"Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Frances Jailed to avoid Fla Arrest on Child Sex Charges!

[KoKo]

'Girls Gone Wild' Creator Joe Francis to Remain Jailed to Avoid Arrest in Florida on Child Sex Charges

Tuesday , June 05, 2007

AP
ADVERTISEMENT
"Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis, granted bail in a federal tax evasion case in Nevada, will remain in jail to avoid the possibility of being sent to Florida to be arrested on another charge, his lawyer said Tuesday.

"We had hoped he'd be out today," defense lawyer David Houston said. But when the judge in the criminal case in Florida refused to set bail there, his attorneys decided he should stay behind bars in Nevada.

Francis, 34, makes an estimated $29 million a year from videos of young women exposing their breasts and being shown in other sexually provocative situations.

He was taken into federal custody May 14 in Florida after serving a criminal contempt sentence in a separate civil matter, and arrived in Reno on Monday, Houston said. He appeared during a hastily scheduled hearing later in the day and pleaded not guilty to tax evasion, Houston said.

U.S. Magistrate Robert McQuaid set bail at $1.5 million cash and imposed other restrictions on his release, one of which was to not use his private jet.

Arrangements were being finalized for his release when the Florida ruling was issued.

"I just called off the flights," Houston said. "If I post (bail), Joe Francis goes to Florida, and it took us a month to get him here. There's no reason for me to want to send him back to that environment."

Joe Grammer, spokesman for Florida State Attorney Steve Meadows, said Circuit Judge Dedee Costello on Tuesday revoked Francis' bond on state charges filed in 2003 of using minors in sexual performances, conspiring to use minors in sexual performances and prostitution.

She also ordered Francis held on new state charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of contraband. These charges stemmed from Francis' stay last month in the Bay County Jail, during which he was accused of bribing a jail guard for bottled water to swallow unauthorized prescription sleeping medication.

The federal indictment handed up in April alleges his companies — Mantra Films Inc. and its marketing arm, Sands Media Inc. — claimed more than $20 million in false deductions on the companies' 2002 and 2003 corporate income tax returns.

The indictment also charges that Francis used offshore bank accounts and entities purportedly owned by others to conceal income he earned during the same time.

(more on this nasty piece of work at.............
http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,278375,00.html

[blogslut]

1. That's what arrogance and stupidity will getcha

n/t

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. whose?

the girls?
the buyers of those stupid tapes?
the guy in jail?

[blogslut]

3. Mr. Francis'

:)

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

4. It is going to be fun watching this filthy punk go down.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. Oh fer fuck's sake

"She also ordered Francis held on new state charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of contraband. These charges stemmed from Francis' stay last month in the Bay County Jail, during which he was accused of bribing a jail guard for bottled water to swallow unauthorized prescription sleeping medication."

I know many of you do not like Mr. Francis, but that's about the most trumped up bullshit charge I can imagine. So the guy is a misogynist and a general dickhead. Fine. But this reeks of vendetta (which would please many of his detractors here, who seem to forget that fairness in the justice system is for everybody, and even perhaps especially for the dickheads). The usual DU lawunorder types baying for blood, combined with the usual hyper-sexualized punishment fetish. DU is a strange place, indeed.

[blogslut]

7. Oh, there's more than one interesting charge

Note he is being charged with prostitution as well. That's not because he paid for hookers. Prostitution is a charge they can bring against almost anyone outside California that has paid actors to shoot porn. As for the contraband, well that's what I mean when I say stupid. Joe Francis is indeed an arrogant man that ignores the laws others in his industry bend over backwards to obey.

[momster]

8. If he'd bribed a guard...

it doesn't matter what for. The guard and Mr. GWW are both guilty of a crime. (Please note the 'if' at the beginning of the 1st sentence.)

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. For a bottle of fucking water?

Please. This is how the prison (and jail) economy works. The issue here is equal application of the law. If they charged everyone in jail who tried to get something out of a guard by inducements, nobody would ever get out of jail. It's ridiculous.

[blogslut]

12. He bribed the guard with cash to swallow pills

Supposedly both the cash and the pills were contraband, not the water. I know it's a padded charge but that doesn't excuse the fact that Joe Francis is a complete tool

[alcibiades_mystery]

14. Right

"I know it's a padded charge but that doesn't excuse the fact that Joe Francis is a complete tool."

