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Post by Sherry on Oct 3, 2003 11:24:31 GMT -5
www.insidevc.com/vcs/state/article/0,1375,VCS_122_2318538,00.html Luster loses 2nd civil case By The Associated Press October 3, 2003 Convicted rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster was ordered to pay more than $20 million in damages Thursday to a woman he drugged and sexually assaulted three years ago. The plaintiff, listed only as "Tonja Doe," was one of three women who accused Luster of knocking them out with the date-rape drug GHB and sexually assaulting them at his Mussel Shoals beach house. The woman lived with Luster for about four months in 2000, according to the civil suit. Superior Court Judge Barbara Lane ordered Luster to pay the woman $10 million for pain and suffering, $10 million for punitive damages and another $529,774 for psychological counseling and lost earnings. Luster, 39, the great-grandson of the cosmetics legend, was convicted earlier this year of raping the women in a criminal case. During that trial, he fled to Mexico and was convicted in absentia. He was sentenced to 124 years of imprisonment and was later caught by a bounty hunter and returned to the United States. He is serving his term in Soledad prison in Monterey. Luster's lawyers have appealed that case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Luster's civil attorney, Harold Greenberg, said he had not seen the judgment but said his client would likely appeal. He called the judgment meaningless because he said Luster had spent most of his money on lawyers. "He wasn't married and was living the lifestyle he wanted: the beach, the surf, the boat and making the club scene," Greenberg said. "He was worth a couple million but never as much as people said." Another woman, identified as Lynda or Shana "Doe," won a $19 million judgment earlier this year against Luster. Her attorney, Barry Novack, said she was in the process of trying to collect the money. A separate criminal hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20, in which a judge will decide how to divide the $1 million in bail money that Luster forfeited when he fled to Mexico.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 11, 2003 22:37:16 GMT -5
www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1020825,00.html Max Factor heir must pay $19m for rape Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington Monday August 18, 2003 The Guardian The convicted serial rapist and heir to the Max Factor cosmetics empire has been ordered to pay $19m (£11.9m) to a woman he drugged with a potent anaesthetic and assaulted, compounding the horror by videotaping the attack. The judgment in favour of a California woman who was identified only as Shawna Doe was the first in three suits by the victims of 39-year-old Andrew Luster. Luster, who is the great grandson of Max Factor, is serving a 124-year sentence for rape. He was returned to the California state prison service last June after being tracked down by a bounty hunter to the Mexican beach resort where he fled shortly before his conviction. Judge Frederick Bysshe, in Ventura County, California, said the magnitude of the award - $9m in compensatory damages and $10m in punitive damages - was intended to deter future assaults using the drug, known as gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB. "Luster targeted a minor girl more than half his age, drugged her, raped her, humiliated her," the judge wrote on Friday. "He subjected her to one sexual indignity after another, all the while taping his sadistic assaults on her for his future depraved viewing." Luster catalogued the videotapes with neat labels which recorded the names of his victims, and the drugs used to knock them out. Shawna Doe told the court she had no knowledge of the 1997 attack at Luster's beach home in Santa Barbara, California, until she was shown the videotape by police three years later. Portions of the 30-minute video were later shown on US television, compounding the anxiety and depression she had suffered. However, it is unclear whether she will be able to collect the award. Lawyers for Luster have argued he has nowhere near the $20m that is estimated as his personal fortune. They suggested the only source of funds now available to the victims was the $1m bail bond Luster sacrificed when he went on the run. Luster's sudden poverty would mark a new chapter in the story of the society rapist. The first instalment in a made-for-TV film called A Date with Darkness: the Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster, was aired last week.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 11, 2003 22:50:20 GMT -5
