the head coach of Peoria’s girls basketball team and assistant coach of its girls track team. He also teaches physical education at a middle school.

Superintendent Ken Hinton says Williams remains employed with the district but is on leave.

TAMPA, Fla. [NFL.com]  – A federal appeals court cleared the way for pat-down searches to resume at Tampa Bay Buccaneers home games, rejecting a fan’s contention that they violate his constitutional protection against unreasonable searches.

High school teacher Gordon Johnston successfully challenged the frisking of fans entering Raymond James Stadium in three lower courts, but a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned those rulings — saying Johnston forfeited his right to challenge the constitutionality of the pat-downs when he consented to them.

The court also said Johnston doesn’t have a constitutional right to watch a football game, that he was aware of the search policy before entering the stadium and that the Bucs can revoke game tickets for any reason.

“Considering Johnston’s ticket was only a revocable license to attend games, there is in the court’s opinion at least a question concerning whether Johnston had a constitutional right to pass voluntarily through the stadium gates without being subjected to a pat-down search, even if he had not consented to one,” the court wrote.

At three games in 2005, Johnston accepted the pat-down searches but told security officials he did not consent.

NFL officials have contended such searches, which began in 2005, provide an essential layer of security in an age of constant terrorism threats.

The 61-year-old Johnston said that he was talking to his attorneys to determine his next move. He could ask the panel to reconsider its decision, request a review by all 12 judges of the 11th Circuit or appeal to the Supreme Court.

“I don’t want to give up on it,” said Johnston, who vowed to get rid of his season tickets if pat-downs resume. “Being a government teacher and knowing the Constitution, I think it’s the wrong decision.”

Rick Zabak, an attorney for the Tampa Sports Authority that runs the stadium, said he’s trying to determine whether the court’s decision allows the searches to automatically resume at the Buccaneers’ first preseason game Aug. 10 or if he has to ask a court to reinstate them.

The NFL lauded the ruling.

“Pat-downs are an important part of our comprehensive security procedures, including secure facility perimeters and bag searches,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. “These limited, consensual security screenings are designed to enhance the protection and safety of our fans.”

Tampa is the only NFL city where the pat-downs had been successfully challenged in court, although lawsuits also have been filed in Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco.