Bryan Kocis

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Bryan Kocis

Born Bryan Charles Kocis
1962
Larksville, Pennsylvania
Died January 24, 2007 aged 45
Dallas Township, Pennsylvania
Cause of death Death by stabbing
Other names Bryan Phillips
Occupation Pornographer
Known for Cobra Video founder
Brent Corrigan controversy
Publicized death

Bryan Charles Kocis (May 28, 1962-January 24, 2007), also known as Bryan Phillips, was the founder of and director for the gay pornographic film studio, Cobra Video.[1] [2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Bryan Charles Kocis was born and raised in Larksville, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Boy Scouts and attained the rank of Eagle Scout from Troop 247 in 1979. He attended Wyoming Valley West High School winning several scholarships, graduating in 1980. He was winner of a nationwide photography contest. He attended the Rochester Institute of Technology. Upon graduation from RIT, he held a specialized position as a biomedical photographer for a local eye doctor in Kingston, Pennsylvania until the mid 1990s.[1]

[edit] Later life

Dissatisfied with his situation after his employer merged with another office in the mid-1990s, he left and tried his hand at several "legitimate" businesses. Each failed. His low point occurred in December 2001, when Kocis declared bankruptcy in federal court, hoping to eliminate $222,800 of debt mostly from credit cards and loans. Soon after resolving his legal troubles, though, interest in Kocis’ internet pornography products apparently boomed.[1] [2]

In the five years after his bankruptcy, he amassed a personal fortune that included a Maserati convertible, a BMW sport utility and a high-end, V8 Aston Martin. According to deeds filed in the Luzerne County Courthouse, in addition to his Dallas Township home, Kocis owned adjacent Rice Township parcels. One acquired for $159,900 in 2004 and another bought for $225,000 in 2006. The documents show no mortgages against the properties. Neighbors said Kocis claimed he paid the full cash amount upfront for both.[1] [2]

[edit] Allegations of sexual abuse of a child

In 2002, police found a videotape of Bryan Kocis, then 39, and a 15-year-old boy in his home. Kocis met the boy on the internet and transported him to his hometown. [3] Kocis pled guilty to one count of Sexual Abuse of a Child. He was initially charged with child pornography, and transportation of a minor for sexual purposes. Since the boy had lied about his age Kocis was given a probation sentence. [4]

In 2006 a judge signed paperwork changing Kocis' charge from sex assault to corruption of minors. Kocis' former attorney, Al Flora, said the change was made because the original charge of sexual assault of a child was a mistake and that, "We didn't realize there was an error until 2006." Flora said his former client was a legitimate businessman and not at all a pedophile. Kocis was not required to be registered as a Megan's Law offender.[5]

[edit] Death

Kocis was found dead on January 24, 2007, after a fire at his home. According to the coroner investigating the death, Kocis was stabbed 28 times and his throat was cut, nearly decapitating him, then his body left in the house which was set on fire. A folding-style knife was found nearby. Officials had to use dental records to identify Kocis, because his body was burned beyond recognition.[6] [7] [8] [9]

On the night of Kocis' death, police stated that they believed he was expecting to meet with a "new model." Police further revealed that Kocis had e-mailed some photos of the alleged new model to "an associate" whom he notified of the upcoming meeting. That associate then contacted police after the murder and provided e-mails to them to aid them in their investigation. Police released at least one of those photos to the public on February 2, 2007[10] Within 24-hours; various blogs reporting this murder within their respective communities identified this man as an escort working for Norfolk Companions, Inc; a Virginia-based escort service. The escort, who goes by the name "Harlow" has been identified in other blogs as potentially being the proprietor of the same company; listed in the Virginia business licenses office as "Harlow Cuadra." [11]

This meeting was to occur at Kocis' Luzerne County home according to newspapers in the area.

