Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Hustler store faces new charges
Workers accused under city law
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Jimmy Flynt
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Even though it no longer exists, Larry Flynt's adult book store is once again in trouble with the law.
Cincinnati police filed charges Tuesday that accuse four store employees, including Mr. Flynt's brother and nephew, of violating the city's sexually oriented business ordinance.
If the case makes it to trial, it would be the first court test of the new law.
The charges were filed less than a week after a dispute with their landlord forced the Flynts to close their Hustler store on Race Street downtown.
“It's the same old Cincinnati censorship,” said Mr. Flynt's brother, Jimmy. “They're committed to believing in censorship and Larry and I are committed to fighting it.”
Cincinnati officials say the fight is about the city's right to regulate sexually oriented businesses, not censorship.
“The law is clear,” said Councilman Phil Heimlich, a supporter of the ordinance. “We've dotted our i's and crossed our t's. We think it will hold up very well in court.”
He said police concluded the store violated the ordinance after examining inventory and display areas in a raid last week.
Jimmy Flynt is charged with operating a sexually oriented business without a license and could face up to one year in jail if he is convicted.
Also charged are his 24-year-old son, Dustin; his store manager, Michael Chiodi of Covington; and a store employee, Jennifer Bradshaw-Montakef of Cincinnati. Each faces up to six months in jail.
Larry Flynt, who is not involved in the store's day-to-day operations, was not charged.
All four defendants surrendered to authorities Tuesday and were released on bonds ranging from $2,500 to $1,000.
Their attorney, H. Louis Sirkin, said they will enter written pleas of not guilty today.
“This is another case of harassment,” he said. “The whole thing is about how much pressure they can put on the Flynts, and it's not going to work.”
In a court case this year, the Hustler store corporation pleaded guilty to two counts of pandering obscenity for selling sexually explicit videos.
Although obscenity charges are not at issue in the latest case, city officials think the new store still is subject to Cincinnati's sexually oriented business law.
The store, which did not carry videos, did sell a variety of sex toys, pornographic magazines and other sexually oriented items.
Under the law, stores with a significant or substantial amount of sales or inventory of adult material are considered adult businesses.
The ordinance requires such businesses to apply for a license that prevents them from operating in most business districts.
“They have to be in an area where it's allowed,” said Melanie Reising, a senior assistant prosecuting attorney with the city.
Jimmy Flynt said the store didn't apply for a license because it doesn't qualify as an adult-oriented business. He said a majority of his inventory was mainstream material, such as clothing and jewelry.
Mr. Sirkin said the items documented by police last week may not be a good indicator of the store's inventory because much of the material had not yet been unpacked.
And he said some of the adult material was about to be shipped back to California and should not have been examined by police.
Another issue to be decided at trial is how the city defines a “substantial and significant” portion of a store's business. Jimmy Flynt said he doesn't know whether lingerie or a candle with a naked woman on it would count as “adult material.”
“It's very gray, very vague and very unconstitutional,” he said.
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