    
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 5681
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 03, 2007 - 11:21 am: | 
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I'm going to post my O.J.mania Surival Kit in the near future
FBI Knew of O.J. Simpson Plan in Advance
Nov 3, 7:44 AM (ET)
By LINDA DEUTSCH and KEN RITTER
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal agents learned three weeks in advance that O.J. Simpson and a memorabilia dealer planned an operation to retrieve personal items Simpson said were stolen from him, according to FBI reports obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
Dealer Thomas Riccio said he reported to the FBI on Aug. 21 that a collector claimed to have belongings taken from Simpson, and that Simpson wanted to videotape the confrontation with the person peddling thousands of pieces of his memorabilia.
Riccio told AP that he raised the subject while talking with the FBI about an unrelated subject: a video of Anna Nicole Smith. But he said agents dismissed his report, telling him "they didn't want to be involved in another weirsd celebrity case."
"The guy flat-out told me he had items stolen from O.J.'s house," Riccio told the AP. "I have a legitimate business."
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Riccio did not indicate a crime would be committed.
Riccio was advised to contact a lawyer before taking any action and was told that alerting the FBI would not absolve him of any potential crime, agent Linda Kline wrote of the meeting, which occurred in Los Angeles.
He was not clear how the operation would unfold. There was no mention in the report of any plans to use guns.
"I went along with O.J.'s plan," Riccio said. "It was a self-organized sting operation. Except for the final result, with him bringing people who had guns. I knew nothing about that."
Simpson, 60, and five other men were arrested after they allegedly stormed a Las Vegas hotel room with guns drawn Sept. 13 to seize items that were believed to include family photos and the suit Simpson wore the day he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.
Las Vegas police said the FBI did not alert them before the confrontation between Simpson and collectors Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.
"They contacted us afterward and provided us with the documentation," said Las Vegas Police Detective Andy Caldwell, the investigator handling the case.
Caldwell said he had no information about any FBI investigation into the incident.
Riccio, who had previously sold Anna Nicole Smith's diary, said he spoke for an hour with FBI agents about a video he obtained from a doctor who recorded Smith's 1994 breast implant surgery. A Texas doctor claimed in June he gave Riccio permission to use the video after Smith died. A judge has barred release of those videos in an unrelated case.
After discussing Smith, FBI agents gave Riccio about 15 minutes to discuss Simpson, but they expressed little interfest, he said.
Riccio said he contacted the Los Angeles Police Department, where he said he was switched from department to department before finally being told to file a civil complaint.
"No one seemed to be concerned about it," Riccio said.
An LAPD spokesman declined to comment on Riccio's account.
Simpson is charged with an assortment of felonies including armed robbery and kidnapping. Three of his co-defendants have since pleaded guilty to lesser charges and said they would testify against Simpson. A preliminary hearing is scheduled next week in Las Vegas.
The FBI reports, written Aug. 21 and Sept. 19, said Riccio told agents he had been approached by Beardsley, who wanted to sell thousands of Simpson items.
The documents said Riccio described Beardsley as a fanatic and said Riccio contacted Simpson about the items. Simpson said his belongings were stolen from his Florida house by his former agent, Mike Gilbert, and others who had worked for him. A call to Gilbert Friday seeking comment was not immediately returned.
"Riccio and Simpson want to do a television broadcast confronting Beardsley regarding the items that were stolen," one report said. "Simpson wanted Riccio's assistance in setting up the operation and helping obtain interviews for Simpson through various media outlets after the fact."
Beardsley told police he had been robbed by Simpson and a group of men wielding guns. Simpson has denied there were any guns involved. He said Riccio set up the meeting and he planned to surprise Beardsley and retrieve his property.
Simpson told the AP he went to the hotel room after being alerted by Riccio that Beardsley and another collectibles dealer, Fromong, were trying to sell his possessions. Simpson knew both dealers.
Riccio has released a tape recording he made of the incident and been granted immunity by prosecutors.
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Associated Press Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch reported from Los Angeles. AP writer Ken Ritter reported from Las Vegas.
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