John Yates, a California attorney representing Sean Lockhart (Brent Corrigan), a former model of Cobra Video's that had been involved with a lengthy and rather public legal dispute, said January 25, 2007 that police were trying to locate that man. A "light-colored" SUV was seen leaving the scene and was sought by police.[12] [2]

Kocis and Lockhart had been embroiled in a bitter legal dispute since parting ways in 2005. Yates also represented Grant Roy and Lee Bergeron; others named in a suit Kocis filed in federal court. Police have interviewed or plan to interview several of Yates’ clients, including Lockhart.[12] On January 30, 2007, Yates stated Lockhart was seeking the counsel of a criminal attorney first.[13]

Believing the killer or killers had a “personal association” with Kocis, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s office sought all of the electronic communication of the 44-year-old during the week prior to his death. Police theorized Kocis' text messages, e-mails and voice mails would lead them to whomever committed the murder.[14]

On May 15, 2007, two Virginia Beach escorts, Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes, were charged with Kocis' murder. [15] Police arrested the pair after discovering evidence on Kocis' computer hard drive, which survived the fire. Police theorize they killed Kocis because they wanted to work with Sean Lockhart, an actor who was under contract to Kocis. According to police, in a January meeting, Cuadra alluded to killing Kocis if necessary in order to go into production with Lockhart. Cuadra emailed Kocis, assuming the identity of an aspiring porn actor, and arranged to meet Kocis on 24 January, 2007. In the email, he asked if they could meet alone. Cuadra and Kerekes were also shown on surveillance cameras buying a gun and knife at a local pawn shop. The knife is consistent with the one which was used to stab Kocis. Additionally, police have audio recordings of Cuadra saying, "Actually seeing that fucker going down, it's actually sick, but it made me feel better inside. It almost felt like I got revenge and I know that sounds fucked up". In a search of the pair's home, police also found video equipment which they believe belonged to Kocis.[16][17]

The pair claim they are innocent, and have set up a MySpace page to state their case.

At the preliminary hearing on 2007-08-27, a judge ruled that prosecutors had presented enough compelling evidence against the pair to warrant them being held for trial. A total of 14 witnesses, including two medical examiners, were questioned. Additionally, the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to charge the pair with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. This means that prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty.[18]

[edit] Cobra Video

Bryan Kocis established Cobra Video in 2001, [19] concentrating on the production of gay movies starring young twinks, exclusively in the 18-23 age category, engaged in either solo masturbation scenes or, mainly, bareback sex. Kocis cast and directed all Cobra productions until the time of his death.

[edit] "Brent Corrigan"

[edit] Videos

In August 2003 through February 2004, Kocis cast Sean Lockhart, a young model, in Cobra's Every Poolboy's Dream giving him the stage name of "Brent Corrigan".[14] Corrigan quickly went on to become the most famous, and most lucrative, of Kocis' stable of actors.

[edit] Allegations

On September 13, 2005, Corrigan's attorney announced publicly that Corrigan was underage when he filmed those scenes for Cobra Video, [20] and had used a fake ID to participate in those scenes. [20] Corrigan went on to state that Kocis was aware of his underage status.[21] Cobra denied that they were ever aware of such allegations and publicly stated that they had copies of Corrigan's ID's claiming a birth year of 1985[20]A final hearing in the matter was scheduled for February 21st, 2007. [22]

[edit] Brent Corrigan trademark

On October 9, 2006, Lockhart launched BrentCorriganOnline.com a private, members-only site in an attempt to "go solo." However, On October 11, 2006, they announced that online payment coordinator, CCBill had cancelled their contract--thereby preventing them from charging for their content. Statements on this site attribute the cancellation to "pressure" from Kocis.[citation needed]

[edit] Pulled films

On two separate occasions, Kocis voluntarily pulled several of his videos from store shelves due to a public claim by Brent Corrigan that he was underage during the filming of scenes before 2004. On September 13, 2005, the four Cobra Video titles featuring the disputed Corrigan scenes[23] were removed. On April 12, 2006, DVD and VHS copies of Campus Boys 1 and Campus Boys 2 were also removed. No reason was given in the later case, but an email, issued through Cobra's video distribution company Pacific Sun Entertainment, stated "Under no circumstances should these titles be sold, rented or shipped to anyone. They must be boxed, sealed, and stored at your facilities until further notice." [24]