www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6188807.htmPosted on Sat, Jun. 28, 2003 Actor who videotaped Luster capture back in LA MASON STOCKSTILL Associated Press LOS ANGELES - The actor who videotaped the capture in Mexico of fugitive rapist and cosmetics heir Andrew Luster is back in the United States, declaring bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman a hero for putting Luster behind bars. Boris Krutonog arrived Friday at Los Angeles International Airport, where he was met by his wife and a throng of reporters. "I think that (Chapman) is an unbelievable hero for doing what he did," he said. "For making the streets of Mexico safe again, I think it's unbelievable." Krutonog and producer Jeff Sells were arrested along with Chapman and Chapman's brother and son after the bounty hunter grabbed the 39-year-old Luster off a street in the Mexican beach resort city of Puerto Vallarta. A judge freed Krutonog and Sells on Thursday, but ruled the others must stand trial on charges of criminal association and deprivation of liberty. Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico. Krutonog's lawyer said Friday his client and Sells only videotaped Luster's capture. "They were documenting a newsworthy event as it unfolded," said attorney James Blancarte. Krutonog wouldn't say what happened to the tape. Krutonog and Sells, along with Chapman, his son, Leland, and brother, Timothy, were taken into custody after alarmed passers-by called police to report Luster's abduction. Luster was deported to California the next day, where he began serving a 124-year sentence for drugging and raping three women at his Ventura County home. The heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune had jumped his $1 million bail during his trial in January. He was convicted and sentenced in absentia. Krutonog, Sells and the others spent four nights in a Mexican jail before posting bond. The actor, who has appeared in such films as "The Italian Job," "Thirteen Days" and "Air Force One," called those days "one of the worst experiences of my life." Meantime, Puerto Vallarta police have not determined how long Luster lived there. He spent parts of March and April in a fishing village north of the city, surfing, dining at upscale restaurants and bar-hopping into the daytime hours. Police in Puerto Vallarta and in nearby Nayarit state, where Luster stayed at a few villages, said they were investigating whether Luster had committed any crimes in Mexico, but have had no reports of wrongdoing.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 11, 2003 22:56:51 GMT -5
www.talkleft.com/archives/001860.htmlWednesday :: January 08, 2003 Lawyer for Fugitive Max Factor Heir Continues to Fight for Client in Court High praise to Roger Diamond, lawyer for Max Factor heir Andrew Luster who disappeared in the middle of his rape trial. Diamond tried to halt the trial, the judge said no, and Diamond is now trying the case in abstentia. Diamond said on Wednesday that "he would vigorously defend his missing client in court" while police continued searching for him. "Attorney Roger John Diamond failed to have Luster's trial halted until the 39-year-old millionaire surfaced so must proceed with an empty chair in the Ventura, California courtroom where his client once sat." "Ever since Monday I've been doing the best I can to defend the case," Diamond told Reuters in an interview. "It would be helpful to have the defendant's input but I'm still going to do a good job for him. I'm fighting as hard as I can." Good for you, Roger, and even better for your client.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 11, 2003 23:12:03 GMT -5
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Post by TheTruth on Oct 12, 2003 15:11:24 GMT -5
starbulletin.com/2003/09/24/news/story4.htmlWednesday, September 24, 2003 ‘Dog’ takes bite out of reality TV Isle bounty hunter Duane Chapman says he'll star in a CBS show about hunting bail jumpers By Tim Ryan STAR-BULLETIN FILE / JULY 2003 Bounty hunter "Dog" Chapman says filming of his TV pilot is to start next month. Hawaii bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, who gained international exposure this summer with his capture of convicted rapist Andrew Luster, is set to star in a CBS reality show, "Beware of the Dog." Chapman said the hour-long pilot is expected to begin filming next month and will air in November. The show will be produced by Lighthearted Entertainment's Howard Schultz, a producer of another reality show, "Extreme Makeover." "Beware of the Dog" will follow Chapman, owner of Da Kine Bail Bonds in downtown Honolulu, hunting and capturing bail jumpers, mostly on the mainland. According to Chapman and his longtime companion