New Bern, North Carolina- www.enctoday.com- The City of New Bern has agreed to a $175,000 mediation settlement with an adult business owner.

The settlement will take care of attorney fees and lost revenue for Greg Sakas, owner of Pure Bliss on Neuse Boulevard.

The settlement is covered by the city’s insurance policy. Mayor Tom Bayliss said the settlement should not affect the rate the city pays for its insurance.

The settlement is covered by the city’s liability insurance, with Trident Insurance Agency Company, minus a $5,000 deductible. The deductible is included in the city’s budget under a standard insurance line item.

City Manager Bill Hartman said the amount of the settlement is “very well within our liability insurance coverage.”

The mediation discussion also included the confiscation of adult videos and magazines and his inability to operate his business after New Bern police wrongly confiscated more than 1,000 videos and magazines.

Twice New Bern police raided his store and twice the courts dismissed the cases, saying the prosecution did not prove its case.

“We never did anything wrong,” Sakas said. “If police had checked the city paperwork, they would have found that we were operating a legitimate business.”

New Bern’s city attorney and the planning department signed off on the paperwork for the establishment of the business.

The planning department never determined that Pure Bliss was an adult business and the city gave Pure Bliss a privilege license to operate.

On two separate occasions New Bern police raided the store, confiscating videos, magazines and novelties.

New Bern police detective Willie Wilcutt, who directed the investigation, testified in court that he never consulted with city attorney Scott Davis or police attorney Scott Hart about the raids.

Sakas said he was glad it was over. He said he did not get all the money he lost as a result of the raids.

“After the raids, my inventory was taken, we lost money,’ Sakas said. “Police also put a surveilence on the store, which kept customers away.”

He said his lawyers advised him to take the settlement.

“It would have been in federal court for several years and it would have cost the city more money,” he added. “We didn’t seek damages. I just hope we can work together with the city and I can continue my business.”

Hartman said the city had no additional comment on the settlement.