bumfight producers plead guilty
 

Posted: 9:16 a.m. EDT May 10, 2003
Updated: 11:54 a.m. EDT May 11, 2003

SAN DIEGO -- Three producers of the "Bumfights" video pleaded guilty Friday to misdemeanor charges that they paid homeless men to duke it out in front of the camera.



BUMFIGHT VIDEO

See Images From The Video



Ryan McPherson, 19, Daniel J. Tanner, 21, and Zachary Bubeck, 24, all face probation and up to a year in jail when they are sentenced June 20 by Judge Charles Ervin.




'Bumfights' Video Shocks Court



All three pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to promote illegal fighting.

A fourth defendant, 21-year-old Michael Slyman, pleaded guilty to the same charge March 17 and is scheduled to be sentenced next Friday.

After a five-day preliminary hearing in January, a different judge dismissed felony charges of solicitation to commit a felony, and reduced other felony charges to misdemeanors.

Michael Pancer, the attorney for Bubeck, said the case against the four defendants was "overblown and, in parts, flat out absurd."

The attorney said the three defendants conspired by offering one homeless man something of value for a doughnut.

But Deputy District Attorney Curtis Ross called the defendants' actions "extremely cruel" and "cold-hearted conduct," which has ruined the lives of several homeless men.

He said the defendants acted the way they did out of "sick humor and a desire for financial gain at the peril of others."

"Bumfights" has sold more than 300,000 copies online for $20 each.

Performers typically were paid $5 to $100 by the filmmakers, who contend the fights and stunts were voluntary.

Three homeless men -- Rufus Hannah, Donnie Brennan and Peter LaForte -- have filed a lawsuit against the "Bumfights" producers.

hilarious

"Performers typically were paid $5 "


LOL

about as funny as paying some chick who was probably retarded $5 for a photo shoot. Taking advantage of, and worse profiting from, people who are obviously fucked up is pathetic.

Pornographers talking about morality always makes my day.:)

dood I filmed both.... I filmed Bumhunter section... and I film girls now... and the sad thing is these bums act better than girls do ..... they knew what was going to happen... the lawsuit is obsurd.... on all parties....

you mean you can't even draw a line in this business? wtf. anything goes?

LOL...I never said any such thing...i just said that pornographers who argue morality on a BBS make me laugh.....

:)

You know that more then 50% of the webmasters that do porn would have done some filming or promoting for bumfights.

I watched it and didn't really like much of it, but I was fucking glued to the TV the whole time.

DirtyD you filmed that bum hunter part???

That was the worst! But I couldn't turn away LOL

After all the buzz it got at Internexxt I figured it had to be pretty funny. I watched about 20-30 minutes and found it boring. The only reason I kept watching as long as I did was that I assumed it had to get funnier. It didn't.

The ads for it were funny. The actual DVD kinda sucked.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh

I thought it was pretty overrated -- how hard is it to get bums to do stupid stuff for next to nothing?