Beth Smith, "Beware of the Dog" will be based in Hawaii, where "a few" upcoming "hunts" are planned. "The plan right now is I will host, hunt and capture," Chapman said. The show also will include Chapman's brother, Tim, and son, Leland, 26, who runs the family bail bond business in Kona. Chapman's involvement was tied to network guarantees that a large part of the show will be filmed in Hawaii, he said. Neither Schultz nor CBS were available for comment. "CBS and I agreed that the show will reflect my life in that Hawaii is my decompression chamber," Chapman said. "On these mainland hunts you get spit on, but then I come home and go to the beach." Though Chapman is in "negotiations" to do the show, Smith and Chapman said it's "a done deal" and insist the pilot is perfunctory. "This will be a series," Smith said. "CBS doesn't put a bunch of money into reality pilots ... then not commit to a series." "Beware of the Dog" will film six to 12 episodes this first season, Smith said. The couple declined to say how much money they will receive for the show. The search for fugitive Luster ended on June 18 with an early-morning confrontation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, after Chapman had spent more than five months on the case. The bounty hunter was accompanied by his son and brother, and a two-man camera crew. The group snagged Luster -- great-grandson of cosmetics magnate Max Factor -- but as the men wrestled the fugitive, Mexican police arrived. In Mexico, bounty hunting is considered a form of kidnapping and is illegal. All six men were detained. Luster was deported to California, where he had been convicted in absentia of drugging and raping women in his Ventura County home. Chapman was arrested by Mexican authorities, prompting a flurry of media attention. He left Mexico on bail, and warrants for his arrest are outstanding. Chapman, an ex-convict, former motorcycle gang member and a born-again Christian, was interviewed by Playboy magazine for an article to appear in the magazine's 50th anniversary edition. He is also scheduled to appear in A&E television's "Take This Job," The Learning Channel's "Secret World of Bounty Hunters," and Court TV's "Anatomy of a Crime." Producer Schultz was part of a Lighthearted Entertainment crew filming Luster's takedown and befriended Chapman following his arrest. Schultz, who named Chapman's show, came to Honolulu earlier this month to discuss the deal and "promised not to show Dog in a negative light," Smith said. Most of the pilot -- tentatively titled "The Hunt for Andrew Luster" -- will feature the never-before-seen videotaped capture but also include the hunt's planning in Hawaii, mostly at Makapuu Point and Chapman's downtown office, he said. "Dog sat out (at Makapuu Point for days) doing the investigation on his cellular phone," Smith said. "He ... pieced the entire investigation right where he feels closest to the Lord." Chapman knows one place the show will not take him for a hunt. "None will be in Mexico," he says. "I'm still very wanted down there."
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Post by TheTruth on Oct 13, 2003 0:29:17 GMT -5
www.nctimes.net/news/2001/20010610/wwww.htmlStudent said he believes heir drugged him VENTURA (AP) ---- A friend of a woman allegedly raped by cosmetics heir Andrew Luster testified that he believed he was drugged "to get me out of the way." The man, identified in court only as David Doe, testified Friday that he "felt heavily drunk" after drinking a cup of water that Luster got for him and has memory lapses about the evening. Luster, the 37-year-old heir to the Max Factor fortune, is accused of using gamma hydroxybutrate, or GHB, to incapacitate three women before raping them at his Mussel Shoals home and videotaping two of the alleged attacks. A Superior Court judge could decide Monday whether Luster will stand trial on 88 criminal counts. He could face life in prison if convicted. Luster claims the sex was consensual. His defense argues that the allegations were fabricated by two party girls and a disgruntled ex-girlfriend. All three women testified this week, denying they consented to have sex with Luster, or that they agreed to be videotaped. At Friday's preliminary hearing, the 22-year-old man said he and a woman identified only as Carey Doe were at a Santa Barbara bar last July when Luster approached and gave them a glass of water. Prosecutors contend the water contained the "date rape" drug. The man also said he had had at least six drinks that night and admitted he had sex with the woman in the back seat of Luster's car as they drove to Luster's home. He never told investigators. "I didn't want people to think she was a slut," he said.
