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Nashville

A secretive few rule Nashville's sex industry reports the 9/26/96 Nashville Banner. These leading men don't want their names publicized because of the stigma attached to porn.

"I'm one of the only people in this business who uses his real last name," Al Woods told the Banner. Al owns a strip joint, several sex shops, an adult magazine publishing company and a nationwide 1-900 dating line network. "People really value their privacy."

"When you track these people throughout a decade, the same names keep showing up in the same partnerships with the same groups," says Joe Blakely, sergeant of Metro Police's organized crime unit.

Novelist Steven Womack researched Nashville's sex industry for his recent detective thriller Chain of Fools. "This business works best under a veil of silence. They don't like publicity."

One of Nashville's leading pornographers is Jerry Pendergrass, born around 1940. He owns Metro News, an enormous sex shop at 822 Fifth Avenue South that grosses near $3 million annually. He also owns the home of the 701 Club, a strip joint, a massage parlor at 2326 Nolensville Road, and numerous other sex businesses. He owns one shop in the notorious town of Biloxi, MISS. And another one in Clarksville, TENN.

Pendergrass's criminal record includes drunk driving and peddling obscenity. Like many pornographers, Jerry gives enormous amounts of charity.

Woods claims he's the smallest player in town, but law enforcement says he is a major producer of amateur porn and organizer of swinging parties. "I've never watched an adult video all the way through," Al told the Nashville Banner. "This is strictly business for me."

Al's remark is a mantra for many pornographers, and is usually untrue. People close to Woods say he makes amateur videos, many of them starring his ex-wife April.

Atlanta's Mike Sokolic own five properties that house sex businesses. One of his employees, Ronald Edward Parish who managed adult bookstores for Mike for ten years, was indicted in 1996 by a federal grand jury for laundering and racketeering.

William E. Bingham has long owned X-rated theaters that housed prostitution according to this Nashville Banner 9/96 investigative series.

A local writes to me 9/98: "The major players you mentioned were indeed a big part of the late '70's porno scene, back before video rentals became commonly available. But certainly not representative of the XXX business here in 1996. And 1998 is a whole different ballgame - we get 'em two days after y'all do now!

"Am afraid that someone gave you a bum steer on that story in certain respects. Both Metro News and The Purple Onion stores (421 Corp.) are businesses that have been in decline for some years. The serious consumer scrupulously avoids these 'rips' except for an occasional search for an older title. Admittedly the Onion does have the best novelties. Both businesses purchase zero new release titles, and replenish their shelves only reluctantly.

"In 1996 the most lucrative (and best) businesses were The Carousel (now defunct,) Madam X (jointly owned by the folks you mentioned,) 21 Up stores, and GJ's.

"The folks mentioned in the Nashville article were simply the most visible in the downtown area."