Please Don’t Quit, Mark Suben!

Here in the northeast (and maybe elsewhere), a lot has been made of Cortland County (NY) prosecutor Mark Suben coming clean about his porn past. Suben, under the nom de porn, Guy Thomas, made 10 or so movies from 1972 to 1974.

According to nj.com, a YouTube video made the rounds during Suben’s re-election, in what I assume was an attempt to smear him.  The video is snarky and, at 15 minutes, overly long to make their point.

But, he has since admitted that Mark Suben = Guy Thomas.  His spokesperson said:

“This was nearly 40 years ago. It was not illegal. Mark Suben was not yet married. He was not practicing law and he was not a law student . . . it has nothing to do with his law practice or his current position as the district attorney of Cortland County.”

(I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure it technically would have been illegal at the time he was shooting porn in New York.  Porn production wasn’t really legalized until Hal Freeman fought his way to the California Supreme Court and even then, it merely legalized shooting porn in California.  But I think that hunting down that witch  is more akin to protesting that someone took a drink during prohibition…)

Semantics aside, Suben didn’t do anything wrong by modern standards, and his acts a lifetime ago shouldn’t have any bearing on his acts in his current life.

Politically, we understand you can’t embrace your porn past, and your statements make it clear you’re very embarrassed by them:

“I used bad judgment myself in my youth. . . I was an actor in adult films in the early 1970s. I also acted in other venues, off-Broadway, soap operas. . . A few weeks ago, when asked, I denied this to members of the press. I regret that and I apologize. I was shocked to be confronted by this so many years later.  .  . I was embarrassed for my family and friends who have stood by me. I also denied my actions to my family, my friends and my staff. After that brief period of my life, I found my calling in the law, particularly in prosecution, and have dedicated my life and my career to doing what I’ve been elected to do – protecting my home community.  I will continue to do that. I cannot defend my bad judgment, both my involvement years ago and my denial of it recently.”

I agree with half of his last statement.  Lying about it recently did no good.  But having done it years ago — was it bad judgement at the time, or in hindsight now that you carry an elected position and now that such a thing might not get you elected again?

I say, perhaps the lying is what you should be held accountable for and embarrassed by; not the fact that you fucked some girls on film back in the days when you were footloose and fancy free and not a public servant.

So, Mark, please don’t quit.  Don’t cave into pressure.  Keep putting away the bad guys.  Blaze a trail for so many others who have been ostracized for legal choices they made years ago and are still paying the price… and own the fact that you got to bang Georgina Spelvin and Darby Lloyd Rains and 80’s disco sensation Andrea True!