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Post by TheTruth on Oct 13, 2003 0:41:13 GMT -5
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/12/17/wmaxf17.xmlMax Factor heir 'drugged, filmed and raped victims' By Oliver Poole in Los Angeles (Filed: 17/12/2002) An heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune was accused yesterday of being a serial rapist who drugged and filmed his victims. Andrew Luster, 37, appeared in a California court to face multiple counts of rape, sexual assault, sodmy and poisoning. If found guilty he could face a sentence of up to 150 years. The great-grandson of the make-up tycoon was arrested two and a half years ago after a 21-year-old woman alleged that he had spiked her drink with Liquid X, a slang term for the date rape drug hydroxybutrate or GHB. When officers searched his home they found photographs and videotapes of him having sex with at least two other women who appeared drugged. Both were subsequently contacted by police and claimed they had no idea that they were being filmed and had not consented to sex. In one video Luster, who has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, allegedly told the camera: "I dream about this, a strawberry blonde passed out on my bed waiting for me to do with her what I will." He then, according to one detective's description, had sex with her as if she was "like a toy doll". Luster picked up his 21-year-old alleged victim in Santa Barbara, where he was a regular visitor to the bars and nightclubs, in July 2000. The girl, who says she began to feel unnaturally woozy while dancing with him, then returned to his nearby £400,000 beach house where she claims she was raped. Luster, who lives off a £1 million trust fund, has said publicly that the sex was consensual and that he was an aspiring porn producer who directed films in which women pretended to be asleep while he had sex with them. His lawyer has stated that the girls had drunk too much and were now embarrassed by their actions. No vials of GHB were found at his home or in his car and no trace was found in his alleged victim's bloodstream, Ventura County Superior Court heard. The drug is very difficult to detect as it vanishes from the blood within four hours and from urine within 12. In an interview in March made before the judge imposed a gagging order on him, Luster said: "My life has been ruined because police and prosecutors jumped to conclusions. They wanted to make me their GHB poster boy. They're doing this to punish me for my lifestyle, which doesn't fit in with their conservative values.
"In 20 years I haven't got anything except a few speeding tickets. Had they thoroughly investigated [the alleged victim] before charging me they would have discovered she lied."He was released last December on £700,000 bail after spending five months in prison. He has subsequently been required to wear an electronic tag. Luster, who has two children by a previous girlfriend, grew up in nearby Malibu with his mother Elizabeth, the adopted child of Factor's oldest daughter Freda. She opened a health and fitness retreat in the Napa Valley and bought the beach home for her son when he was 18. He once owned a surfboard company and has produced several films but has never held down a steady job. Instead, he spent most of his time sailing and surfing. Max Factor, a Russian immigrant, created the first retail cosmetics line in 1916 and in the 1930s manufactured make-up for stars such as Joan Crawford and Katherine Hepburn. The company was sold in 1970 for £340 million.
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Post by TheTruth on Oct 13, 2003 0:45:12 GMT -5
www.nctimes.net/news/2002/20021208/wwww.htmlCosmetics heir testifies in rape case VENTURA (AP) ---- Cosmetics heir Andrew Luster testified he was terrorized by officers during a police interrogation two years ago after he was arrested for allegedly drugging and raping three women. Luster took the stand Friday in a pretrial hearing and told a judge that a detective threatened to push him down a flight of stairs if he didn't cooperate and that deputies kept him in a locked car for an hour.
