Stagliano submitted to fingerprinting at an FBI field office before his arraignment at 10:30 a.m. Stagliano did not have to surrender his passport, but must check in with the court by phone on a weekly basis. If he decides to leave the country, he must phone in before leaving and upon his return.
Prior to his arraignment, Stagliano finalized his legal team. H. Louis Sirkin is representing John Stagliano Inc., Paul Cambria is representing Evil Angel Productions, Allan Gelbard is representing Stagliano the individual and noted Washington, D.C. lawyer Robert Corn-Revere has been brought on to be the company’s local counsel.
Judge Robert J. Leon, who will be the trial judge, presided over Stagliano’s arraignment. After his brief appearance inside the E. Barrett Pettyman courthouse, Stagliano, along with Gelbard, held a short press conference on the court steps.
During the press conference, Stagliano commented that the movies the government claims are obscene feature consenting adults and are intended for an adult audience. Ironically, he pointed out that no one was forced to watch these movies except for the jurors.
“Everything went as smoothly as one could expect in these circumstances,” Stagliano told XBIZ. “What’s happening is very real, and I’m normally not so serious — it's not how I relate to life — but I’m doing my best to say the right things.”
Evil Angel publicist Karen Stagliano told XBIZ that about 20 members of the media attended the press conference and footage from it would be posted to Reason.tv.
