CNN’s Nancy Grace Mentions artharris.com on her Dec. 5 OJ Show

By Art Harris, The Bald Truth, (c) www.artharris.com

It was a unique way to report the big news–O.J. Simpson sentenced to 33 years in jail for kidnapping and armed robbery.

Just replay him pleading for a brand of mercy he thought twice ab out giving two victims he brutally slashed to death almost 14 years ago in Los Angeles.

And that’s what Nancy Grace did Friday night on her CNN Headline News show, theatrically dabbing at her eyes with a white tissue as she played Simpson’s chin-quivering ramble before Las Vegas Judge Jackie Glass.

“Art Harris, was the judge sipping a Slurpy while O.J. made his case?” Nancy asked me. I believe so.

Experts calculate he’ll do at least 9 years in prison.

“A karma sentence,” pronounced Grace guest Kato Kalin, a key witness at the “trial of the century” I covered in 1995 where a gleeful Simpson won an acquital on charges he killed ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and unarmed waiter Ron Goldman, no match for an ex-gridiron great juiced on jealous rage and only God knows what else.

After OJ’s sappy dumb criminal’s plea of ignorance that he had no idea he’d done anything wrong in Vegas, the judge admonished him that, you can’t just STEAL back stuff, even if it’s yours, with gun-toting goons, even if you ARE OJ.

Standing in blue jailhouse scrubs, his hands and legs shackled, OJ tossed in his “clean” record as worthy of consideration, jobs he’d worked summers in Las Vegas, how close he really was to guys he was taped raging at –”NOBODY LEAVES THIS ROOM!”

Only he didn’t mention the elephant in the courtroom the judge soon brought up–the GUNS, stupid.

You not only didn’t mention the guns to me (in your pitch for mercy), but Judge Glass reminded him that after the Palace Station dust-up, he adjourned to a wedding party for champagne toasts, and LAUGHED about how scared the victims looked, then realized he’d screwed up.

As cops started asking about guns, he likely realized he was in deep this time, with no hope of downtown LA justice and no Johnny Cochran.

Judge Glass reminded him that he’d also called his co-conspirators that he hadn’t seen any guns, and they hadn’t either.

Oops.

In addition to 33 years for armed robbery, kidnapping and the rest–at least nine before he comes up for parole–Judge Glass pronounced him arrogant AND stupid.

On a commercial break, Nancy Grace bantered with Kato about O.J.’s quivering lip, whether it was real. Kato reminded her Simpson was an actor, and incapable of real tears (Naked Gun 33 and a half, Frogman, etc.).

Kato should know, as everybody’s goofy, loveable houseguest, he told Nancy his latest gig: a play called the “Weenie Manologues,” a male POV satire of the “Vagina Monologues.”

Maybe it’s a teenie weenie bit ironic that O.J.’s downfall stems from an inability to control testosterone rages. I’m told that a tendency to keep faux muscles pumped via steroids and a proclivity for nose candy played a role, over the years, and when he spotted Goldman driving the Ferrari he’d bought Nicole in 1994, then peeped through her window to spy romantic candles flickering by the bathtub in her Bundy condo, O.J. snapped…Then confronted the suspected lovers with a knife in the alley.

And Nicole became another tragic victim of domestic violence. A brave young man named Ron Goldman tried to defend her with bare hands, according to police and forensic reconstruction of wounds and the bloody crime scene, but he was no match for a knife-wielding Godzilla who thought he could get away with murder and almost did.

But the Goldman’s were relentless in pursuing what they believed was justice denied, hounding O.J. to collect on the 30 plus million dollar civil judgment declaring him responsible for the killings.

The Las Vegas jury found him guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery 13 years to the day he was acquitted of double murder in the criminal trial.

He was later found responsible for the killings in a civil suit filed by the Goldmans.

In an attempt to thwart their zeal to collect, OJ sold autographs at conventions for cash, then tried to reclaim his collectibles this time in Las Vegas, assets he figured he could quietly sell through pals as he’d done in the past, another end run around justice.

Only this time he made a bad call, got thrown for a loss, convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy, something his defenders say was a set up.

Indeed, that’s what it looked like, only he couldn’t plead entrapment because it was engineered by another small time hustler–not a cop — Thomas Riccio, a convicted felon and collectibles dealer who made 150 grand by later selling audio tapes he secretly made via a hidden mike planted in the hotel room at the Palace Station Casino Hotel. He made a quickie book deal, too.

The tapes, played to the jury, became the crux of the prosecution case. O.J. caught on tape. Evidence the jury found irrefutable, said Judge Glass. The got to HEAR the crime go down.

Whether they were aware of the back story didn’t matter, that the victims say Riccio invited them to bring their O.J. sports memorabilia to Vegas, that he had interested buyers, just didn’t tell them who.

So they laid out the goods, including the suit OJ wore the day he was acquitted at the double murder trial, and waited for the buyers.

At the same time, Riccio alerted Simpson the so called thieves had arrived, and O.J. who friends say had been drinking heavily, saddled up his posse.

Had Riccio hinted the dealers might be armed? How much might he have made had an actual shootout happened? Gunfire caught on tape?

Was that Riccio’s dream for the big score after he’d been busted for trying to broker a videotape of Anna Nicole Smith’s breast surgery for a Houston surgeon?

Regardless, his undercover tapes won him key witness status, and provided crucial evidence. He was never charged with anything.

In court Friday, Judge Glass admonished Simpson that even though there was no gunfire, there might have been, that tourists and hotel employees could have been injured or killed.

After O.J. rested his case Friday, she mused he’d failed to mention one thing…the guns…and that demonstrated a failure to own up, to be honest, take responsibility for what really happened.

Indeed, one participant told me it was O.J. who said they’d better come packing, so two pals brought guns…

O.J. burst into the room, gun-waving goons in tow.

The rest is O.J. history.

Fred Goldman gloated that he was proud he didn’t give up, kept the pressure on, forcing him to make the one false move that could mean Simpson will spend the rest of his life behind bars “where he belongs.”

Is it possible that an appeal could squeeze the Juice loose?

Let us know what you think.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 7th, 2008 at 12:05 am and is filed under ART HARRIS REPORTS, CELEBRITIES. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.