"They locked me in and let me suffer," Luster said. "I was having a difficult time breathing." Defense attorneys contend Luster's statements during the taped interrogation should be excluded from his trial next week because investigators violated his rights and altered portions of the tape. Authorities have denied Luster's claims. Luster, 38, was arrested in July 2000 after a woman told authorities she was drugged at a Santa Barbara bar, then raped at his Ventura County beach house. Detectives who searched the home said they found videotapes of Luster engaging in sex acts with two other women who appeared to be unconscious. Luster's surprise appearance on the stand was one of several developments in the case. Earlier Friday, Superior Court Judge Ken Riley denied a defense motion to disqualify the Ventura County district attorney from prosecuting the case because of alleged misconduct. Riley said there was no evidence of police or prosecutor misconduct. For months, Luster's attorneys have been arguing prosecutors have lied, falsified evidence and concealed items that could exonerate him -- allegations prosecutors have denied. The defense did win a victory when Riley ruled that seven women who have accused Luster of drugging them at bars and parties may not testify. Luster, the great-grandson of cosmetics magnate Max Factor, is charged with raping three women after rendering them unconscious with the date-rape drug gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB.
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Post by TheTruth on Oct 13, 2003 0:53:58 GMT -5
www.lukeford.net/profiles/profiles/marty_singer.htmAnthony Pellicano Drama XXX says: When law enforcement tossed Anthony Pellicano's office on Sunset Boulevard and found the illegal grenades, they also found evidence of wire-tapping. That Pellicano had been wire-tapping people on behalf of clients. There's a Grand Jury investigating this. Some prominent Los Angeles entertainment attorneys have been subpoened to appear and they are most uncomfortable about doing so. Journalist John Connolly is working on a book on Anthony Pellicano called The Bad Detective. Journalists who've been terrorized by Pellicano include Jeff Wells, Rod Lurie and Stuart Goldman. Pellicano may be involved with the Max Factor heir (Andrew Luster, 39) who fled in anticipation of going to prison. Proctor told the FBI's informant that he was going to be paid $100,000 to help a criminal defendant flee the country. There's a connection between Pellicano and Bill Pavlick, the unlicensed private investigator Luster used in his defense - Steven Seagal (as referenced in the March Esquire story on Pellicano). Seagal claimed he was using Pavlick for his investigations rather than Pellicano. That's a set-up. Pavlick is a fired LAPD officer who drew a psycho pension. He worked as an unlicensed investigator on the OJ Simpson and Phil Spector cases. Pavlick is under investigation by the state of California for unlicensed activities. He's supposed to get a PI's license to do what he does. I don't think Pellicano will give anyone up unless he's facing 20-years in prison. I expect Pellicano to serve three or four years. Pellicano is a neurotic angry control freak. His career is over. The feds have wanted him for a long time since he screwed them over the John DeLorean case in 1983. Marty Singer pits tabloids against each other. He'll kill stories by promising he will get them a better story.
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Post by TheTruth on Oct 20, 2003 21:06:35 GMT -5
www.mysati.com/enews/Jan2003/max_factor.htmSATI e-News: January 27, 2003 Max Factor's Great-Grandson Jumps Bail During Trial; Accused of Drugging Rape Victims with GHB Facing life in prison if convicted, 39 year-old millionaire and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster jumped bail during his criminal trial, and has been declared a fugitive, being pursued nationally and internationally by the FBI. Luster, who was under house arrest at his beach front home when he disappeared on January 3, is facing 87 criminal counts, including rape, sodomy and poisoning, according to the New York Times Times. The case surfaced in 2000 when a college student reported that she had been raped at Luster's home. A search of his residence by authorities uncovered a video depicting Luster's sexual encounters with three women, ages 16 to 21, who appeared to be asleep or unconscious. Luster claimed that the videos were staged, and that they were feigning sleep. The women disputed Luster's claim, testifying that they were unaware they were being taped, according to the New York Times. Luster also said that the women willingly ingested GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate). GHB has the effect of incapacitating victims, sometimes leaving them with no memory of recent