DENVER, CO – Much is often said about the shortage of generous donations to worthy causes and much is also often said about the hard hearts allegedly possessed by those who work within or profit from the adult industry. But little is said about what happens when a soft-hearted pornographer gives or hopes to give generously to a charitable organization – unless, of course, said pornographer gets in trouble and said charities suddenly feel compelled to distance themselves from the donor in an attempt to save face.Such may well be the case in the developing story featuring Eddie Wedelstedt, a 63-year-old Colorado man who has made his millions through Goalie Entertainment Holdings, which owns approximately 60 adult bookstores in 18 states, as well as employs at least 1,100 people. Unfortunately for Wedelstedt, six of those stores are located in Texas.
Due to a plea bargain, Wedelstedt will soon turn over ownership of the half-dozen stores, along with $1.25 million seized during obscenity raids, and serve approximately 13 months in prison. Although each side tells a slightly different story, Hank Asbill, Wedelsted’s DC attorney, explains that a single video was declared obscene by a northern Texas judge, who had jurisdiction because the title had crossed state lines during shipment to Texas. Additionally, Wedelstedt admitted to being part of a conspiracy to hide income received from video arcades, as well as having given cash gifts to some employees who did not report them as income. Federal prosecutors agreed to not press charges against Wedelstedt’s wife or five of his employees and not seize all of his business assets in exchange for the guilty plea.
All of this is understandably upsetting to Wedelstedt, his business, and his family – but the man’s chief concern appears to be for what he calls his “kids.”
Like most businessmen, including those within the adult industry, Wedelstedt has a multi-prong approach to charitable giving. In addition to going door-to-door dressed as Santa and handing out gifts to needy children, Wedelstedt has always given directly to children’s charities, as well as through the Goalie Charitable Foundation, which provides “financial assistance to neglected, underprivileged, and abused children with life-threatening illnesses and children who need financial assistance for education,” and the Eddie’s Kids foundation, which donates tickets to sporting events to charities serving disadvantaged youths.
Wedelstedt’s chief concern as he approaches his jail date is that monies continue to go toward his good causes. Alas for him, the publicity from his court case has several of those agencies wondering whether it would be better to turn his money down. “We’re very careful who we associate with,” Mike McCubbin, a spokesman for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado Inc., reminds Wedelstedt that in some people’s minds, money from people who have chosen a life in the adult entertainment industry may not be good enough for the poor and underprivileged. But McCubbin isn’t ready to cut ties just yet. “If you know you’re getting money from a disreputable source – and I’m not saying Eddie’s Kids is disreputable – it can kind of taint what you do,” he explains.
Wedelstedt, meanwhile, urges the organizers of the charities he’s helped in the past to remember that “These kids deserve a break. Let’s not punish the children if somebody thinks I’m a bad guy.”
According to Wedelstedt, Eddie’s Kids has raised more approximately a million dollars a year, much from the sex industry, and has provided about 45,000 tickets per year so that children could attend major-league and college sporting events. Kroenke Sports representatives have assured the press that the organization is well aware of where Wedelstedt’s rent money comes from and has every intention of continuing to work with Eddie’s Kids to meet its decade-long commitment to children.
Thank you letters on Eddie’s Kids and Goalie Entertainment websites show how many mainstream causes Wedelstedt has assisted during the years, which doubtlessly rattle the cages of those dedicated to vilifying the adult industry. Denver Public Schools, various individual schools, Kempe Children’s Foundation, and other groups suddenly find themselves faced with a PR decision that not only may affect future donations but also establish their official position on matters of economic and career diversity. A representative for the Denver Public Schools, for instance, insisted that had the schools known about the source of the sporting event tickets, they would unquestionably had said “’No, thank you,’” to their donation.
Wedelstedt scoffs at the idea that local charities were somehow duped into accepting donations by a deceptive pornographer. “Hypocrites,” he concludes. “They came to my parties, came to my events. Then they turn around and say they didn’t know I was adult? They knew.”
