From the LA Times: This morning, I had a brief phone interview with John Stagliano who yesterday was charged by a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. with six felony counts related to “operating an obscenity distribution business.”

Stagliano spoke to me against the advice of his attorney.

A little background: Stagliano is among the best-known pornographers in that industry. He is considered the founder of a genre of adult entertainment known as gonzo porn.

In recent years, his own films have won him a reputation as an auteur for his epic series “The Fashionistas.” The first “Fashionistas” movie, a 4 1/2-hour long epic shot on film rather than video, won Stagliano more AVN awards (the adult Oscar) than any other adult film in history before.
Stagliano was so smitten with the success of “Fashionistas” that he created a modernist dance interpretation as a Vegas production show. The Vegas show was not even topless, yet ran for more than three years and generated worshipful reviews. That is how I met Stagliano. I went behind the scenes to document the show’s creation.

“Fashionistas” was a labor of love for Stagliano, mixing his lifelong dedication to modern dance, erotica and the stage into an amazing Vegas experience. But without casino support or a good location (the heterosexually oriented show performed in the gay nightclub Krave, which had no Strip access). “Fashionistas” lost a lot of money and earlier this year Stagliano closed the show to focus on his day job.

But “Fashionistas” did have a permanent impact on the Strip. Stagliano’s eye for talent proved prescient. Many of his techniques and stars were incorporated into other shows after “Fashionistas” closed. One of his leads became the star of “Le Reve” at Wynn, and the other was selected by Dita Von Teese recently to be in the “Crazy Horse” show at MGM. Meanwhile, the “Fashionistas” original choreographer went on to create the “X Girls” show at the Flamingo.

But though Stagliano returned to his real job in California, he has also been planning his next Vegas show as well. He has learned the ropes and is planning to produce another show. This time he will match his creativity with star power to bring customers in the door that “Fashionistas” had a hard time reaching.

So, we stay in touch. He is one of the most creative people I have met while covering Vegas and I am anxious for his return. But I also knew that his temporary departure from Vegas was due to challenges in his own industry where DVD sales were vanishing in the face of downloadable adult content. Now, Stagliano’s challenges have grown substantially.

In addition to his own films, Stagliano’s company Evil Angel is one of the largest distributors of adult titles in the nation by other directors. It is those films that form the heart of the indictment.

As long as I have known him, Stagliano has been prepared for the day the police come for him. His libertarian world-view sees the government as always out to get him. I kind of always figured he was being grandiose. “The People Vs. Larry Flynt” was a long time ago.

For example, Stagliano also was originally worried that Las Vegas authorities would find “Fashionistas” too racy and instead, the positive buzz meant that even family Vegas proponent Steve Wynn came down to Krave to enjoy the show.

Stagliano, though, has always felt like an outlaw no matter how successful he became. With alarming prescience, this January at the adult awards show, the AVN Awards at Mandalay Bay, Stagliano had his “Fashionistas” cast perform a routine he created based around the premise of the government going for people who watch naughty movies. And now, just months later, Stagliano’s fear of the government turned out to be justified.

So, the moment Stagliano has been expecting has suddenly arrived. Though he says he was totally unaware of any investigation of him by a grand jury, he now is facing criminal charges. The indictment’s punishment: “If convicted, Stagliano faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each of the obscenity counts.”

But when I reached Stagliano this morning he seemed upbeat: “The charges are real and something bad could happen. But I look at the world with wonder and amusement especially when it comes to the government. I am hoping this will result in a bump in sales for the films. It is all films I distribute and not a single one I directed. I wish my “Fashionistas” had been chosen. The films are hard but I have real artistic ambition. I wonder how closely they watched? I am surprised the government, with the war and the economy, has time for this.”