events. Earlier in the trial Luster's lawyers negotiated down the bail from $10 million to $1 million. Luster was on a 12-hour excused absence from his residence at the time of his disappearance, so authorities did not begin to search until he failed to report back. Missing from his home were his dog, green sport utility vehicle, and Indian artifacts collection. The dog was later discovered at the home of his mother, who posted $700,000 of the bail money, according to the New York Times. The New York Times also reports that Luster had negotiated the 12-hour absence to meet with his lawyers in Los Angeles. Luster attorney Roger Jon Diamond disputed that Luster is a fugitive, and he speculated in court that Luster could have been abducted or involved in an accident, according to the BBC News. Authorities told the BBC News that Luster left behind only cold-weather clothes, suggesting he may have fled to a warm climate. Gary Auer, chief investithingy for the Ventura County district attorney's office, told the New York Times, "He's gone, he has a lot of money and extensive contacts around the world." "It might take time, but we'll find him, we usually do," Auer concluded. Luster would be traveling without his passport, which he was forced to surrender, leading authorities to believe he may try to leave the country under a false identity. The Ventura county judge decided to proceed with the trial in Luster's absence, and the videotapes found in his home were aired for the jurors. The Sacramento Bee reports that in one video, Luster addressed the camera, while a 17-year-old girl was snoring on a nearby bed: "Some people dream about Christmas, Thanksgiving," he said. "I dream about this. A strawberry blond, beautiful girl passed out on my bed and basically there for me to do with whatever I chose." The defense attempted to buttress its consent defense by claiming that Luster is an aspiring pornography producer, and that the women were acting as part of a script," according to the New York Times. One of the videos that the defense attorney played for the jury shows Tonja Doe having consensual sex with Luster. According to the Ventura Star, Tonja even acknowledges the camera at one point, asking if it is on. Yet earlier in the trial she had stated that she never gave Luster permission to tape their sex. The Ventura Star reports that Tonja Doe's earlier testimony on the stand led Luster to believe he was doomed. Superior Court Judge Ken Riley had initially suppressed this particular videotape, but later reversed his decision, unbeknownst to Luster, who had already fled. Diamond's closing arguments lasted nearly all day on Thursday, January 16, before the jury was adjourned for deliberations. The Ventura Star characterized it as "more like a comedy routine, with jurors laughing at the attorney's charm." Diamond tried to garner the jury's sympathy by pointing out that "we lost our funding" since the defendant fled, again getting laughs, according to the Star. The Star further reports that Senior Deputy district Attorney Maeve Fox called luster "a disgusting pig" who doesn't care about anyone but himself, including the jury. By fleeing, "Mr. Luster . . . has basically given you the finger," Fox stated. The jury of five men and seven women deliberated for a full day on Friday before recessing for the long holiday weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times. They will resume deliberations on Tuesday, January 21. Sources: "Luster jurors in weekend recess," Los Angeles Times, January 18, 2003. "Luster's lawyer spends day summing up; Women's tales attacked, deliberations next," The Ventura Star, January 17, 2003. "Cosmetics heir's lawyer says women knew they were taking drug," Sacramento Bee, January 16, 2003. "Cosmetics heir is missing as his rape trial proceeds," New York Times, January 8, 2003. "Global hunt for Max Factor 'fugitive,'" BBC News, January 8, 2003.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 22, 2003 20:56:21 GMT -5
www.insidevc.com/vcs/county_news/article/0,1375,VCS_226_2366960,00.html Luster, victims to share bail money Judge divvies up $1 million bail among county, victims, rapist By Leslie Parrilla October 22, 2003 A Ventura County judge awarded convicted rapist Andrew Luster about $500,000 in bail money Tuesday and split the rest among his three victims and the county. A panel of eager attorneys vied for two hours over a piece of the $1 million bail Superior Court Judge Edward Brodie divvied up. They pitched reasons why their clients deserved a sizable slice of the money that the Max Factor heir forfeited when he fled to Mexico in January midway through his trial. Luster was captured by a bounty hunter in June. Luster's attorney, Roger Diamond, said his client, serving his 124-year sentence in a California prison, requested the money be used to pay court-ordered