EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: OJ Simpson Acquittal Suit - First Look In 15 Years
Posted on Apr 09, 2010 @ 06:00AM - 2 comments
It was the trial of the century, and the suit that OJ Simpson wore when he was acquitted in October 1995 of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman is finally out of storage and heading to a museum -- and RadarOnline.com has the exclusive first look of the infamous suit in 15 years.
“The truth of the matter is, this was a suit that somebody wore when they got away with murdering 2 people,” OJ’s former agent Mike Gilbert exclusively told RadarOnline.com. Gilbert has had possession of the suit since the day after OJ was acquitted for the murders almost 15 years ago.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEWS: Why O.J. Simpson's Acquittal Suit Is Headed To A Museum
Posted on Mar 01, 2010 @ 11:31PM - Add a comment
The suit that O.J. Simpson wore when he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman is being donated to the Smithsonian and RadarOnline.com spoke exclusively with Ron’s father and the lawyers about the case settlement on Monday at the Santa Monica, Calif., courthouse.
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Fred Goldman, the father of Ron, told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview that the results of the settlement ruled on by Judge Joseph Biederman were a negotiation process. “Our offer initially was any of the things Gilbert [Mike, Simpson’s former agent] was holding onto should be sold and donated to the Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice. He refused to do that. Ultimately what’s happening, per the decision there will be an effort to donate it to a museum in the memory of Ron and Nicole. It’s out of Gilbert’s hands, it’s out of the killer’s hands and neither one of them theoretically can profit from it.”
Goldman said that he is comfortable with the settlement because he did not want Gilbert to sell the suit. “I never wanted Gilbert to continue to have any opportunity to profit from that and hopefully in this case he won’t be able to.”
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When asked how he felt about Simpson serving a 33-year sentence in Nevada, Goldman didn’t mince his words to RadarOnline.com: “He’s where he belongs with the rest of the trash in the world.”
The football legend was not in court, but the judge spoke to him via phone at approximately 1:45 pm PST. His attorney Ronald Slates told RadarOnline.com, “Mr. Simpson was contacted by the judge and asked that I be present and consented to this settlement and said he wanted to make absolutely certain that no one made any profit from this and that it went to a worthwhile institution and that it would in fact benefit those people who had an opportunity to look at that suit.”
Slates told RadarOnline.com how his client feels about the Goldmans. “He feels very sorry that this whole set of circumstances occurred and while he absolutely declares his innocence as the jury had said without question, he certainly has no animosity towards them.”
He revealed what Simpson is doing while serving his sentence in prison. “He’s working out and doing the best he can under very, very difficult circumstances.”
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Gilbert explained RadarOnline.com exclusively why he agreed to the settlement. “I decided to donate the suit, not make a profit from it and donated to someplace like a museum. To me, it’s part of American history.”
Fred Goldman’s lawyer David Cook also explained why they felt that the suit should be donated to the Smithsonian. “If this suit is symbolic of that moment because it really turned Mr. Simpson into a caricature of justice gone sideways then it should sit with the Smithsonian like Dillinger’s gun.”
He added: “If this is justice then there’s some justice. The suit will no longer be in the possession of Mr. Gilbert, the suit becomes a moment in American history.”
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Cook was asked whether the Smithsonian had knowledge of the settlement. “The answer is I don’t know and I don’t believe so,” he replied.
While Gilbert felt the conclusion will never be fully satisfying (“Does this accomplish anything? I don’t know. Ron and Nicole are still dead, they’re never coming back,” he remarked), Goldman’s attorney disagreed.
“I think we ended up with a settlement it kind of got there,” Cook said. “Settlements are kind of a lot like sausage – you don’t want to see how they’re made but you like the results.”
EXCLUSIVE: O.J. Simpson's "Not Guilty" Suit To Be Donated To The Smithsonian
Posted on Mar 01, 2010 @ 11:08AM - 4 comments
The suit that O.J. Simpson wore in court when he was found not guilty in the murders of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman will be donated to the Smithsonian, RadarOnline.com has learned.
EXCLUSIVE: O.J.'s 'Not Guilty' Suit May Be Given To The Smithsonian!
On Monday afternoon, Judge Joseph Biderman ruled that the acquittal suit, tie and white shirt worn by Simpson will be donated to the Smithsonian.
David Cook (lawyer for Goldman's father Fred), Ronald Slates (lawyer for Simpson) and Mike Gilbert (Simpson's former manager) agreed that the items will be donated as a gift to the Smithsonian or another institution if the Smithsonian declines the gift. The gift/donation will be made "In memory of Ronald Lyle Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."
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Gilbert has thirty days to turn over the items but can ask for a thirty day extension. If he fails to turn them over after sixty days, the suit, tie and white shirt have to be given to a court appointed person to donate.
Judge Biderman confirmed that Simpson also agreed to the outcome. "The court did speak with Mr. Simpson in prison in Nevada on the telephone. Mr. Simpson gave Mr. Slates authority to give a resolution for the settlement," he said.
Slates concurred: "Mr. Simpson gave the authority at 1:45 pm from prison to the settlement."
Fred Goldman Wants O.J. Simpson's 'Not Guilty' Suit
Posted on Mar 01, 2010 @ 09:58AM - 21 comments
The long-running O.J. Simpson civil lawsuit continues Monday, this time revolving around the suit Simpson wore when he was declared not guilty for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman 15 years ago.
A settlement conference will be held before Judge Gerald Rosenberg in chambers at the Santa Monica Courthouse at 10 a.m. PST, RadarOnline.com has learned, as Ron Goldman's father Fred is suing Simpson and his former manager Mike Gilbert for possession of the suit.
EXCLUSIVE: O.J.'s 'Not Guilty' Suit Will Be Given To The Smithsonian!
Posted on Mar 01, 2010 @ 09:24AM - 1 comment
UPDATE: Lawyers are still arguing over various items as of 4:15 pm PST but they have agreed to donate the suit, tie and white shirt OJ was wearing the day he was acquitted to the Smithsonian.
In a truly strange turn of events, the suit O.J. Simpson wore when he was found not guilty for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend may be given to the Smithsonian museum, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
Fred Goldman, father of O.J. murder victim Ron Goldman, is in court Monday, continuing his civil lawsuit against Simpson. RadarOnline.com was in Santa Monica court as a settlement conference was underway.
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Sources told RadarOnline.com a compromise was being worked out that involved the suit being donated to the Smithsonian. Goldman is suing Simpson and his former manager Mike Gilbert for the suit.
Gilbert told RadarOnline.com: "I want to donate the suit to the Smithsonian. I do not want to give it to Fred Goldman. They (the Goldmans) want it donated in the name of their Foundation."
Judge Joseph Biderman took over the case Monday morning and immediately went into his chambers, meeting with the parties separately and together.
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Before a deal to donate the suit could be worked out the judge tried to phone Simpson in his Las Vegas prison, a source told RadarOnline.com exclusively. But the judge couldn’t reach Simpson right away and by noon he came out of chambers and told OJ’s lawyer he was unable to reach Simpson. The lawyer and the judge went to a side of the courtroom and placed a call.
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The judge then said: “Mr. Simpson is calling back at 1:30."
The source told RadarOnline.com that the judge wanted Simpson’s consent before donating the suit.
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While Simpson was acquitted in the 1995 criminal trial, a Santa Monica jury found the ex-NFL star liable for the deaths in the 1997 civil trial and ordered him to pay Fred Goldman $33.5 million in damages, which he is attempting to collect.
Simpson was sentenced to at least nine years in a Las Vegas prison in October 2008 in connection with an armed robbery and kidnapping conviction.
