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April 04, 2014

Porn Makes an Appearance in Philly Ticket Fixing Trial

PHILADELPHIA—Philadelphia is undergoing one of those trials that tends to elicit yawns, involving as it does alleged corruption on the part of former Traffic Court judges charged with, as the indictment puts it, using "the Philadelphia Traffic Court ('Traffic Court') to give preferential treatment to certain ticketholders, most commonly by “fixing” tickets for those with whom they were politically and socially connected. By doing so, the conspirators defrauded the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia of funds to which the Commonwealth and the City were entitled." But now the trial is being spiced up a bit with the appearance of porn in the courtroom. Actually, the porn evidence at play in USA v Sullivan may yet be suppressed by lawyers for defendant Henry "Eddie" Alfano, a South Philadelphia business man who reportedly owns a numbers of businesses, including an auto repair shop and an adult video store named Venus Video. He is accused by prosecutors of giving one of the judges porn tapes "in exchange for fixing traffic tickets," according to Philly.com. In a motion filed this week by Alfaro's lawyers, the court was told that the release of the videos "would be 'extremely inflammatory' and could prejudice a jury." Prosecutors also allege that Alfaro plied former Judge Fortunato Perri Sr. with "bribes including free auto repair, contracting work, and seafood" in exchange for dismissing traffic tickets, but it's the accusation that porn was also on the menu of "gifts" that has Alfaro's lawyers concerned. Interestingly, Philly.com also reports that the contents of videos provided by Alfaro to Perri is disclosed for the first time in the Wednesday motion filed by Alfaro's lawyers seeking to quash them. Previously to the admission that the videos were porn, the prosecutors, according to the news site, "have exhibited an almost Puritan restraint, describing those tapes in filings and in court only as 'free videos.'" In addition to the videos, however, defense attorneys are also seeking to have a February 2010 conversation caught by an FBI wiretap also suppressed. In it, reports Philly.com, Alfaro and the operator of his porn video shop, Joe Caristo, "discussed the videos Perri requested." The reason Alfano's lawyers gave U.S. District Judge Robert F. Kelly to bar that recording from court was that "The conversation, with its derogatory remarks toward women and the references to the adult nature of the DVD videos, is extremely inflammatory and prejudicial toward the defendant." Philly.com concludes, "As for what titles the judge favored, no one is willing to say. Not Perri, not Alfano, not their attorneys." But they also were able to contact Caristo, who assured them it was "normal boy-girl stuff. Nothing weird." Looks like business as usual in the city of brotherly love.

 
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