support for his two children, ages 12 and 8. Luster, 39, told his attorney he also wanted the judge to wait to release the money until he filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court. "He was hoping the money would be used for his children," Diamond said. "We're talking about Andrew Luster's money, not anybody else's money." Brodie, however, dismissed the request as a separate issue and awarded three women whom Luster drugged and raped at his Mussel Shoals home the majority of the remaining $500,000. The largest amount, $276,000, was handed to victim Tonja Doe for psychological harm, psychiatric care and attorney's fees. Tonja lived with Luster for about four months in 2000 and was awarded $20.5 million this month by a judge in a civil lawsuit. Victim Carey Doe was given about $97,000 for future psychological costs and attorney's fees. The smallest sum, about $56,600, was issued to victim Shawna Doe for mostly future psychological costs. She won a $19 million judgment against Luster earlier this year. Attorney Michael Baum, representing Shawna Doe, said Brodie couldn't have awarded his client enough money for the damages she suffered. "In this, all of the victims suffered tremendously," Baum said outside court. "None of them can be compensated adequately." The $500,000 issued to Luster likely will evaporate before he touches a cent, Diamond said. "The future battle is between Luster's children and the (women) who got the judgment," Diamond said after Tuesday's hearing. "I think the bankruptcy court may take over." Brodie reissued what he had awarded county agencies in August -- about $165,000 for costs accrued trying to capture Luster. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department collected about $86,200 for time spent by five detectives and costs for monitoring cell phones and towing Luster's abandoned The county Probation Agency was given about $9,400 for labor costs and an electric ankle monitoring device attached to Luster that was never returned. The District Attorney's Office will get just over $65,500 for investigative costs.
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Post by Sherry on Nov 2, 2003 20:42:11 GMT -5
www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=21098Who is this 'Dog'? Bounty hunter Duane Chapman's Web site doesn't let the details spoil his fame By JIM REDDEN Issue date: Tue, Oct 28, 2003 The Tribune Everything about bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman seems exaggerated -- his hair, his clothes, his muscles and, just maybe, a few details on his résumé. Chapman tracks fugitives for a living, and he has come to town to help find Andrew Garver, the 38-year-old Beaverton softball coach whom police suspect of running away with 16-year-old Michelle Smith. The FBI has charged Garver with kidnapping. Angela Garver, estranged wife of the softball coach, said in a Fox News interview over the weekend that she hired Chapman to help find her husband. Because Chapman is not licensed in Oregon as a private investigator, he said he had affiliated himself with some local licensed private investigators, whom he would not name, so he could legally work on the case. With his long blond hair, sleeveless leather vest and bulging biceps, Chapman looks like a professional wrestler. "I want to stand out," he said in a telephone interview Friday. "When I walk into a bank, they hit the alarms." And, just like a pro wrestler, Chapman's version of his past accomplishments can be, well, broad and colorful. Chapman's Web site includes a biography that boasts he has captured or assisted in the apprehension of 6,000 fugitives, including Atlanta child killer Wayne Williams and the white supremacist who was convicted of murdering Denver talk show host Alan Berg. But the two claims are news to retired Oregon FBI chief Charles Mathews. Before he retired from the agency in May, Mathews headed the federal task force that made the arrests in both cases. "I've never heard of him before," said Mathews, who was in charge of the FBI's Atlanta Violent Crimes Task Force when it made the arrests two decades ago. Media play vital role Chapman knows he is controversial. In fact, he counts on the publicity he generates to help solve his cases. "I know the press is going to write about me," he said. "But they always print the pictures of the people I'm looking for in their stories, and that's what I want." Chapman, 50, said he always wanted to be a bounty hunter: "I grew up watching Steve McQueen in 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' and 'The Lone Ranger.' That's what I wanted people to say about me -- 'Who is that masked man?' " But Chapman acknowledged that he screwed up big-time before realizing his dream. He said he had 18 arrests for armed robbery as a juvenile and served less than two years of a five-year prison