[edit] Partial videography

  • Every Poolboy's Dream, 2004 (Cobra Video)
  • Schoolboy Crush, 2004 (Cobra Video)
  • Bareboned Twinks, 2005 (Cobra Video)
  • Casting Couch 4, 2005 (Cobra Video)

The previous four titles have been voluntarily removed from circulation due to Corrigan's underage dispute. They have remained for sale on internet auction sites.

  • Cream BBoys, 2006 (Cobra Video)
  • Naughty Boy's Toys, 2006 (Cobra Video)
  • Brent Corrigan: Fuck Me Raw, 2006 (Cobra Video)
  • Take It Like A Bitch Boy, 2006 (Cobra Video)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Malcolm, Wade. Murder victim led guarded life. CitizensVoice.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-28.
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Edward. "Probe into Kocis death continues", TimesLeader.com, 2007-02-04. Retrieved on 2007-02-05. 
  3. ^ Dallas Township man charged with sexually assaulting teen
  4. ^ Dallas Township man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of children
  5. ^ Buynovsky, Sarah. Questions Arise about Kocis' Legal Past. WNEP.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  6. ^ Lewis, Edward. "Man found in burned home was murdered", TimesLeader.com, 2007-01-25. Retrieved on 2007-01-25. 
  7. ^ "Update: Coroner says victim dead at time of fire", 2007-01-25. Retrieved on 2007-01-25. 
  8. ^ "Gay porn producer slain", TimesLeader.com, 2007-01-26. Retrieved on 2007-01-26. 
  9. ^ Yum, Rosa. Court Papers: Kocis Stabbed Dozens of Times. WNEP.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
  10. ^ "Person of Interest in Kocis Murder", wnep.com, 2007-02-02. Retrieved on 2007-02-02. 
  11. ^ Virginia State Corporation Commission Clerks Information System. State of Virginia (2007-02-02). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  12. ^ a b Kalinowski, Robert. Cops seek driver seen near Kocis murder scene. CitizensVoice.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-28.
  13. ^ Dobo, Nichole. Attorney says two men have information about Kocis’ guest. CitizensVoice.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
  14. ^ a b Malcolm, Wade. Phone, computer records sought. CitizensVoice.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  15. ^ Malcolm, Wade. 2 Men Charged with Murder. Times-Leader.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-15.
  16. ^ Gay porn actors charged with killing executive in scheme to work with star; Simon, Mallory, CourtTV.com; 2007-07-17; accessed 2007-08-16
  17. ^ Virginia Seizes Assets Of Pair Accused Of Killing Gay Porn Producer; 365gay.com;2007-08-15; accessed 2007-08-16
  18. ^ Enough Evidence Against Pair In Gay Slaying For Murder Trial Judge Rules; published 2007-08-27; retrieved 2007-08-30
  19. ^ http://www.cobravideo.com/compliance.htm Cobra Video required 2257 compliance
  20. ^ a b c "Brent Corrigan," who appears in at least four titles for Cobra Video, was possibly under 18 when he performed in them, according to information supplied by the performer's attorney, Chad Belville of Tempe, Arizona." Possibly Underage Gay Performer Worked for Cobra
  21. ^ " Yes. 17. Officially underage." Underage but man enough to tell (pdf)
  22. ^ Liebacki, Ron. Kocis Firm Suing Actor for $1M. TimesLeader.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-28.
  23. ^ "Pacific Sun Entertainment, which distributes Cobra Video titles, has notified all of its customers to pull the titles from their shelves, a Pacific Sun spokesman told GAYVN." Possibly Underage Gay Performer Worked for Cobra
  24. ^ http://www.gayvn.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=News&Action=View_Article&Content_ID=264720 GAYVN Article

[edit] External links