PANAMA CITY, FL — It’s been a while since Girls Gone Wild empire builder Joe Francis had any good news. Currently chilling his heels and other body parts in a Nevada prison for tax evasion, the possibility of less jail time is likely very happy news indeed.The good news in question relates to two young women who had planned to drag the notorious smut peddler through yet another court battle, this time for supposedly capturing their potentially embarrassing sexual behavior on camera without their permission.
Unfortunately for the girls, Francis’ cameraman had recorded at least one of them giving her consent. The sound of Christina Brose’ voice on MeetJoeFrancis.com as she told the camera “You have my full permission to put this on anything. I don’t care” would likely have been damning evidence, indeed, for the money hungry couple. Her friend, Brooke Pastolic’s addition of “Tomorrow we’re going to be, like, ‘what the fuck were we doing?” is almost prophetic.
The clip, which appears online, inspired the duo to release an official statement admitting that “we have agreed to dismiss our lawsuit and acknowledge that no money has to be paid to either of us.”
Francis understandably opines that Brooke Patsolic and Christina Brose were after his money. “It’s purely based off of greed,” he observed to the New York Daily News, in reference to the Girls Gone Wild: Endless Spring Break Vol. 6 inspired case.
According to Francis, who says he’s “very pleased” with how things have turned out, his incarceration has made him the target of lawyers eager to take advantage of his vulnerable situation. A prime example of this thinking can be seen in the girls’ choice of venue: Panama City, FL, where Francis was cited with contempt during a courtroom temper tantrum. The footage in question was shot in Orlando, FL.
Francis contends that many of his legal woes stem from the lies of women who experience regret for their actions and see him as an easy mark with deep pockets. He warns any others who might be waiting in the wings that “I am prepared to fight back, and I will defend myself against all baseless allegations against me.”
He contends that footage similar to what caused Patsolic and Brose to drop their suit would likewise exonerate him in the Panama City case, which was brought by girls who he claims lied about their age on camera and provided false release forms.
While that may be the case, the court battle awaiting him in Nevada has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with tax-evasion. Currently scheduled for trial in April of 2008, Francis can’t even look forward to the possibility of release from his Reno prison, since Florida courts are eager to begin proceedings on six counts of felony prostitution, racketeering, and conspiracy, as well as two counts of transporting contraband into a jail cell, when he was caught with unauthorized prescription medications while spending 35 days in jail.
