Black & Borden Plead Guilty In Extreme Case

Robert Zicari (aka Rob Black) and wife Janet Romano (aka Lizzie Borden) pleaded guilty in a federal court in Pittsburgh on Wednesday to one count each of conspiracy to distribute obcene material.

Zicardi, Romano and their company Extreme Associates were indicted back in 2003 on 10 different counts, but the case was dismissed by Judge Gary Lancaster in 2005. After an appeal, Lancaster's decision was overturned and the case went back to court.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 1st. Zicari and Romano both face up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, their guilty plea probably indicates a deal has been made for a reduced sentence/fine.

Winners of 2008 Empire Awards Announced

Adult DVD Empire is proud to announce the winners of the 2008 Empire Awards, the annual recognition of the best of the best on DVD – and for the first time this year, the Blu-ray format.

In a surprise to perhaps no one, Digital Playground’s Pirates: Stagnetti’s Revenge proved to be the big winner at this year’s awards. The movie scored victories in eight categories, including Best Overall DVD, Best Blu-ray, the Editor’s Choice Award, and the coveted Viewer’s Choice Award.

“For a movie to win in all those major categories shows what an outstanding release Pirates 2 was,” states Shannon Nutt, Editorial Director for Adult DVD Empire. “It was not only popular with a majority of Empire Award voters, but with the overall fan base as well.” The Empire Awards are voted on by the Adult DVD Empire Editorial staff, other notable online adult reviewers, and select industry people. The Viewer’s Choice Award, however, is determined solely by fan voting.

The other big winners this year were Wicked Pictures and Elegant Angel. Wicked Pictures captured a win in the Best Feature DVD category for Fallen, and also picked up an award for Best Compilation DVD Studio. Elegant Angel was named this year’s Best Overall Studio, and their DVD release of Alexis Texas is Buttwoman was named 2008’s Best All-Sex DVD.

Digital Playground collected the most Empire Awards this year, with a total of 10, also picking up wins for Best DVD Video Quality for Cheerleaders and Best Selling DVD (Dec. 1, 2007 – Dec. 1, 2008) for Babysitters.

For a complete list of the 2008 Empire Awards winners, go to http://www.empireawards.com/.

Former Passions Star Does Porn

In a rarity for the adult industry, a mainstream actress is entering the porn world.

Kelli McCarty, who was crowned Miss USA back in 1991 but is probably best known for her role as “Beth Wallace” on the NBC soap opera Passions, will be making her adult debut in Vivid’s upcoming release of Faithless.

McCarty, who was a cast member on Passions from 1999 to 2006, claims that she is getting into porn because she loves sex as much as she loves acting, and this is a chance to do both.

Faithless is now available for prebooks on Adult DVD Empire.

Pirates 2 Big Winner At AVN Awards

It comes as a surprise to perhaps no one that Pirates 2 was the big winner at this year’s annual AVN Awards. The big budget epic from Digital Playground captured awards for Best Video Feature, Best Director (Joone), Best Actor (Evan Stone), Best Supporting Actor (Ben English), Best Supporting Actress (Belladonna), Best Screenplay, plus a number of technical awards, including Best DVD Extras and Best Special Effects.

Wicked Pictures’ Fallen was also honored in several categories, including a Best Actress win for Jessica Drake, and the award for Best DVD Menus.

Jenna Haze took home the coveted prize of Female Performer of the Year, while James Deen claimed Male Performer of the Year. The Best New Starlet award went to Stoya, with Anthony Rosano getting the Best Male Newcomer trophy. Brad Armstrong was recognized as Director of the Year.

For the complete list of AVN winners, Click Here.

Janine's Headed For The Slammer

It’s federal prison for adult star Janine, as she was convicted of tax evasion on Monday and sentenced to six months.

She’ll begin serving her sentence on March 10th.

In addition to her six month sentence, Janine will be required to pay $294,000 in back taxes, and live in a community corrections center from six months to one year after she’s served her prison time.

Check Out Our New Blog!

While the Empire Insider is your place for adult industry news and happenings, our new blog, Empire Advisor, is the place you'll want to check out for couples-related and general sex issues.

It's being helmed by Adult DVD Empire's Editorial Assistant, Bethany - and the new blog encourages customer feedback and lifestyle issues/questions you'd like to see discussed on the blog.

Click HERE to visit Empire Advisor!

Bondage Queen Bettie Page Dies At 85

Best known for her fetish modeling and gorgeous pin-up looks, Bettie Page was a cult icon for several generations of fans. She has inspired enduring trends with her signature hair style and fashion choices, but her perseverance through difficult times will always inspire others when the material trends ebb.

Bettie had a heart attack in early December, but she had been hospitalized for three weeks before that due to a difficult bout with pneumonia. After the heart attack, Bettie was in a coma until her family decided to remove her from life support on Thursday, December 11.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Bettie lived a difficult life, from living in poverty to surviving child abuse by her father to helping raise her younger siblings to mental illness, but she overcame these obstacles and pursued her dreams of becoming a model and actress. Her films, which include Betty Page: The Naked Truth and Betty Page Uncovered, allowed her to take her popularity as a fetish model to new heights.