Poem dedicated to Bill Pavelic
A Bird Can Not Fly
By Nicole Bradley
A bird cannot fly
Without the wind beneath it’s wings
And the world cannot shine
Without the light the Sun brings
An Eagle cannot see
Without his precious lil’ eyes
And through it’s fear
It just withers and dies
But you are the wind that allows me to fly
And the light on my path that allows me to see
And through this I’m thankful
For your help to set this caged birdie free
Former Lead Simpson Investigator Visits GMA
ABC NEWS
January 30, 1997
SHOW: ABC GOOD MORNING AMERICA (7:00 am ET)
FORMER LEAD SIMPSON INVESTIGATOR VISITS GMA
GUESTS: BILL PAVELIC
BYLINE: ,ELIZABETH VARGAS
SECTION: News
LENGTH: 1901 words
HIGHLIGHT: RESPONSE TO LANGE AND VANNATTER
ELIZABETH VARGAS, Host: As we said earlier, former LAPD detectives Phil Vannatter and Tom Lange were guests on our show yesterday. Today — and they were emphatically defending the integrity of their investigation, we must say. Today, we are going to speak with Bill Pavelic. He was the chief investigator of the OJ Simpson criminal trial, civil trial, and the custody case involving his two young children, Sydney and Justin. Bill Pavelic joins us this morning. Welcome, thank you for being here.
BILL PAVELIC, Former Simpson Lead Investigator: Thank you.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: Former detectives Lange and Vannatter took on the air — were on the air — concede they made mistakes, but they emphatically deny framing OJ Simpson. Why are you so sure that, in fact, they did?
BILL PAVELIC: In fact, their book even substantiates that premise even more. They basically falsified the affidavit, the search warrant affidavit. The information that they provided to the judge in order to get the search warrant was basically fabricated. They lied to the judge by informing her that OJ Simpson left on an unscheduled flight, thus leaving them with the impression — leaving her with the impression that he was fleeing California. They did not tell her that they scaled the wall. They told her that they recovered the glove while securing the evidence. And as you know from the trial, that’s absolutely incorrect. I could go on, but I don’t think we have the time.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: But even if we grant, even if we were to accept everything you just said on face value, which clearly detectives Lange and Vannatter deny and do not, you were an LA police officer for 19 years yourself. What you are suggesting is a conspiracy of such an enormous scope. They would have had to have planted Mr Simpson’s blood at Bundy. They would have planted Mr Goldman’s blood in Mr Simpson’s Bronco, planted Nicole’s blood and Simpson’s blood at the Rockingham estate. It goes on and on, and it seems fantastic to many people.
BILL PAVELIC: Yes, it does. But if you look at the facts, even Judge Ito supported our premise, and that is that Vannatter, for all intents and purposes, was dishonest. If Vannatter was dishonest, his partner obviously is just as culpable as Vannatter. What we found in this book, in fact, is, that Vannatter was shopping for a favorable prosecutor, in this case, Marcia Clark. Vannatter contacted Marcia Clark before he obtained the search warrant or the affidavit, completed the affidavit for the search warrant, before he went to Judge Lefkovitz (ph). So now we learn from his book that the prosecutor had a much bigger role in this conspiracy than we initially thought.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: Well, let’s get to the specifics of what they said yesterday …
BILL PAVELIC: Sure.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: … on our air, for example. For — the first thing they said was that Mr Simpson was not acting like an innocent man. As one of the proofs, pieces of proof of that, they played the following tape. It’s an audiotape from the Bronco chase. Let’s listen to it very quickly.
Det TOM LANGE: (on phone) And nobody’s going to get hurt.
OJ SIMPSON: (on phone) I’m the only one that deserves …
Det TOM LANGE: No, you don’t deserve that.
OJ SIMPSON: I’m going to get hurt.
Det TOM LANGE: You do not deserve to get hurt.
OJ SIMPSON: Ahhh …
Det TOM LANGE: You do not deserve to get hurt. Don’t do this.: OJ SIMPSON: All I did was love Nicole. That’s all I did was love her.
Det TOM LANGE: I understand.
OJ SIMPSON: I love everybody. I tried to show everybody my whole life that I love every body.
Det TOM LANGE: We know that, and everybody loves you.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: Mr Simpson says on this tape, “I’m the only one who deserves to get hurt. I loved Nicole too much.” To detectives Lange and Vannatter, they say that sounds like a grieving guilty man.
BILL PAVELIC: Well, he is a grieving not-guilty man. What he is referring to is obviously not the crime itself, but the fact that he eluded authorities, and went to the grave, and was suicidal. The interpretation that the — Lange and Vannatter are putting out is that somehow this has to do with the crime itself, and that is totally incorrect.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: Any question why Mr Simpson didn’t say, “I’m innocent of these crimes”? Why he didn’t say — talk more about Nicole’s death?
