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Special
Projects
Movie Gallery
Judge finds cause to charge Movie Gallery chairman with obscenity
November 2004
 Rather than face charges of distributing obscenity, Movie Gallery chairman Joe Malugen reluctantly shut down back rooms of hard-core sex videos in his Starkville, and Kosciusko, Mississippi stores after local prosecutors gave him a 30-day ultimatum.
"If all obscene material is not removed within thirty (30) days of this letter, I will take appropriate legal means to see that there is compliance with the State Law," wrote prosecutor Rodney Faver in Starkville.
After police detectives presented evidence taken from the Starkville store to municipal Judge William Eshee, Jr. in September 2004, Faver said the judge agreed to sign an warrant for the arrest of Malugen. A thick folder of video cover photos, citizen petitions, and affidavits were presented to the judge.
Rather than face a possible six months in jail, Malugen ordered the material removed.
According to a Movie Gallery employee, Malugen took advantage of the "grace period" to sell the rental videos at discount prices, before shipping the rest of the inventory to his Kosciusko store about 60 miles southwest of Starkville.
But within weeks, Malugen received a similar letter from the Kosciusko prosecutor George Dorrill, who also promised legal action.
Malugen may be getting accustomed to being a XXX vagabond. In the past two years, he's faced the threat of legal action by other Mississippi prosecutors too. Booneville, Corinth, and Louisville also threatened to charge him with obscenity if he didn't comply with state law.
The American Family Association initiated a boycott of Movie Gallery in 2000, when it found that nearly 400 stores nationwide distributed hard-core pornographic videos from "back rooms." It's website, www.moviegalleryporn.com, chronicles testimonies of managers, employees, and customers who have been victimized by Movie Gallery's porn rental business.
Randy Sharp, AFA's Director of Special Projects, works with local citizens who want to encourage their city to enforce state obscenity laws. "Where Joe Malugen and Movie Gallery continues to violate the law, we will work closely with citizens in encouraging local law enforcement to take appropriate action."
Movie Gallery is the nation's second largest video rental chain in America.
Mr. Joe Malugen, Chairman
Movie Gallery
900 Main St.
Dothan, AL 36301
Phone: (Toll Free) 1-800-472-2494, ext. 22432
Email: jmalugen@movgal.com
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