LAURA GOLDBERG
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Employees of Larry Flynt's Hustler store were ordered Monday to appear before a Hamilton County grand jury later this week.
Word of an investigation by county prosecutors into potential criminal wrongdoing comes as Cincinnati separately pursues whether the downtown store is violating city zoning and licensing laws. Jimmy Flynt, Larry Flynt's brother who manages the store, said he and five employees received subpoenas Monday afternoon to appear before the grand jury Wednesday. He also said there is a subpoena for Larry Flynt's girlfriend - nurse,but she was out of town and not served. Larry Flynt had not been subpoenaed his brother said. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said law prevents him from discussing grand jury proceedings. But he said his office does not use the grand jury to indict for city ordinance violations. Mr. Flynt's Cincinnati attorney, H. Louis Sirkin, said he doesn't know what the county is doing, but that it could be pursuing an obscenity case.
Mr. Flynt was prosecuted in 1977 in Hamilton County on obscenity charges. Though the conviction was later overturned, Hustler had not been sold in the county until Mr. Flynt opened his store in October.
Mr. Deters said Friday -- the day city police raided the Hustler store and seized records -- he would not rule out the possibility of future county prosecution on obscenity charges.
Jimmy Flynt was not surprised by the subpoenas: "We've been kind of anticipating it. I don't know what took them so long. We're not going anywhere. We're going to be in business for a long time." Meanwhile, documents made public Monday revealed the city has been building its case for months.
Stores with a significant or substantial amount of sales, inventory or display of adult-oriented material must be licensed and located in one of several industrial zones, under city laws. If the city thinks the Hustler store fits that criteria, it is expected to charge Mr. Flynt with zoning and - or licensing violations. Both are first-degree misdemeanors.
The store, which does not have a license, is not in an industrial zone.
The affidavit filed to get a search warrant for Friday's raid was released Monday. In it, city vice Officer Timothy Campbell said he was in the Hustler store 22 times, once with a video camera, since late October.
He found a majority of shelf space devoted to sexually-oriented material such as magazines, videotapes and sex items, and about 200 square feet of wall space with sex items, the affidavit said. Although the percentage of explicit materials has varied, they have "at least constituted the majority of items for sale and have actually increased."
During one visit, the officer estimated 21 of the 28 bookshelf units, or 75 percent, were dedicated to sexually-oriented material. In early March, Officer Campbell consulted with Christopher Ohlinger, a local retail research and marketing expert. Mr. Ohlinger, CEO of Service Industry Research Systems Inc., also visited the store.
The affidavit said Mr. Ohlinger concluded that a significant or substantial portion of the store's "stock in trade" and a significant or substantial portion of its interior business is devoted to sexually-oriented items.
Mr. Sirkin disagreed with the city's assessment, saying he does not know what standards were used to decide what's sexually oriented and what's not. He said the store is a news and novelty shop, not an adult book store.
Also made public Monday was a search inventory, detailing what officers took Friday. Included: paperwork, sales receipts, payroll documents, a day planner, business letters, note pads, cash register and shipping receipts and inventory records.
William A. Weathers contributed to this report.
