Alvin "Al" Goldstein (Born January 10, 1936 - December 19, 2013) was an American publisher and pornographer. His company, Milky Way Productions - owner of Screw and the long-running cable TV show Midnight Blue - was started in 1968 and went into bankruptcy in 2004. His mansion in Pompano Beach, Florida, complete with a backyard, 11-foot tall middle finger statue, was sold in June 2004 to pay debts.

In 2002, Goldstein was found guilty of harassing a former employee, doing such things as publishing her number in Screw and encouraging readers to call her, and he was sentenced to 60 days in jail. The charges were appealed and eventually overturned but not before Goldstein served six days behind bars. As part of aplea bargain, Goldstein apologized for his action.

References

1. Jump up^ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/nyregion/al-goldstein-pioneering-pornographer-dies-at-77.html
2. Jump up^ Albin, Stacy (October 23, 2003). "Pornographer In Plea Deal". The New York Times.
3. Jump up^ Christian, Nichole M. (February 28, 2002). "Pornographer Guilty in Harassment Case". The New York Times.
4. Jump up^ Newman, Andy (May 18, 2002). "6 Days in Jail Broke Him, Freed Pornographer Says". The New York Times.

Further Reading

• Goldstein, Al (and Josh Alan Friedman). I, Goldstein: My Screwed Life (2006). New York: Thunder's Mouth Press.
• Goldstein, Al & Jim Buckley (eds.). The Screw Reader (1971). New York : Lyle Stuart.
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• Screw is a weekly pornographic magazine published in the United States aimed at heterosexual men. It was first published in 1968 by Al Goldstein and was printed weekly in tabloid form. Founder Al Goldstein has won a series of obscenity cases.

  In 1977, Alabama Governor George Wallace sued Screw for $5 million for publishing that the governor had learned to do sexual acts from reading the magazine. The two parties settled for $12,500, and Screw agreed to print an apology in the magazine.

  The magazine is no longer owned by Goldstein, having been restarted by his former employees in 2005.