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W. Babylon man's 'Viagra' missile lands him in trouble

October 9, 2008

Arye Sachs likes getting a rise out of people.

The aviation buff is apt to greet strangers in a flight suit and park restored airplane cockpits in the driveway of his brick West Babylon home.

But the former Israeli Army sergeant's latest project - taking a 25-foot-long replica missile emblazoned with the words "Viva Viagra" on a tour of midtown Manhattan last month - has landed him in hot water.

After making stops in Times Square and at Trump Tower, Sachs, 48, towed his trailer-mounted Viagra missile to the 42nd Street headquarters of Pfizer Inc., the drug's maker.

Pfizer's lawyers took notice and slapped him with a lawsuit, citing trademark infringement and demanding he stop using the name of its popular drug on his metal rocket.

Sachs on Tuesday had to stand before federal Judge William Pauley III in Manhattan, who on Sept. 18 issued a temporary restraining order against him, and answer questions - most notably, how in the world he got the object into Manhattan.

Sachs said it was easy. He hauled it behind his Ford pickup through the Midtown Tunnel.

"New York City cops are smart. They know the difference between a mock-up and the real thing," he told Newsday, adding that the officers guarding the tunnels didn't hassle him at all about his homemade missile. It's fashioned out of government surplus airplane parts (an afterburner and the tip of a fuel tank) and sheets of aluminum.

MTA police, which oversees the Midtown Tunnel, did not return calls for comment. [CORRECTION: Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bridges and Tunnels oversees the Midtown Tunnel. The agency was incorrect in yesterday's editions. (A17 ALL 10/10/2008)]

Though he is launching a business, Jetangel.com, that would deploy his collection of restored fighter jet cockpits as movable billboards, he denied that his Viagra missile was a publicity stunt.

"It's all about aviation and art and fun, and seeing people react with smiles and laughs," said the retired jeweler and father of four.

But Pfizer doesn't share his sense of humor.

Sally Beatty, a Pfizer spokeswoman, said the company took a hard line with Sachs because "we do feel it is important to protect the integrity of our medicine."

Sachs is fighting the suit, arguing that his use of Viagra's name on his missile is protected under the First Amendment.

He said the rockets - his collection includes a dual "Obama-Oh Mama" and "Viva McCain" projectile - grew out of his passion for airplanes.

"Most people collect model airplanes. I collect the real ones," he said.

He recently got into more trouble when he towed his Obama-McCain missile to Washington, D.C., where he says he was detained by the Secret Service.

"They stopped me for four hours. They checked everything from my shoe size to what I did for the Israeli army, and they let me go with a smile," he said. The Secret Service did not return a call last night.

While he stores his cockpits and rockets in a fenced-in lot, he sometimes parks them outside his house, stopping traffic and annoying a few neighbors.

"Seeing a missile in the driveway just got us a little worried. But I took a look at it to make sure it was hollow," said Mike Ramous, 38, a truck driver, who likes the rockets and thinks they are fun.

But Vicky Sigalas, 46, called the missiles an eyesore and said they have no business in a residential neighborhood. "They belong in Republic Airport," she said.