"Extreme" Porn Couple Gets Prison Time for Violent Videos
Robert Zicari and Janet Romano also received two years of supervised release at their sentencing Wednesday. They pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to distribute DVDs purchased by an undercover U.S. postal inspector in Pittsburgh.
Zicari and Romano owned Extreme Associates Inc. of Northridge, Calif. The company distributed videos depicting violent sexual encounters. Prosecutors say Zicari and Romano were full partners in the company.
Romano also appeared in the videos, say investigators. "I didn't know making porn would destroy my life," Romano tearfully told the judge during the sentencing.
At sentencing, defense attorneys contested the government's claim that the material is "sadistic or masochistic," but that argument was rejected. The couple decided to plead guilty because prosecutors agreed not to calculate how much they earned from the porn business, which could have affected their potential sentence.