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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| O. J. Simpson paid off witness, investigator tells court |
| 2008-12-13 |
| A key witness in O.J. Simpson's Las Vegas trial acknowledged to a Nevada investigator that the former NFL star paid him off, the investigator told a judge in Santa Monica this morning. The investigator from the Clark County district attorney's office said Alfred Beardsley admitted that Simpson gave him his Hall of Fame ring in exchange for altering his testimony to help the defense. "I asked what did you get to change your testimony," said Bill Falkner, who worked with prosecutors building the armed robbery and kidnapping case against Simpson. The answer, he said, was the Hall of Fame ring. The allegation came at a civil court hearing in which attorneys for Fred Goldman asked a judge to order Beardsley to turn over the ring to help satisfy a $33.5-million wrongful-death judgment against Simpson. A jury acquitted Simpson of the 1994 murders of Goldman's son, Ron, and Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. A civil jury later found him liable for the deaths. Beardsley attended the hearing, but when summoned to the witness stand, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to testify. His attorney said he instructed him not to answer questions because of rumors he heard about a grand jury investigation targeting Beardsley in Las Vegas. Simpson was sentenced a week ago to nine to 33 years in prison. A jury convicted him in October of armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges stemming from a confrontation with Beardsley and another memorabilia dealer in a casino hotel room last year. Prosecutors called Beardsley as a witness, but were taken aback when he testified that someone had tampered with an audio recording critical to their case. Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg ordered him back to court next Friday to hand over the ring. Outside court, however, his lawyer predicted that Beardsley would be empty-handed. "You can't turn over what you don't have," said lawyer Jack Swickard. Simpson's attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment. |
| Posted by:Fred |