PITTSBURGH — An Allegheny County company on Thursday was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine for distributing pornography. According to the office of U.S. Attorney David Hickton, U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti ordered Right Ascension of Warrendale to pay the fine and serve 2 years of probation. Before sentencing, the company pleaded guilty to a federal obscenity charge. Right Ascension mailed four pornographic DVDs, violating a federal law that prohibits the mailing of any obscene material. The maximum penalty for this offense is a $500,000 fine and 5 years of probation. The company operates an adult DVD distribution business under the name Adult DVD Empire. The U.S. Justice Department's Obscenity Prosecution Task Force prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI's Adult Obscenity Squad.
