Man Who Allegedly Had Sex In St. Pat's Dies Of Heart Attack

WNBC Television ^ | 10/1/2003 | Puppage

[Puppage]

NEW YORK -- A man who was to appear in court Tuesday on charges of having sex with his girlfriend inside St. Patrick's Cathedral as part of a radio show stunt has died at his home in Virginia. Brian Florence, 38, died Sept. 25 of a heart attack in Alexandria, said the couple's lawyer, Maranda Fritz. She said the funeral was Monday, and his co-defendant and girlfriend, Loretta Lynn Harper, 36, is "still in a state of shock."

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Barbara Jaffe adjourned the case until Nov. 6 after Fritz told her Florence had died.

The lawyer said her clients had expected to plead guilty to a minor charge and receive a no-jail sentence.

A third man involved in the sexcapade, radio producer Paul Mercurio, 43, pleaded guilty earlier in the day to disorderly conduct. The judge ordered him to perform seven days of community service with a group that delivers meals to AIDS patients.

Florence and Harper were arrested Aug. 15, 2002, for allegedly having sex inside St. Patrick's after a mid-Manhattan public sex odyssey that had gone on for at least three hours, according to a misdemeanor complaint filed at their arraignment.

The complaint did not list all the sex stops the couple allegedly made, but police said after the arrest that they included a Disney store, the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store, the Carnegie Deli, an ATM vestibule, the back seat of a taxi and a hotel lobby.

The complaint said Officer William Smith, of the Midtown North Precinct, was listening to the "Opie and Anthony Show" when he heard Mercurio say on the air that he was speaking on a cell phone while watching the couple in action in the cathedral.

About 5 p.m., the complaint said, Smith arrested the couple after they had sex in a vestibule just a few feet from worshippers. The incident had been part of a regular feature in which couples could win prizes for having sex in public places.

Mercurio read a statement in court saying he was instructed to take one of the couples who participated in the show to some of the public locations chosen by the staff so they could engage in actual or simulated sexual conduct that he would describe over the radio.

"Upon entering the cathedral, I led Ms. Harper and Mr. Florence to a vestibule located toward the front of the cathedral," Mercurio said. "I then proceeded to broadcast their simulated actions live over the air, despite the fact that there were parishioners present in the cathedral."

Mercurio said he had apologized to church officials for what happened and was apologizing publicly in court.

The couple's alleged antics inside the landmark midtown Manhattan cathedral resulted in WNEW-FM, the station on which the show aired, firing the two DJs, Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia.

[The Great RJ]

While God's compassion is limitless, I somehow imagine this guy is picnicing with the Hussain boys on a beach of molten lava next to a sea of sewage under a sky of flames.

[US admirer]

"There is very little chance that this was not a direct Act of G-d."


Richmond Times Dispatch
Anne Noyme
10/1/2003

Richmond - Brian Florence, 38, of Virginia Beach Virginia was found dead in his home early Tuesday morning. He was awaiting trial in a highly publicized case in New York City, where he stood accused, with co-defendant Loretta Lynn Harper, of trespassing in relation to an incident where it is alleged that Florence and Harper, engaged in intercourse in a Manhattan Catholic church.

Preliminary results of an autopsy performed at the Medical College of Virginia indicate that Florence suffered from a rare congenital cardiac condition that predisposes to arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms, which could lead to sudden cardiac death. Although present from birth, the condition is frequently without symptoms.

The court case involving Florence and Harper has been postponed until November.

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I guess God was just waiting 38 years to nail him for boinking in church!

[Lazamataz]

I guess G_d was just waiting 38 years to nail him for boinking in church!

To G_d, 38 years is a second.

[whereasandsoforth]

My best friend's brother dropped dead on January 3. He was 39 years old. He was a minister; a follower of Christ all his life. There was never any indication of heart problems. Just a sudden death at 39. You never know.

[US admirer]

I thought it was infinitely short and long, all at the same time. But hey, who's counting?

[US admirer]

The Virginia Beach Intelligencier
Ira Taitng
10/1/2003

Virginia Beach – Father Gerald Fare, of St Elisabeth’s Parish in Virginia Beach, contradicted the results of an autopsy performed in Richmond yesterday, while affirming that it was nothing less than the righteous hand of God that reached down and squeezed the life out of Brian Florence, 38, of Virginia Beach on Tuesday. He also predicted an even harsher fate for the multitude of heathen fornicators warning, “You know who you are!” In related news, frogs were noted to be falling from the heavens yesterday.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Nope.

Bad idea!

Having sex IN the cathedral is ok, to be praised, and is an "artistic example of free speech in action."

To a liberal, having sex IN the cathedral is "performance art" "in protest of the church's hypocrisy, hatred, intolerance and homophobia" and MUST be paid for by an NEA grant.

---...---

(Having sex on the handicap ramp OUTSIDE the cathedral would have gotten the liberals mad at you for interfering with their access "rights".)

[Chad Fairbanks]

Having sex on the handicap ramp OUTSIDE the cathedral would have gotten the liberals mad at you for interfering with their access "rights".

Exactly my point - not only do you get sex, but you piss off liberals at the same time. ;0)

[Mr. C]

Ah, yes, Justice!

[Cagey]

Thanks for the heads up on this story.

I may go celebrate now but it won't be with a Sam Adams' beer. Hahahahaha

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I'm holding to my promise to you....... no Sam Adams......