Right. But it's when his complete toolness leads to the padded charge that we're ALL in danger. That's the fucking point. This sort of thing happens a thousand times a day in jails and prisons across the country, and by far worse people than Joe Francis. So why dfoes Mr. Francis get the charge? Because he's a complete tool, and people despise him. That's bullshit. And dangerous.

[BlooInBloo]

15. Ask Larry Flynt.

[blogslut]

19. I tried to show the real charge within all those charges

...that poses the real danger. The prostitution charge. That's the dangerous charge. That's the one that affects the rights of a lot of people I know personally.

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. A real charge is one that affects people you know personally

Check.

Quite a way to run a legal system.

[momster]

22. If it were alcohol, crack or a blonde,

that would make the bribery charge okay? The fact that it is water (I'm not sure what 'fucking water' is but I'm fascinated...) doesn't matter. We cannot approve an action because the motive is small. Many people have been robbed for small change...we don't say, 'oh, it doesn't matter because the crime was for so little'.

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. If it was crack, alcohol, or a blonde, it would be in line with

general prosecution. In other words, most people who "bribe" a guard for such things ARE prosecuted if discovered. But offering a guard inducements for trivialities like water is part and parcel of jailhouse economies, and is almost NEVER prosecuted. That's the problem. So your analogy doesn't hold, since we always prosecute for robbery, regardless of amount. My point is that this is a selective prosecution, not merely that the subject matter of the bribe is trivial.

[KharmaTrain]

9. Uh...This Ain't No Parking Ticket Here

Neither of us know the specific charges and I strongly believe in innocent until proven guilty (what a rare concept that is these) days, but from what I've read about this goon has zero to do with the videos he peddles...I've never seen one nor care about them...but his other antics that are some substantial charges...and hardly trumped up.

Tax evasion is not pornography...neither is attempting to sneak drugs into a jail. IF these charges are "trumped up", let'd go to trial and find out...if Mr. Francis is innocent or the victim of some "vendetta", his day in court will prove that to be the case...not some public statements.

This isn't looking for blood due to the way he made the money, but what he's done with it. It's making sure he doesn't buy his way out of possible crimes and attempting to mask those crimes behind "freedom of speech".

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. I was refering to the specific charge quoted in my post

Which is laughable, not because the statute shouldn't exist, but because this is an extreme application of it that reeks of persecution. As for the tax evasion charge, I did not refer to it, so that's neither here nor there. What is clear, however, is that many people want Mr. Francis to suffer, regardless of whether the charges have merit. But then, many on DU seem to get off on the suffering of others, especially when they are considered villains in some bizarre schemata. The lust with which gruesome punishments are imagined is truly frightening, and not a little despicable.

[KharmaTrain]

16. I Can Understand...

Yes...there are many here who jump on high horses based on personal biases and will rush to judgement as quickly as those we criticize on the other side. But, honestly, I can think of a greater example to use than this one.

The fact Francis wants to remain in jail in Nevada rather than be extradicted Florida says there's more going on here than meets the eye. Remember, this is the state that couldn't nail Rushbo on his illegal drug buys nor has pressed any charges against Mark Foley for his page bending and other antics. Methinks the "extreme" application was a tactic to push this case along.

I consider tax evasion a big deal as it's usually the wealthy like a Francis who shortchanges our schools and health services...it's bad enough he got big tax breaks on the money he made. But then let's see what the legal system says...I surely am not out for the dude's blood. He surely doesn't come off as a modern day Larry Flynt.

Cheers...

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. I consider tax evasion a big deal too

Which is why I did not comment on that aspect of the story.

[blogslut]

21. It affects me personally

n/t

[On the Road]

10. This Kind of Creativity wth the Law

is very unsettling. It can be used for too may illegitimate purposes. It's the same principle by which the Patriot Act is being used for all kinds of thing having nothing to do with terrorism.

I assume it's done to throw the book at the guy. The ironic thing is that occasionally a jury will start to get the idea that all the charges are trumped up and let the guy walk.

I don't know how you control for something like this under the law, but it's an issue.

[BoneDaddy]

23. Tell me about

it. Wait until the "so far to the right anti male crowd" gets their hooks in this.

[joeunderdog]

6. Offshore banking? Must be a "Bush Guy." nt

[MetaTrope]

17. So when is Florida going to jail Ann Coulter for vote fraud?

That's a felony, as I recall...