Posted by
William F. Johnson on Friday, December 12, 2008 10:10:20 PM
One of the victims in an O.J. Simpson-led robbery in a Las
Vegas hotel room was ordered by a judge Friday to turn over the ex-NFL
star's Pro Football Hall of Fame ring, even though a lawyer for the
memorabilia dealer claims he doesn't have it.
During
the hearing, an investigator from the Las Vegas district attorney's
office suggested the dealer, Alfred Beardsley, had received the ring
from Simpson in exchange for changing his testimony during the robbery
case.
Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg ordered
Beardsley to produce the ring by next
Friday.
Beardsley took the witness stand and invoked
his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination 15 times as
he was questioned by a lawyer for Fred Goldman, who is seeking
Simpson's assets in payment of a $33.5 million civil liability
judgment.
Goldman is the father of Ron Goldman, who
was slain along with Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson in the
notorious 1994 case. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges but later
held liable in civil court in the wrongful death
case.
Simpson is in a Nevada prison after being
sentenced to nine to 33 years for the robbery-kidnapping in Las Vegas
last year that centered on his efforts to retrieve memorabilia from his
storied sports career.
Bill Falkner, an investigator
for the Las Vegas district attorney and the only other witness called
at Friday's hearing, said he had transported Beardsley several times
from California, where he was in jail on a probation violation, to Las
Vegas to testify in the robbery-kidnap case.
During
the final trip back to California, Falkner testified that Beardsley
told him "the only thing he received for this trouble in the case was
Mr. Simpson's Hall of Fame ring. It was given to him. He was upset the
case caused him some period of
incarceration."
Beardsley's attorney Jack Swickard
said he had advised his client to invoke the Fifth Amendment because he
had heard rumors of a grand jury investigation under way in Las Vegas
into possible witness tampering by Simpson.
He asked
Falkner whether there had been "bad blood" between the investigator and
Beardsley.
"I have no issues with Mr. Beardsley,"
Falkner testified.
However, Falkner acknowledged he
was unhappy with Beardsley's contradictory testimony at the preliminary
hearing and trial in the robbery-kidnap case.
Falkner
said Beardsley initially testified that tape recordings of the incident
at the hotel were accurate, then changed his story and said the tapes
had been altered.
"When you asked Mr. Beardsley what
did you get in exchange for your testimony, what did Mr. Beardsley
say?" Swickard asked.
"Hall of Fame ring," Falkner
said.
He said Beardsley had estimated the value of
the ring at $200,000.
"He said it was a very nice
ring, and he planned to wear it to Mr. Simpson's sentencing," the
investigator said.
Beardsley did not attend the
sentencing, and Falkner said he never saw the
ring.
Falkner also said he knew of phone calls
between Simpson and Beardsley after the hotel room incident. He
testified that Beardsley told him, "I talked to O.J., and it's all
cool."
Outside court, Swickard said Beardsley doesn't
have the ring, and "we can't turn over what the doesn't
have."
Attorney David Cook, who represents Fred
Goldman, said he didn't know if he would succeed in getting the
ring.
"Maybe Mr. Beardsley is a colorful guy who
likes to make up stories," he said. "But I'm not going to pass up this
opportunity."
Cook said he wasn't sure if Goldman
would end his quest for Simpson's assets now that he was in
prison.