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Simpson Case Witness Seeks Sponsorship
Riccio Selling Clothing Opportunities, Interview Pitches
POSTED: 8:05 am PDT September 2,
2008
UPDATED: 7:51 pm PDT September 27,
2008
LAS VEGAS -- A witness in the O.J. Simpson case is looking to profit from his role in the trial.Thomas Riccio is offering himself up for sponsorships during the trial, which starts Monday.For $5,000, Riccio will mention a product during television interviews his publicist is trying to schedule, according to a press release from his attorney. Another $5,000 will see him eating dinner at the sponsoring restaurant the evening he testifies, and he will appear in a 30-second ad for $1,000, the release said."This is the fourth time Tom has been through an endeavor like this," said Jon Fondy, Riccio's attorney. "People (have) come up to him and offered him money to be a sponsor on his media tour and his book tour."
Riccio has set up a Web site -- bustedvegas.com -- where the Simpson witness will give insider information during the trial.Riccio was one of the sports memorabilia dealers in a hotel room with Simpson and five friends entered and stole some of Simpson's belongings at gunpoint, police said.Auctioneer Riccio said he arranged the hotel meeting between dealers and a private collector, but he did not mention the collector was going to be Simpson. He then leaked audio of the confrontation to TMZ.Since the preliminary hearing, four of Simpson's co-defendants -- Michael McClinton, Charles Ehrlich, Charles Cashmore and Walter Alexander -- have reached plea deals with the Clark County district attorney and will testify against Simpson.A fifth co-defendant, Clarence C.J. Stewart, will stand trial concurrently with Simpson.FOX5 has contacted District Attorney David Roger's office, who has yet to make a statement about Riccio's pitch.For more information on the Simpson case, visit the case's special section or view the national coverage.
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