Aryan Brotherhood To Assist OJ In Prison: More Charges Filed Against O.J.; 4th Arrested

http://www.newsmax.com/us/o.j._simpson/2007/09/18/33795.html

Charges Filed Against O.J.; 4th Arrested

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

LAS VEGAS -- Prosecutors filed formal charges, including kidnapping, against

O.J. Simpson on Tuesday in an alleged armed robbery of sports memorabilia in

a casino hotel room. Simpson faces the possibility of life in prison if

convicted of the charges filed by Clark County District Attorney David

Roger.

Roger added five charges, including two counts of kidnapping and one count

of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, each felonies, to the assault and

robbery with a deadly weapon charges used to arrest the fallen football star

on Sunday, according to documents released by Las Vegas Justice Court.

Simpson was charged along with three other men who police believe barged

into a hotel room at the Palace Station casino and stole sports memorabilia

from two collectors.

According to the complaint, the group went to Room 1203 under the pretext of

brokering a deal with Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong, two longtime

collectors of Simpson memorabilia. Once in the room, Simpson prevented one

of the collectors from calling 911 on his cell phone "by ripping it out of

Bruce Fromong's hand" while one or more accomplices pointed or displayed a

handgun, the document says.

The complaint does not specify which of the men involved was carrying the

weapon.

The kidnapping charges accuse the men of detaining each of the men "against

his will, and without his consent, for the purpose of committing a robbery."

Fromong, a crucial witness in the case, was in critical condition in a Los

Angeles hospital on Tuesday, after suffering a heart attack. Beardsley has

said he does not want to pursue the case.

Simpson sat in a Las Vegas jail awaiting a Wednesday arraignment on the

charges, which include 10 felonies against him. Two others named in the

complaint, Walter Alexander and Clarence Stewart, have been arrested and

released pending court hearings.

A fourth suspect, Michael McClinton, 49, of Las Vegas, surrendered to police

Tuesday. Police describe McClinton as "a key player" in the alleged theft.

Police were seeking two more suspects who had not been identified.

Simpson, 60, has been in and out of the spotlight since he was acquitted in

1995 of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron

Goldman. He was found liable for the deaths in a civil trial and ordered to

pay a $33.5 million judgment.

Earlier Tuesday, a California judge denied a request filed by Goldman's

father to take Simpson's earnings from autograph signings, video games and

other items to help satisfy the judgment.

Judge Gerald Rosenberg gave Fred Goldman's lawyer, David Cook, one week to

deliver a list of sports memorabilia items the former football star was

accused of stealing from the hotel room.

Some of the missing goods, including autographed footballs, were turned in

Monday by Stewart, 53, of Las Vegas, before he was released on $78,000 bail.

Another man charged, Alexander, 46, of Mesa, Ariz., said he blames a

memorabilia dealer who tipped Simpson off that some of his collectibles were

being sold. Tom Riccio brought Simpson to the room and then recorded the

confrontation that led to Simpson's arrest.

"It sounds like a setup to me," Alexander told ABC's "Good Morning America"

on Tuesday.

Tom Riccio, a California auctioneer who Simpson said arranged the hotel room

meeting, reportedly sold the audio to the celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com.

He said Tuesday that Simpson hatched the idea himself.

"O.J. came up with some way-out ideas before I finally agreed to the last

one, which didn't go the way he said it would go. I didn't do anything wrong

was the bottom line," Riccio told the Fox News Channel.

Another man, Tom Scotto, was questioned and cleared of suspicion after

police concluded he was not in the room.

Yale Galanter, Simpson's lawyer, has said he is preparing a bond motion and

will ask for Simpson's release on his own recognizance.

"If it was anyone other than O.J. Simpson, he would have been released by

now," he said.

"You can't rob something that is yours," Galanter said. "O.J. said, 'You've

got stolen property. Either you return it or I call the police.'"

Witnesses and authorities have said that they don't believe Simpson had a

gun but that some of the men who accompanied him during the confrontation

were armed. Simpson has said he wasn't armed and that he went to the hotel

simply to retrieve property that had been stolen from him.

Simpson and the three other suspects face multiple felonies, conspiracy to

commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit robbery, two counts of kidnapping

with use of the deadly weapon, burglary while in possession of the deadly

weapon, two counts of robbery with use of a deadly weapon and two counts of

assault with a deadly weapon. They are also charged with conspiracy to

commit a crime, a gross misdemeanor. Simpson alone is charged with an

additional felony, coercion with use of a deadly weapon.

The most serious of the charges, kidnapping, carries the maximum sentence of

life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Asked if the number of new charges seemed extreme given the circumstances, a

leading Las Vegas defense attorney said prosecutors often aim high.

"It's typical for them to allege as many crimes as they believe they can

establish probable cause for, knowing that to some degree it may not

completely pan out that way. It adds to the pressure on the defendant for

the purpose of negotiation," said David Chesnoff, adding that the charges

make it likely Simpson will be asked to post a "very high bail."

In court in Santa Monica, Goldman attorney Cook accused Simpson of "sitting

on a treasure trove of sports memorabilia," while ignoring the

multimillion-dollar judgment.

Cook argued Simpson was wealthy, citing a 2003 tax form indicating income of

$400,000. He also said Simpson has four pensions _ three for his NFL, TV and

movie work and a private stock account worth more than $2 million.

Slates scoffed, noting money from the pension funds are exempt from the

judgment and Simpson has expenses for his three children.

"He has a right, like everybody else, to be protected (under the law),"

Slates said.

He also said Simpson has repeatedly offered to settle the judgment with the

Goldman family.

Cook replied it would be "a cold day in hell" when that would happen.

"It is inconceivable that the father of a murder victim would sit and

haggle," Cook said.