BILL PAVELIC: In fact, he did say that. Not only did he maintain his innocence, but he also said, in various discussions that same day, that he was being framed by the police. I would like to submit to you, why didn’t Vannatter and Lange put the contents of all — the entire tape in a follow-up report or a supplemental report? You’re not going to find that. And the reason you’re not going to find it is because there’s a problem with this tape.
First of all, what probable cause did they have to tape record this conversation? Second of all, they’re totally contradicting their initial premise, which was that he was
fleeing again, trying to leave the public with the impression that he was somehow — with the goatee and the mustache, that he was going to run away.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: But it does bring up an interesting issue. Why, in fact, if he was just going to his wife’s grave, or why, in fact, he was only going to commit suicide or contemplating that horrible thought, would he have a disguise and $8,000 cash with him?
BILL PAVELIC: Well, first of all, he had a disguise. Why would he take his passport with no disguise? I mean, it’s ludicrous to assume that he was trying to disguise himself in order to flee, but yet he took the passport that doesn’t have the disguise. I mean, it just doesn’t make sense.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: All right. They also introduced, detectives Lange and Vannatter, they say there was new evidence that was never introduced at the criminal or civil trial, and they talked about it yesterday on our show. I’ve got another clip I’d like you to listen to.
Det TOM LANGE: We had a witness at the airport that initially, interestingly enough, came to the defense and said, “Listen, I was at the airport a little after 11:00. I saw OJ Simpson there with his arm buried in a trash container, and then it went to a small flight bag on top. He zipped it closed, and he walked inside.” The day after — the day of the murders, this fellow reported this to the defense, and they never shared it with us. It was nine months later when this man followed up on this revelation with us.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: Did you investigate this man who says he saw OJ Simpson disposing contents of the — of a bag?
BILL PAVELIC: First of all, first of all, let me just say something about Detective Lange here. We don’t have an obligation to turn over discovery material to him. Discovery material would be turned over to the prosecution. If the prosecution did not let him see it, that’s their business. We did turn over that information. As far as his interpretation, what happened is, their interpretation is completely different from ours.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: And the other evidence about supposedly OJ Simpson got a gift of knives just days before the murders?
BILL PAVELIC: Again, you have to ask yourself, why didn’t they introduce this man? Why didn’t they call him to testify? His contention is that it was the prosecution that didn’t want to do it. This is a question that should be posed to the prosecution. As far as we’re concerned, the gentleman that he is referring to was contacting tabloids, was trying to sell his story, has changed the version of his story, and he is — he was not reliable.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: To many people in this civil trial in particular, the most damning evidence against OJ Simpson is this series of photographs showing him wearing Bruno Magli shoes, the kind of shoes that left a footprint at the murder scene. Do you still believe that first photograph printed in “The Enquirer” was indeed doctored, was a fake?
BILL PAVELIC: Unlike the plaintiffs’ witnesses, I will not comment on an issue that the jury in the civil case is adjudicating. I think it would be improper. I’m still subject to the rules and regulations and the gag order that was issued by Judge Fujisaki.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: All right. Then without commenting in specific on this evidence, do you think that overall, this civil trial has been a fair trial for Mr Simpson?
BILL PAVELIC: I would prefer to answer that question after the adjudication. And I think you may find it rather surprising.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: There have been many have been — who have felt that Mr Simpson has been subjected to double jeopardy. Those who support him feel that he’s already been through this once, that in the civil trial, he is — has been — all this has been brought out against him again, we’re getting this new evidence. Do you feel the same way? Do you feel sympathetic that way?
BILL PAVELIC: Let me just make a comment that I don’t see the rage in America with regards to Mark Fuhrman making a living, who is a convicted perjurer. I don’t see groups demonstrating against him. He is given an opportunity to make a living. So if we’re talking about a double standards here, I think there are double standards with regards to the way they look at OJ versus Mark Fuhrman. And in this case, only one person was convicted, and that was Mark Fuhrman.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: You still have a good relationship with OJ Simpson. You still speak with him regularly.
BILL PAVELIC: Yes, I do.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: How is he holding up through this trial?
BILL PAVELIC: I’m sure it’s very difficult for him, but I think the fact that he has his children, he’s content with that, and he knows this is an uphill battle. This is only round two in a 15-round fight. I’m sure that there will be some additional rulings.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: Round two, that means it sounds like if he loses, he’ll appeal.
BILL PAVELIC: I expect the appeal to go. I don’t expect him to lose in this case.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: You expect him to win in the civil trial.
