Arizona
Republic Phoenix, May 15, 2007, pages B1 and B6
Porn Likely paid
for Chandler Mansion by Betty Beard WHEN 34-year-old Cable
Rosenberg's 13,500-square-foot [1255 square
metre] Tudor style mansion was profiled in
February, thousands of viewers clicked on an online
slide show, hoping to catch a glimpse inside one of
the southeast Valley's most expensive homes. At the
time, Rosenberg's family said he made his fortune
through a finance company and used-car
dealerships. But as the eight-bedroom, $12 million Chandler
home prepares to close escrow, a review of state
and federal records shows that Rosenberg's wealth
probably came from a more lucrative line of
work--Internet pornography. Porn star and entrepreneur Jenna
Jameson's exploits when she lived in Paradise
Valley [Arizona] have been well-chronicled.
But Rosenberg's case sheds light on a lesser known
side of the $13 billion adult entertainment
industry, usually associated with Southern
California's San Fernando Valley: It can crop up
anywhere, including a suburban Valley
neighborhood. State and federal records show that Rosenberg,
who recently moved to Paradise Valley, has operated
at least two Internet porn sites and has been
involved in the business for approximately nine
years. Although he does have auto and finance
businesses, Arizona Corporation Commission records
do not show him connected with them until after he
purchased the mansion in 2002. Experts say the Internet pornography business is
more competitive today and harder to make money at.
But Rosenberg apparently got in early, in the late
1990s, and was able to buy the Chandler house in
2002 for $6.75 million, when he was 29. Rosenberg and his attorney did not return
repeated phone calls seeking comment. He did not
respond to messages left at his home or with his
Realtor. What the Records
Show Internet pornography is generally legal and
protected by freedom of speech, providing it is not
shown to children or filmed with people younger
than 18. But the Internet has caused it to be seen by
people who don't want it, mainly through e-mail
spam. In 2000, Web host Geocities accused Rosenberg of
diverting people who mistyped "geocities" as
"geociities" into their Web browser to one of his
porn sites. According to the World Intellectual
Property Organization's Arbitration and Mediation
Center, the site kept generating new pop-up windows
for pornography and wouldn't let users out.
Rosenberg never responded to the claims, and the
arbitration panel ordered his domain name to be
transferred to Geocities. Arizona Corporation Commission records show that
Rosenberg owns a company called Dogfart Productions
Inc. That company is connected to Dogfart.com and
six related porn sites. According to the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office, Rosenberg owns the
federal trademark for Dogfart. It is described in
patent records as being in the business of
"entertainment, namely, production of motion
picture films, videotapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs and
cassettes featuring adult entertainment; and
providing information in the field of adult
entertainment via a global computer network." An attempt to reach a Tempe man who claims in
his Internet site, Ishootporn.com, to be a
photographer for Dogfart or some of its sites also
was unsuccessful. His blogs often refer to taking
pictures as "Dogfart's Secret Mansion" and suggest
it is in California. A man who answered the phone
at a tiny office on Mill Avenue that is listed as
the technical contact for the site hung up. March Gathering in
Tempe Although experts estimate 80 percent of porn is
filmed in California, the industry has a presence
in the Valley [i.e. metropolitan Phoenix],
although it is unclear how large. One of
Rosenberg's sites mentioned certain sex acts and
said last week "now filming in Glendale, Laveen,
Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe." In March, Tempe's Mission Palms hotel was the
site for a gathering of porn-industry insiders. The eighth-annual event included seminars on
legal, billing and other issues and offered a happy
hour at a Hooters restaurant and a golf
tournament. The forum was sponsored in part by a low-key but
major Tempe-based payment processing company called
CCBill. The company claims in its ads to process
millions of Internet payments a year. CCBill
officials declined comment. Trouble At the
Mansion From the street, Rosenberg's graceful,
Tudor-style mansion appears inconsistent with the
porn industry. The secluded home is tucked back off Kyrene
Road, just north of Ray Road, and sits amid 10
acres [4 hectares] dotted with numerous
pine trees, gardens and a private lake. The home
has 10 bathrooms and looks like it could fit into
the English countryside. But inside there are Gothic touches, including a
hand-painted mural that Rosenberg commissioned
showing Archangel Michael and the devil. Prior to revelations about his porn business
surfacing, Rosenberg allowed a reporter and
photographers to tour the house with a Realtor,
showing off extensive hand-carved wood adornments
and furniture, chandeliers, an ornate TV theater
room and part of his collection of about 20
vehicles. He also offered a tour of a secret basement room
with an entrance hidden behind a bookshelf that was
originally built as a bomb shelter. Rosenberg said
he called it "the dungeon." According to police reports, it was in this
hidden room that Chandler police found Rosenberg
hiding in June when they searched his house after
responding to a complaint that he had assaulted his
longtime girlfriend and mother of his two young
sons. According to police records, she said Rosenberg
got mad after she asked if he had been to a strip
club, then picked her up and pushed her against the
kitchen counter. Because of the home's size, the first officers
to respond had to ask for backup searching the
mansion's rooms and 1000-square-foot [93 square
metre] guest house. It took four officers to sweep the house looking
for Rosenberg, and they had to kick in at least
three locked doors. When they did, police reports
said, they found two other men and two women in
various rooms. One woman lying on a couch appeared to be
intoxicated, police said, and claimed to work as an
exotic dancer. The other woman admitted using
cocaine the day before, police said. After police had searched every room,
Rosenberg's girlfriend told them about the
"dungeon" behind the bookcase. That's where police
found him. Rosenberg has been charged with misdemeanor
assault and disorderly conduct in the incident. He's due in court today. -
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