Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 3, 1994 TAG: 9412060021
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Short
The 28-year-old pediatrician's daughter was found guilty on three of five pandering charges. The seven-man, five-woman jury deadlocked on the two other counts and acquitted her of supplying cocaine to an undercover police officer.
The verdict came after four days of deliberations during which the jurors were asked to decide whose conduct was more objectionable, that of Fleiss or that of the undercover officers who the defense claimed had entrapped her.
Fleiss was arrested after providing $1,500 prostitutes for officers posing as businessmen.
After the scandal broke last year, there was speculation that Fleiss' alleged clients included Hollywood stars and moguls. But her so-called black book was never made public; the judge ruled the names of her customers were irrelevant.
Fleiss faces a maximum of six years in prison for the three pandering convictions. A preliminary hearing on sentencing was set for Jan. 20.
Fleiss was noticeably shaken by the verdict, slamming her hands on the table and putting her head down on the table. Her father, Paul Fleiss, hung his head in despair in the first row of the courtroom seats.
Fleiss and her father face a federal trial in January on related charges of money laundering and tax evasion.
The district attorney's office has not decided whether to retry Fleiss on the two deadlocked counts.
by CNB