sentence for a Texas homicide before becoming a born-again Christian. He got into the business of tracking down fugitives after being released in February 1979 and now calls himself "the world's greatest bounty hunter." Although Chapman claims to have caught criminals ranging from deadbeat dads to murderers, his most spectacular catch came on June 18 this year when he nabbed fugitive convicted rapist Andrew Luster in Mexico. Chapman and several of his employees were arrested by Mexican police after seizing the Max Factor cosmetic heir during a wild street brawl. Chapman and his employees were eventually released on bail. Luster was extradited to California, where he had been on trial for rape before fleeing six months ago. The case against Chapman has yet to be resolved. But the arrest, which was international news, may help Chapman fulfill his childhood dream: He hopes it will be the basis for a made-for-TV movie on his life. "It's the biggest thing that ever happened to me, easy," he said. It takes a lot of tips Some of Chapman's other claims aren't so easily verified. Chapman acknowledged that he did not personally capture either Williams or Berg's killer. But the bounty hunter insists that he provided vital tips to law enforcement officials in both cases. Mathews said Chapman may have provided tips to somebody, but they did not lead to either arrest. Williams killed dozens of Atlanta children between 1979 and 1981. According to Chapman, the investigation was stalled until he told a city homicide detective that the killer was a black man. "Up until then, they were looking for a white guy," Chapman said. Mathews said Chapman might have passed on a tip to the Atlanta police. "They received hundreds, maybe thousands, of tips," he said. But Williams was first identified as a suspect by FBI agents who had staked out all of Atlanta's bridges, Mathews said. Several of the bodies had been found under bridges on the Chattahoochee River. "Williams was pulled over and identified after he had thrown a body off the bridge," Mathews said. "The agents had heard something hit the water but did not actually see Williams dump it, so they couldn't arrest him right then, but we had him under intense surveillance from that time on." Williams was arrested after a body was fished out of the river near the bridge three days later. He was convicted on two murder counts in February 1982 and is serving two consecutive life sentences in a federal prison. Berg case a bit murky for some Mathews also disputed Chapman's claim that he helped arrest Berg's killer. In fact, Chapman's Web site has the killer's name wrong. Berg, a Jewish radio talk show host, was killed in June 1984 by Bruce Carroll Pierce, a member of the Order, a violent underground neo-Nazi group. Mathews personally arrested Pierce later that year in Rossville, Ga., at a post office where the group had rented a box. "He's the only person I ever arrested who had three guns on him," Mathews said. Pierce was convicted and is serving a 225-year prison sentence for Berg's murder and other Order-related crimes. Chapman's Web site identifies Berg's killer as someone else, William Scatarie. Mathews said no one by that name was associated with the case. But one member of the Order had a similar name, and Chapman may have helped find him. Richard Scutari is serving a 60-year federal sentence for robbing a Brink's armored truck in 1984 to help finance the Order. He was arrested by the FBI in San Antonio. Scutari also was indicted, but not convicted, for complicity in Berg's killing. Asked about the discrepancy, Chapman said he told the FBI that Berg's murderer was hiding in San Antonio. Although the claim has not been verified, Chapman may have simply gotten the names and crimes confused. Whatever the case, Mathews is amused by the Web site's claims. "This guy thinks he's me," he said.
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Post by TheTruth on Nov 9, 2003 0:58:36 GMT -5
www.pvmirror.com/localnews/124-july13-19_2003.htmlCorruption in the Luster Case? Everything points to the fact that the vehicle driven by Andrew Luster, heir to the Max Factor fortune, will pass into strange hands after the Attorney General’s Office gave instructions for the car to be removed from the pound and brought to the Volkswagen dealership. The manager there complied with orders to make a new key and proceed with a general check-up of the Jetta. Reporters from international news agencies began to investigate the matter, leading to a conclusion that the white sports car with Jalisco plates driven by Andrew Luster the day he was apprehended by the bounty hunters will become a business deal of some sort for the parties involved.
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Post by Sherry on Dec 2, 2003 20:16:29 GMT -5
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