Few bites from fishermen on Peterson sturgeon alibi

The Modesto Bee ^ | Nov 30 2003 | Garth stapely

[Devil_Anse]

sturgeon fishing with a 15' gamefisher alum. boat

... and no bait. Mm-hmm. Sure!

I think the alibi was going to be golf. But then someone was around when he went to the Bay. So he had to change his story somewhat.

[Devil_Anse]

Yes--Gloria is strangely silent!! LOLOL!!!

[Devil_Anse]

Oh, there's no chance the trial would be ready to go in the next 5-6 months anyway! I bet Amber's new child will be talking by the time Amber gets up there and starts... talking.

[runningbear]

ROFL... ;o)

[Yaelle]

Come on; Gloria is P.O.'ed at her client. This pregnancy does NOT make Amber look too good, now, does it? There aren't too many other things Amber could have done to make her look LESS credible.

[drjulie]

"Come on; Gloria is P.O.'ed at her client. This pregnancy does NOT make Amber look too good, now, does it? There aren't too many other things Amber could have done to make her look LESS credible."

How does this make her less credible? How is a pregnancy relevant to what happened with Scott a year ago? The only thing I can see here is that Geragos will NOT want to attack her on the stand when she's visibly pregnant.

[runningbear]

Posted for grizzfan

Judge says Geragos was entitled to payments despite frozen assets

Judge says Geragos was entitled to payments despite frozen assets

Geragos BEE FILE

By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: December 2, 2003, 08:38:53 AM PST

A federal judge handed Scott Peterson's lawyer a victory over federal securities officials in a separate case in Rhode Island.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was wrong to urge that Mark Geragos be held in contempt of court for arranging payments to himself from clients with frozen assets, the judge ruled last week.

"I hate to say I told you so, but the thing was totally groundless to begin with, and obviously the judge saw through it," Geragos said Monday.

Also cleared were George Buehler, an attorney in Geragos' Los Angeles law firm, and a Beverly Hills accounting firm that received similar payments.

Martin Laffer, a co-owner of the accounting firm, said SEC officials likely "realized they had a lot of publicity potential with this thing" because of Geragos' stature as a celebrity lawyer.

Geragos is in the midst of representing Peterson, the accused double-murderer from Modesto, and entertainer Michael Jackson, accused of child molestation, and has formerly represented actors Robert Downey Jr. and Winona Ryder, and former Rep. Gary Condit of Ceres.

Geragos started representing Jackson earlier this year, though the relationship was not made public until authorities issued an arrest warrant for Jackson on Nov. 19, the day after a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge ordered Peterson to stand trial.

Peterson, 31, is charged with murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

In the SEC case, Geragos masterminded payments of $50,000 to his firm and $41,350 to Laffer's despite a Rhode Island judge's order freezing assets of Dennis Herula, a former securities broker, and his wife, attorney Mary Lee Capalbo.

Under Geragos' direction, the couple cobbled funds from various credit card advances -- a source not tied to the couple's assets, Geragos insisted in September.

U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi agreed, writing in her decision: "A credit card does not fit within the definition of an asset because it is something used to obtain items of value, rather than having any intrinsic value of its own."

Geragos said, "One would have hoped the SEC knew the difference between an asset and a debit."

Also, SEC officials in an unrelated Texas case acknowledged a distinction between credit cards and other assets -- suggesting they should have known better than to go after Geragos, Lisi wrote.

"The SEC's position that a credit card is an asset is a joke," Laffer said.

Some legal observers have said that federal regulatory..........

[Sandylapper]

Just checking in to see what's happening on the case. Guess we won't know much until tomorrow.

[Canadian Outrage]

I do hope that Snotty has a most MEMORABLE Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!! Lots to reflect on huh Snott??? You can lie on your 2 inch thick mattress and think of what a cute little 10 month old might be entertaining the family.

[lakey]

Thanks for the ping.

[Yaelle]

How does this make her less credible?

Oh, I do think that Mr. and Ms. Average in the jury will be more tempted to think of her as a "loose tramp" and not just a good girl in the wrong place. Even after a horrific experience like this one, she did not use enough common sense to avoid sex altogether. She already has a fatherless toddler, whom apparently she even let Scott (after knowing him for a month) pick up from day care. All together, it shows that she doesn't have enough self-esteem or common sense to avoid relationships with wrong people. To some people, becoming pregnant without benefit of marriage or even engagement is a sign of relaxed thought processes or morals. I'd be inclined to agree.

[Yaelle]

And how. Our little boy, born the week Connor should have been, entertains the other 4 of us relentlessly with his precious antics. However, it is very hard to play the Golden Boy when your son shows you up in conversations again and again. I wonder if in some horrid way, Connor is not better off without a jealous, sociopathic dad around him.

[Canadian Outrage]

I would LIKE to think that Laci would have soon caught on as Snotty's love for the gutter life took more and more control. If she was, and I believe she was, as her friends and family have stated, NOT the type to be a doormat. I would LOVE to believe that Laci and little Connor would have left that bohunk and found happiness elsewhere. God knows, they certainly would have had a supportive family around them. Wouldn't it just be terrible for poor Snotty to have to make those payments EACH and EVERY month for the next 19 years. (Is 19 the age of majority in the US? it is here) but it may be 21 in the States. All the better, add three more years.

[Sandylapper]

Ahhh, c'mon, CO, cut Snotty a little slack. After all, he did say, "the baby--that was hard". /sarcasm

[Jackie-O]

I saw a little bit of Greta last night. Prosecution filed papers yesterday hinting at their theory that Laci was killed at home, transported to the warehouse in the truck that Snott wants back. Snott's blood found in the truck, talking head's hypothesizing that he was injured during the commission of the murder or after while disposing of her.
The mention that she was trucked to the nearby warehouse indicates pros. believe she was killed at home. And maybe explains why they sparred at the prelim over the mop and bucket...maybe used to clean crime scene. DA wants jurors to view the pickup as part of the crime scene.
The money will more than likely be photographed, and returned...possibly today.

[Devil_Anse]

The only infant Scott has probably ever even thought about is the emotional infant that is... Scott!

I think, really, that inside he must have an emotional development not too much further along than Connor's would have been about now! ("I want"--grab! "I don't want"--fling! crash!)

[Devil_Anse]

It depends on the state, but an example is: in one state, they pay till the kid turns 19; if the custodial parent has filed b/f that 10th birthday, they continue to pay while the kid goes to college (but not if the kid stays in college forever), or continue to pay if the kid is handicapped.

The age of majority is 21, but there are all sorts of confusing milestones: can be drafted at age 18, can't drink or buy tobacco till 21, can vote at 18, can be treated as youthful offender in criminal courts in at least one state until 21, and on and on.

I think she definitely would have left him, CO, and furthermore, I have often thought that she may have made a final decision to leave him and that that was what precipitated her murder. He couldn't have her ruining his Image that way! His bizarre, abnormally-large ego wouldn't bear his being seen as "the one who got left."

[Devil_Anse]

if the custodial parent has filed before that 10th birthday

I meant to say, "if the custodial parent has filed before that 19th birthday"!

[Devil_Anse]

Thanks for the run-down, Jackie!

Yes, I remember he said he cut his hand on his toolbox. Yeah, right.

I know this doesn't fit in with current theories, but: I can't help but remember reading of several cases (including OJ) in which a person using a knife to do serious damage ended up cutting himself with the knife. I mean, it's hard to furiously cut at some living person with a knife, w/o risking getting a cut.