BILL PAVELIC: I think we’re going to have to wait for the jury, and we may be just as surprised here as we were in all the others.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: In the criminal trial, OJ Simpson repeatedly professed his innocence, repeatedly pledged to find the real killers of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. You were the man put in charge of that. What have you found about who might have killed these two people?
BILL PAVELIC: It’s interesting that you ask that question. I don’t recall anybody asking Mr Jewell, “If you didn’t plant the bomb in the — in Atlanta, who did?” In this particular case, Mr Simpson did authorize me to conduct an investigation. I will not comment on the investigation. I want to maintain the integrity of the investigation. And unlike the prosecution in the criminal case, I’m not about to rush to judgment.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: Bill Pavelic, thank you for coming in, interesting speaking with you this morning.
BILL PAVELIC: Thank you, have a good day.
ELIZABETH VARGAS: Thanks, same to you.
(Commercial Break)
(Local News)
(Commercial Break)
LOAD-DATE: February 27, 1997
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Police see no Connection Between Ennis Cosby Slaying, Extortion Arrests
January 21, 1997 Tuesday, METROPOLICE SEE NO CONNECTION BETWEEN ENNIS COSBY SLAYING, EXTORTION ARRESTS
BYLINE: Compiled From Wire Reports
DATELINE: LOS ANGELESPolice in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance picked up two possible witnesses to the killing of Ennis Cosby on Monday and turned them over to investigators for questioning.
Meanwhile, authorities in New York arrested two suspected extortionists in what was described as a failed attempt to blackmail comedian Bill Cosby.
Officials stressed Monday that they do not think the two investigations are connected.
A source familiar with both investigations said the extortion suspects were nabbed Saturday after they allegedly were preparing to take a story to the tab-loid news media accusing Bill Cosby of fathering an illegitimate child - an al-legation denied by Cosby’s spokesman.
Officials on both coasts conferred Monday about that case and last Thursday’s shooting of Bill Cosby’s son, graduate student Ennis Cosby, 27, and concluded that they are not part of a single plot against the Cosby family.
The two people thought to be witnesses were picked up at a Torrance drugstore and turned over to Los Angeles police investigators. KCBS-TV said police went to the drugstore after a neighbor reported seeing a blue hatchback that appeared to match one driven by the witness shown in a police sketch.
Police said that the witnesses were not suspects, and wouldn’t say whether they matched the sketches or the information about the car.
“The most I can tell you . . . is they are being identified as witnesses,” said Torrance Police Lt. Steve Gilliam.
The suspect in the Cosby killing was described as a white man, 25 to 32 years old, of average height and weight and wearing a light-colored knit cap. Police also were seeking a white man in his late 20s to early 30s with a mustache, a goatee and possibly a mole on his left cheek, who was wearing a dark-colored be-ret and driving a blue hatchback car.
Driven in part by the release of composite photographs and in part by an es-calating tabloid reward derby, Los Angeles police detectives are being forced into a sort of investigative triage as they try to separate factual from fanci-ful accounts of Ennis Cosby’s slaying.
By midday Monday, police were sifting through more than 300 tips, some possi-bly serious clues, others passing observations or dubious suggestions.
On Sunday, Bill Cosby, speaking through his publicist, challenged print and electronic tabloids to stop paying for information about the case and instead use that money to offer a reward. The National Enquirer was quick to respond, posting $100,000 for information leading to apprehension of the killer.
Monday, Globe Communications, parent company of The Globe tabloid, upped the ante, offering a $200,000 reward. The Globe also intends to create a toll-free telephone line to accept tips about the case.
Stan Goldman, a Loyola University law professor, cautioned that - just as in the O.J. Simpson murder case - the tabloids could do more harm than good.
He pointed out that a witness testified before a grand jury that she saw Simpson driving away from the crime scene at the time of the killings of his ex-wife and her friend. But because she sold her story to a tabloid, the prosecu-tion feared she was tainted and never called her.
At the Los Angeles Police Department, Cmdr. Tim McBride said police would prefer to have witnesses go straight to authorities. “We are encouraging people to come to the police,” McBride said. “We’re not in partnership with the tab-loids.”
Bill Pavelic also known as William Bill Pavelic and Zvonko Bill Pavelic, a former LAPD detective, who works as an investigator and con-sultant, said 99 percent of the calls to the police department are likely to be worthless - some from psychics.
In the extortion attempt, Autumn Jackson, 22, who allegedly claims Bill Cosby is her father, demanded the money to keep from going to a tabloid, officials said. She and Jose Medina, 54, who was to write her story, were arrested Satur-day at a New York law firm representing Cosby after signing a purported $24 mil-lion settlement to “end everything,” said U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White.
