LAS VEGAS, Sept. 23, 2007
How O.J.'s Plan Went Bad
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O.J. Simpson arrives at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. Simpson, 60, was released on $125,000 bail Wednesday in connection with an armed holdup of sports memorabilia collectors in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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O.J. Simpson leaves the Clark County Detention Center on his way home to Florida, after posting bail in Las Vegas, Sept. 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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O.J. Simpson's sister, Mattie Shirley Simpson-Baker, sits with her husband, Benny Baker, as O.J. Simpson is arraigned, Sept. 19, 2007. (AP/Clint Karlsen/Pool)
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A woman who identifies her self as Queen Juice hands out free orange juice outside Clark County courts building during O.J. Simpson's arraignment in Las Vegas, Sept. 19, 2007. (AP)
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The two men brought the Simpson memorabilia, along with other items - Joe Montana lithographs and Pete Rose autographed baseballs.
They shook hands, and headed to Fromong's car to take stock of the goods.
Footballs, baseballs, plaques, various documents and three ties that Simpson was said to have worn during his "Trial of the Century" were in the trunk, according to police arrest reports.
Riccio got a bellman to cart the items to a small ground-floor room he had reserved.
The memorabilia was laid out on the bed and around the room.
Beardsley snapped a few pictures of the display with his cell phone camera.
Then Riccio got a call. His client had arrived.
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Simpson had a problem, he would later tell The Associated Press. He didn't have a car in Las Vegas, and would have to take a taxi to the Palace Station, a couple of miles away.
That meant he had no way to get the items back to his hotel. And with the room number Riccio had given him, 1203, which he mistakenly believed was on the 12th floor, he would need help carting out his belongings.
Alexander, as Simpson told The AP, agreed to put together a crew with a truck to help.
But when it came time to go, two of the men were running late, and they had to scramble to find others.
By the time they pulled into the parking lot at the Palace Station that evening, the crew of four - Simpson, Alexander and the two helpers - had grown to six when the two stragglers showed up.
It was more help than Simpson wanted or needed.
But he was there, and he wanted his stuff back.
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In the lobby, Riccio met Simpson, Alexander and the crew identified as Michael McClinton, 50, Clarence Stewart, 45, Charles Cashmore, 40, and Charles Ehrlich, 53.
Riccio was hit by questions: Are Fromong and Beardsley in the room? Do they have the goods? Does anybody in the room have a gun?
From here, the story becomes murky, depending who tells it.
Simpson either wanted to confront Fromong or Beardsley in the room, or he wanted to wait in the lobby while two of the men went to scope out the loot; Simpson either knew that some of the men with him were armed, or he didn't.
But authorities say they know this:
According to the police report, one man snarled at Beardsley: "I'm a cop and you're lucky this ain't L.A. or you'd be dead."
The original plan had begun to spiral out of control.
"You think you can steal my ... and get away with it?" Simpson yelled.
Fromong, who either was pushed or fell over a chair during the initial confrontation, pleaded with Simpson, telling him that he had purchased the items from Simpson's former sports licensing agent.
"How could you do this?" Simpson screamed at him.
He ordered Beardsley to pack up the items belonging to him that were scattered around the room. Beardsley, perhaps frozen by fear, didn't move from a chair. Simpson then ordered the men with him to gather the belongings, which were put in a cardboard box and a pillow case taken from the bed.
"I thought you were my friends" Simpson screamed at Beardsley.
Simpson took Fromong's cell phone.
"I'll leave it at the front desk," he yelled as he left.
As Beardsley grabbed his phone and dialed 911, Simpson finally got a look at the items in the parking lot.
There were no pictures. No family photos. No acquittal suit. Nothing really personal other than the three ties. There were none of the big-ticket items, other than Simpson's All-American football, from the list of items Riccio faxed him.
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There in a parking lot, with the city's flickering neon lights brightening the night sky, Simpson stood nearly empty-handed, his plan in shambles.
That, however, would be the least of his problems.
The police would soon come calling, and his mug shot would be splashed across newspapers and television screens. Simpson would be arrested and charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges that carried the possibility, once again, that he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Associated Press writers Ryan Nakashima, Kathleen Hennessey, Ken Ritter and Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Add a Comment See all 12 Comments
- OJ''s plan went bad when he killed his wife and that waiter, then went on that lowspeed police chase where he threatened to kill hisself. Oops wrong case.
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- all I can sense see and say, why does jesse jackson have to start A Rally right before o.jays trial, I just see jesse so opposite of Rev martin Luther King. you Just have to pray for those who hurt there brothers and sisters as well as an innocent defenseless four legged animal whom is a gift to man.
- Reply to this comment
- JackSteen1
Racist much?
I personally can''t stand OJ but your comments seem little over the edge - Reply to this comment
- I am so sick of the media overkill on OJ Simpson. Hundreds of murders occur in the U.S. monthly, plus people go missing and kids molested. Yet the moment OJ does something, the media goes into a frenzy and gets Americans all riled up again. Our soldiers are dying daily in Iraq and their deaths don''t get an iota of the coverage OJ gets for crossing the street. Do you really think if he had killed his black ex-wife, this kind of frenzy would have happened? No way! And why do they drag Kato Kalin EVERYTIME something happens with OJ? No one even remembers him ordnarily. I might not like OJ but I don''t think he will get a fair trial because most people feel that this is their chance to put him away for the 1995 murders. Americans are jobless, homeless and hopeless. Can''t we try solving these problems instead? I truly feel that the Iran''s Presidentor perhaps even Bin Laden would be more easily accepted in this society than OJ. People are always getting away with murder, just look at the woman who recently got off from killing her pastor husband. I am not going to be any better off whether OJ goes to jail or not, and neither are you. It simply seems to me that we can use our energy more beneficially dong something constructive than to waste even one moment thinking of OJ.
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- andomedia,,,If he''s not looking for cash why is he profiting from it. I wasn''t there sounds like you were to be so sure of yourself,
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- They keep calling OJ the most hated man in America, but as detestable as he is I can think of a couple of others who would probably rank higher in a poll of most hated (lol):
1. Bush
2. Cheney
3. Michael Vick (doggie killer)
4. OJ - Reply to this comment
- THE ONLY reason OJ''s "plan went bad" is because he followed the same formula for "success" as Bush/Cheney in Iraq.
- Reply to this comment
- To "crzmeat":
It''s you, it''s definitely you. OJ was not "set up", he was a KILLER and should be in jail. Mr. Goldman is looking for JUSTICE, not cash. - Reply to this comment
- THE BAST-ARD SHOULD ROT IN JAIL!
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- I saw OJ on the golf course today.
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- Is it me or is al this let''s fry OJ getting old anyone that made it through grammer school KNOWS he was set up. Not a fan but this is really getting old I''m sick of it. Let Goldman publish the book make cash and say he''s honering his son but he''s now making a carear of persecuting OJ and be rewarded with cash that''s not honer that''s greed of your dead son. If he hated him so bad why don''t he shoot him that''s right get my foot in the limelight and make some cash, This whole thing is beyond stupid,,,
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- What a tragedy - that this ugly shaved ape will most likely go to prison for the rest of his life for this *** and yet he got away with two murders because the jury was "...of his peers," other mindless, shiftless, godless voids that don''t count for anything in today''s world.
What a commentary on the ''justice'' system in America. - Reply to this comment
