Zoning violations also alleged against owner
By: Molly Petrilla
FLORENCE The owner and manager of a Route 130 adult bookstore face multiple charges resulting from alleged zoning violations and various criminal offenses, police said Friday.
According to police, two detectives had been investigating Florence Adult Books alongside the township’s code enforcement officer in response to reports from residents and other officials, and on Aug. 31, police arrested store manager John A. O’Brien, 61, and owner John Bordone, 62, of Sewell, charging both men with running a sexually oriented business nuisance, failure to post signs regarding age restrictions, and selling and renting pirated recordings.
Police also charged Mr. O’Brien with possession of a prohibited weapon and obstruction of law.
Though sexually oriented businesses are prohibited from having enclosed private booths with doors, or cutouts between the booths commonly known as "glory holes" police said they discovered both these things at Florence Adult Books. These violations are considered fourth-degree crimes, police said.
In addition, though Mr. O’Brien lists an official residence in Philadelphia, he told the arresting officers that he had been living in the store, which does not contain running water or bathroom facilities. This will likely lead to additional charges for health code violations, police said.
Police also said that Mr. O’Brien refused to comply with the detectives when they entered the store, and would not move from behind the counter area when asked to do so. According to police reports, he was "within inches of reaching towards an area where a machete was found."
Both men are being held in the Burlington County jail in lieu of bail which is set at $20,000 for Mr. O’Brien and $10,000 for Mr. Bordone.
According to police, Mr. Bordone has operated the store for more than 20 years, and has not encountered legal trouble until recently. In light of recent events, the store has been closed, and police said it will not reopen until all violations are cleared.

