“Canned Juice.” “O.J. In Tight Squeeze Again.” “Getting Away With Murder (But Not Theft).” “Fresh Squeezed Juice.” “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas (Until Now).”
The saga (or “trials”) of Orenthal James Simpson is a headline writer’s delight. But before we take too much fun away from his mayhem, consider this:
–Former L.A. Policemen say that Nichole Brown Simpson was brutalized, nearly decapitated and killed by “someone on a rage.” O.J. was accused of the murder, went to trial and was acquitted.
–Mr. Ronald Goldman, a waiter who may have been an innocent bystander, was also killed by the same killer, according to now retired L.A. Policemen.
–The audio tape of O. J. and his posse entering a hotel room and what ensued is damning on several levels. Lawyers can suck “The Juice” out of Orenthal for many things he said; but one sentence stands out. “Don’t let nobody out of this room. . . . Think you can steal my [expletive] and sell it?” The first part indicates unlawful imprisonment or detention. The second part indicates that O. J. thought he had ownership over the memorabilia. If anyone owned O. J.’s memorabilia it was the family of Mr. Ronald Goldman, who won a civil suit against Mr. Simpson. That court order required Mr. Simpson to pay $8.5 million in compensatory damages to the Goldman family and to Ron Goldman’s biological mother. No payments were ever made. The rules of the court required Mr. Simpson to liquidate assets to meet the obligations of the court. If he thought he still “owned” memorabilia, he was violating the law.
–If a gun was used in the hotel room crimes, that further complicates Mr. Simpson’s woes.
–Finally, Tax Evasion still looms. O. J. has probably been conducting a huge business in real or illicit memorabilia for years. If evidence proves this to be true, when the court cases clear O.J. will still be hounded by the most feared arm of the Federal Bureaucracy: The Internal Revenue Service or I.R.S. The most famous criminal in American history, Al Capone, a thug like O. J. who also got away with murder, also scammed the I.R.S. on his income taxes because the income was almost totally illegally obtained. In Capone’s case, his posse had so intimidated witnesses to everything, including murder, that none would admit to seeing a thing. What brought down Capone? The I.R.S.
So this entire affair is an American tragedy. Two people are dead, the American legal system suffered a severe blow to its credibility when O. J. was found innocent in the murder trial, and a one-time sports hero has been exposed for what he truly is: a thug, a tax evader, a man willing to threaten and use violence to achieve his ends, and a man with no regard for others: even his one-time wife.
O. J. has always hurdled past obstacles, just as he did in a famous rent-a-car commercial.
International readers have asked me, “How is O.J. really famous?”
O. J. is “famous” as a football star (both college and professional), as a movie star, as an advertiser’s dream in the rental car industry, as a man tried and NOT convicted of murder, and now as a protector of sports memorabilia.
But those last two honors, acquitted of murder and charged with unlawful entry and whatever else, do not make you famous. They make you infamous.
The question is, can you toast juice? A Nevada court will answer that.
*****
The essay above seemed just a little “too cute,” upon further reflection, so I am adding the statement below as a post script.
John E. Carey
There is also a horrifying reality to all of this. Mr. Simpson has been, by many accounts, a man out of control, for many years. Nichole Brown Simpson had called police before her fatal assault to complain about his brutality. Police even photographer her with severe bruising to her face and arms. Simpson was never charged with assault.
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