Pair charged with porno sales
Ohio brothers are accused of shipping hard-core films to Utah
By Pamela Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 06/15/2007 07:15:27 AM MDT
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City has accused two brothers of selling obscene materials through their Internet business, claiming the Ohio enterprise shipped hard-core pornographic movies to Utah.
The films were violent and extreme and had no artistic value, said U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman,
"This is not the material you can order from your hotel room," Tolman said Thursday after unsealing a criminal complaint filed June 8.
The complaint charges 42-year-old Sami Harb and 33-year-old Michael Harb, who operate the Cleveland-based Movies by Mail, with one count each of selling obscene material. The defendants have been ordered to appear in federal court in Utah on June 29.
If convicted, the brothers face a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The investigation began last year when the FBI's Adult Obscenity Task Force in Washington, D.C., got a tip about Movies by Mail, and agents say they were able to buy obscene DVDs on the company's Web site. In March, a Salt Lake City agent placed an online order and three of the movies - "Max Hardcore: Pure Max 18," "Max Hardcore: Extreme 12" and Extreme Associates: Cocktails 5" - were deemed to be obscene.
"None of the three films has a plot line," an FBI investigator wrote in a statement detailing the charge. "The films consist entirely of scenes of hard-core sexual acts being performed
by multiple men and women."
Postal records show that Movies by Mail sent 683 packages in 2006 to Utah, 149 of them to Salt Lake City and the rest around the state, according to the complaint.
Assisting the FBI in the investigation were the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney's Offices in Salt Lake City and Cleveland and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
_________________ For your sake I hope heaven and hell are really there but I wouldn't hold my breath
It's Utah. They and a handful of other states have much stricter blue laws than most other states and one of those laws outlaws interstate transactions involving pornographic materials. Pretty sure that's it.
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:14 pm Posts: 15317 Location: Concord, NC Gender: Male
Ampson11 wrote:
Orpheus wrote:
I don't get what the problem is.
It's Utah. They and a handful of other states have much stricter blue laws than most other states and one of those laws outlaws interstate transactions involving pornographic materials. Pretty sure that's it.
pornography is wrong but polygamy is alright
_________________ 255 characters are nowhere near enough
It's Utah. They and a handful of other states have much stricter blue laws than most other states and one of those laws outlaws interstate transactions involving pornographic materials. Pretty sure that's it.
pornography is wrong but polygamy is alright
I'm not making any moral judgements, just stating the facts. And what's your knock on polygamy? I'm hoping to hook up a situation like that for myself someday, minus the whole Mormanism thing.
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:15 pm Posts: 25452 Location: Under my wing like Sanford & Son Gender: Male
Ampson11 wrote:
Orpheus wrote:
I don't get what the problem is.
It's Utah. They and a handful of other states have much stricter blue laws than most other states and one of those laws outlaws interstate transactions involving pornographic materials. Pretty sure that's it.
That's pretty stupid.
_________________ Now that god no longer exists, the desire for another world still remains.
community standards, it varies from, community to community. some porn sites have disclaimers stating if youre viewing from (state) then it is illegal. i have even seen some name the counties
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:14 am Posts: 37778 Location: OmaGOD!!! Gender: Male
Peeps wrote:
Mind of Meddle wrote:
How is something deemed "obscene"?
community standards, it varies from, community to community. some porn sites have disclaimers stating if youre viewing from (state) then it is illegal. i have even seen some name the counties
It's actually a combination of local community standards and national community standards depending on the medium. For example, TV broadcasts are (supposed to be) judged on a national standard, while more tangible items like magazines and sex toys would be on a more local standard.
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 7:19 pm Posts: 39068 Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA Gender: Male
If I haven't been arrested yet, I'm in the clear ... right?
_________________ "Though some may think there should be a separation between art/music and politics, it should be reinforced that art can be a form of nonviolent protest." - e.v.
It's Utah. They and a handful of other states have much stricter blue laws than most other states and one of those laws outlaws interstate transactions involving pornographic materials. Pretty sure that's it.
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If I haven't been arrested yet, I'm in the clear ... right?