California smut peddler given prison term

PITTSBURGH, July 1 (UPI) -- A Pittsburgh judge sentenced a pornography producer to 366 days in federal prison Wednesday for sending graphic and violent porn images through the mail.

Rob Zicari, 35, his wife, Janet, and their California company pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to distribute obscenity.

The charges were leveled in a 2003 indictment for selling videos depicting rape, torture and murder through the mail and online. Undercover postal inspectors ordered the X-rated material and had it mailed to them in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said prosecution of such offenses was a top priority of the U.S. Justice Department and former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The charges were dismissed in 2005 but were later reinstated by a federal appeals court.