According to an FBI affidavit, the family of Bill Cosby apparently had made payments to Autumn Jackson for educational purposes for several years, as he does for numerous other young people in need of assistance.
A family spokesman confirmed the details of the arrangement to ABC News and said Cosby categorically denied that this woman is his daughter. Spokesman David Brokaw said Cosby’s lawyers had a copy of the woman’s birth certificate proving he is not her father.
The search for fugitive rape suspect Luster continued……
The search for fugitive rape suspect Luster continued……
The search for fugitive rape suspect Andrew Luster continued Tuesday as Ventura County law enforcement officials sifted through dozens of potential leads while at the same time trying to compile enough information to obtain a federal arrest warrant.
Investigators have been checking airports and looking at bank and cell phone records in an attempt to track down the 39-year-old great-grandson of cosmetics magnate Max Factor. They suspect Luster, who faces a life prison sentence if convicted of drugging and raping three women, jumped his $1-million bail last week during a break in his trial.
Tips on Luster’s possible whereabouts poured in Tuesday in response to news reports of his flight, said Eric Nishimoto, spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
“We are at the point where we are going through the leads we have, prioritizing them, and trying to determine where to look,” Nishimoto said. “The one advantage to dealing with somebody like him, who has a lot of contacts and money, is the fact that there are a number of trails we can follow.” The Sheriff’s Department and the Ventura County district attorney’s office each have one investigator working full time on the case, as well as backup investigators. “Obviously, we have limited resources,” Nishimoto said.
That is one reason why local authorities are trying to obtain federal assistance.
During the last two days, prosecutors have scrambled to compile information that would enable the FBI to obtain an arrest warrant for Luster and give them authority to investigate leads in foreign countries.
At the same time, authorities are working to put together a list of leads on places Luster may have gone — homes of relatives, former girlfriends or friends, and any of his previous residences.
“Once we have the [federal] arrest warrant, the issue is … where do the leads take us,” said Gary Auer, chief investigator for the district attorney’s office.
Meanwhile, Luster’s criminal trial continued in his absence.
Santa Monica-based attorney Roger Jon Diamond stood alone at the defense counsel table, his bulky briefcase parked in the chair where his client once sat alongside a four-member defense team.
Co-counsel Kiana Sloan-Hillier walked out Monday after Superior Court Judge Ken Riley declared Luster a fugitive and issued a warrant for his arrest. She has yet to return.
Investigator Bill Pavelic, a former Los Angeles police officer, also known as William Bill Pavelic and Zvonko Bill Pavelic walked out — angrily clutching his briefcase — after prosecutors called him, as a witness outside the jury’s presence and asked whether he helped Luster flee.
“It is insulting,” he snapped. “You know damn well I didn’t.”
Diamond also asked to leave the case, but Riley ordered him to stay on and defend Luster, who faces 87 criminal counts, including rape, sodomy of an unconscious person, sexual battery, drug possession and poisoning.
Defense attorneys, who did not give an opening statement, have maintained that Luster engaged in consensual sex with the purported victims, whom they described as embarrassed party girls lying about the sexual encounters.
But prosecutors allege that Luster used a potent date-rape drug to knock out the alleged victims, erasing any memory of the sexual assaults.
On Tuesday, a 23-year-old former UC Santa Barbara college student, identified as David Doe, said he believes Luster drugged him and his friend, Carey, after they met at a Santa Barbara bar in July 2000. Doe said he has only a spotty memory of the events that night, but testified he began feeling nauseous and tired after Luster handed him a glass of water on a dance floor.
Carey told detectives that Luster raped her at his Mussel Shoals beach house after they drove there from the bar. It was her report that led investigators to search the home, where they seized videotapes of two additional sexual encounters that prosecutors contend are rapes.
Diamond tried to discredit David Doe on Tuesday, pointing out a number of occasions in which the college graduate admitted lying to police about the events on July 14, 2000.
Doe acknowledged that he had sex with Carey in the backseat of Luster’s car while driving to the defendant’s house, but lied about the encounter when interviewed.
“I didn’t want it to look like she was promiscuous,” he testified.
Under Diamond’s questioning, David Doe also admitted that he didn’t want the case against Luster to “fall through” based on his sexual encounter with one of the alleged victims. Carey is expected to take the stand today.
Los Angeles Times
January 8, 2003 Wednesday
Ventura County Edition
Bill Pavelic Book “Guilty of Incompetence”
Guilty of Incompetence” is a hard hitting book, that will expose the facts instead of fiction, and take you behind the scenes to see how LAPD and LADA helped create the OJ Simpson “race card”, covered up the existence of suspect “Charlie”, mismanaged the investigation and botched the “Trial of the Century”.