DOCUMENT: Celebrity, Sex

Caught On Tape: Opie And Anthony's Sex Stunt

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Church Sex Complaint

AUGUST 23--We don't usually agree with the Catholic League, but moronic shock jocks Opie and Anthony got just what they deserved for broadcasting last week's stunt involving the Virginia couple arrested for having sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia were canned yesterday for the August 15 incident that resulted in the arrest of Brian Florence and Loretta Harper for public lewdness. Opie and Anthony flunky Paul Mercurio--who provided listeners with a running account of the St. Pat's incident--was also arrested. Florence and Harper--dubbed the "Juicy Lips" team--were one of several couples entered in the radio show's "Sex for Sam" contest, where participants were given points for having sex in public places like St. Patrick's (25 points), Trump Tower (15 points), and Central Park (10 points).

They were also awarded points for specific sex acts, with the WNEW-FM hosts gleefully reporting when couples completed a "two-point conversion" or "balloon knot," Opie and Anthony slang for anal sex. At one point, Hughes announced what the Virginia couple earned for the St. Patrick's stunt: "Oh my God, 25 points, a two-point conversion, and eternal damnation."

Contest winners were to be awarded a trip to Boston for a music festival sponsored by Samuel Adams. In fact, Jim Koch, the publicly-held brewery's chairman/spokesman, was actually present--and apparently enjoying himself--in the Opie and Anthony studio as the sex contest occurred and official "spotters" like Mercurio called in with updates from the field. Koch, referred to as the event's "Grand Marshal," described the participating couples as "awesome, all of 'em, better teams. The quality gets better every year." Since Opie and Anthony dubbed Koch a "celebrity," a sex act occurring before the corporate boss was worth 30 points. Five couples attempted to perform in front of Koch in WNEW's studio, though only two succeeded in earning points.

The results of last year's "Sex for Sam" contest--and the corresponding points list--are no longer available on WNEW's web site, but can be viewed by clicking here.

Below you'll find audio excerpts from the offending broadcast, including live play-by-play by Mercurio, a belligerent, odious guy who appears most responsible for the St. Patrick's sacrilege. On the tape, Mercurio is heard lying to cops and cathedral security guards, claiming that Florence and Harper--who were referred to on-air by false names--were friends who he was accompanying on a tour of Manhattan (Mercurio said the trio was in St. Patrick's looking for a bathroom). According to the misdemeanor complaint filed against Florence and Harper, the couple was spotted having sex in a church vestibule, "rocking their pelvises back and forth." Harper, with her back to Florence, was found naked from the waist down and "her genitals were open to view by the public." For his part, Florence was spotted placing "his hands in his genital area and was touching his genital area."

Listen to an MP3 clip here: