from www.queerty.com – Last October, 53-year-old Robert Pinter was arrested at a porn shop by the NYPD on prostitution charges. He was just one of many caught up in the police’s sting operation on a series of gay adult sex and video stores across the city. Furious, the gays protested, trying to get Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pay attention and halt the investigations. Pinter is going one step further: He’s suing.

In a lawsuit filed against New York City last month in federal court, Pinter claims his constitutional rights were violated at “Blue Door Video on First Ave. after a younger, Asian-American man flirted with him and suggested the two leave the store for consensual sex in a nearby car. As they were exiting, the young man, who told Pinter he was 29, said he would pay Pinter $50 for oral sex. Pinter said he ignored that comment and was then busted for prostitution. Initially, Pinter pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and received a small fine and a light sentence. He challenged that plea earlier this year and it was vacated. The case was reopened and the charge was dismissed.”

(The NYPD used the sting to find reason to file nuisance complaints against the shops in order to close them.)

It’s unclear whether Pinter will be alone among the 30 men arrested. For obvious reasons, these guys have an interest in not making the matter a bigger deal: Filing a lawsuit draws attention to the fact that they were in gay adult shops. Not a big deal for all, but certainly to some.