Testimony In OJ Simpson Trial Begins
Testimony began in the OJ Simpson trial yesterday, detailing just what went down when OJ and his merry band of pranksters went memorabilia-shopping:
Expecting to sell O.J. Simpson collectibles to a wealthy buyer at a hotel here, memorabilia dealer Bruce Fromong was instead shoved, patted down and threatened with a gun by associates of the former NFL star, Fromong testified Monday.
Fromong said that during the six-minute confrontation, Simpson shouted: “Don’t let anybody out of this room. Nobody gets out of here.” Simpson, Fromong added, accused him of stealing the memorabilia, yelling, “I thought you were a good guy!” [...]
In opening remarks, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Chris Owens tied the alleged robbery of Fromong and another collectibles dealer to the 1997 civil jury decision that awarded $33.5 million to the heirs of Goldman and Simpson’s slain ex-wife.
Simpson hid valuable mementos with friends to avoid handing them over to Goldman’s father, Fred, Owens said. One of those friends, a former agent, did not return those items to Simpson, Owens said. The former USC football standout, believing some of the items ended up in the hands of a memorabilia dealer, decided to set up a sting, the prosecutor said.“You will be able to write that final chapter,” Owens told the panel. “The chapter of arrogance and hypocrisy, and that will be the true verdict.”
Simpson, 61, faces a dozen charges in connection to the alleged robbery of Fromong and another collectibles dealer at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino. The most serious charge — kidnapping — carries a potential life sentence.
Simpson maintains that he was trying to retrieve stolen items, including pictures of his children and his late parents.
“This was a recovery; this wasn’t a robbery,” said Simpson attorney Yale Galanter in his opening remarks.
No, I’m pretty sure it was a robbery:
Fromong expected to meet a wealthy buyer in Room 1203. He had 700 to 800 items, including signed footballs, baseballs and sports photos; a picture that J. Edgar Hoover had signed for Simpson; and three of Simpson’s ties.
Instead, Fromong said, “the door burst open . . . and then people started rushing in.”
One man carried a gun in his waistband, Fromong testified. Another waved his weapon and snapped, “If we were in L.A., things would be a lot different,” Fromong said.
“They took everything except for two baseball bats,” Fromong said.
His testimony had to stop as he began to feel dizzy and lightheaded. The man has had four heart attacks since this happened! Of course, if I thought the Juice might come after me, I might have a heart attack or two myself.
It seems that even though they don’t want to draw comparisons to OJ’s previous trial, it just can’t be helped, since the hiding of valuable memorabilia seems to be what led to this action in the first place. But is there really a market for OJ stuff any more? Well, other than for the morbidly curious.
It remains to be seen if the current jury can put the previous trial out of their minds and ignore the temptation to “get it right this time.” However, I still say that because of OJ’s trying to hide valuables with his friends, you just cannot escape comparisons to the two trials, and they are linked.
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends…
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