apparent-to Heidi Fleiss, began in Van Nuys yesterday. Gibson, who's accused of operating an international call-girl business with some 34 employees, is being charged with pimping, pandering and procuring for prostitution, the 4-P's. Gibson's attorney, Gerald Scotti, however, contends that Gibson was involved in no more than casting for "porno movies" and arranging "dance parties". The classic American Bandstand defense.
"You will not make the link to pimping and pandering beyond a reasonable doubt," Scotti told the jury of 7 women and five men. In his arguments, Scotti also drew attention to police misconduct, alleged evidence tampering and an alleged incident where an undercover male police officer cavorted in the nude with a prostitute dring a sting operation. One of the male officers who, while posing as a customer, allegedly was nude with two prostitutes and took Polaroid pictures of them.
"I've never seen an officer undercover who chooses to get naked with a prostitute ... who themselves were naked," said Scotti, who noted he formerly worked as vice squad officer on the force in Detroit. "I would not think it proper."
Prosecuting attorney Richard F. Walmark, from the D.A.'s office, denied those allegations. In his opening statement, Walmark conceded that testimony would be provided by prostitutes if they were available but contended that it was very unlikely that they would testify. During the preliminary hearing, at least four witnesses asserted their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Those prospective witnesses account for eight of the nine charges -- reduced from the original 13 -- against Gibson, who faces 20 years of imprisonment if convicted of pimping and pandering.
Scotti said if those witnesses did testify he was going to demand names of clients and subpoena them to testify. "If that can't be corroborated, you can't have pimping and pandering," Scotti said. "Where are the guys?" Scotti asked. "This is the most glaring hole in the [prosecution's] case. These men were engaged in criminal activity, which the prosecutors overlook. Not only will no man take the stand ...police officers didn't even interview them."
Scotti said he would subpoena any men named and force them to testify as to whether Gibson arranged their meetings with the women, as charged. He once again said there were some "famous" names involved and last week charged that three of the men in Gibson's alleged "trick book" were contributors to Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti's election war chest. Garcetti is facing a primary re-election challenge. On those grounds, Scotti filed a motion in Superior Court to have the District Attorney's office disqualified from trying the case, arguing that the new evidence would make it difficult for Gibson to receive a fair trial.
"Clearly, Mr. Garcetti would be open to criticism by his opponents... that he was showing favoritism if his office offered [the] defendant a favorable plea agreement," Scotti said in court papers. "Conversely, it is apparent that [the] defendant has been denied a 'fair' proceeding ... where the district attorney's office has charged only offenses that require mandatory prison, has granted immunity to witnesses only if they cooperate against [the] defendant, has intentionally not pursued any males involved in the alleged charges, including major contributors to Mr. Garcetti, and has stated its intention to demand a mandatory prison term of more than three years in the event [the] defendant is convicted of the charged offenses."
Scotti said Gibson potentially could become an issue in the district attorney's election, which could lead to "extreme prejudice" against his client. Scotti contends that one of those potential witnesses contributed $100,000 to Garcetti's campaign.
However, Judge Lloyd M. Nash refused the request, and Scotti says he now will call the three men to testify. Scotti said the men, two of whom are associated with a "major clothing corporation," likely would be called "to confirm they did pay associates of Gibson for sex, and that they were not solicited by [the] defendant regarding acts of prostitution."
The heart of the case against Babydol is the evidence of two undercover officers - a dfemale who posed as a prostitute, and a male who posed as a client.
The undercover police officer who posed as a prostitute to nab Gibson took the stand Tuesday. Cynthia Neff, the prosecution's first witness, talked about her first meeting with Gibson. Scotti claimed Gibson "never recruited anyone," but Neff told a different story, much of it through taped conversations. Posing as a model named Taylor, Neff was asked by Gibson -- who on the tape referred to herself as Sherry, "Sasha"'s assistant -- if she had "ever worked for a service before." Neff responded no, but apparently was able to arrange a meeting with "Sasha" even though on the recording Gibson said Sasha "does not take on [new] girls easily."
The two then met at DuPar's diner where they discussed the rules of "the agency." Neff testified they talked about the travel her "job" would entail -- on tape Gibson said Sasha had offices in New York and Houston -- and the money she could earn. Scotti dismissed the DuPar's conversation as "girl talk."
