NBC had some cute and unusual self promotion going on during the Today show this morning. “Cute” is admittedly a strange way to put it, considering this is a story about a crime, but that’s how the network spun it. Recently Justine Faeth, an assistant at a media company in Manhattan had a strange interaction with a man who showed up and demanded to see an executive about an idea for a show he had. She told him he needed an appointment, but he wouldn’t leave. He wasn’t some super persistent show business type; he was sticking around and annoying the assistant with requests for DVDs, asking him to get her a glass of water, etc. After he finally left, Faeth found out that a purse had been stolen and dumped in the stairwell. She saved the cup and tissue the man had used and then discarded on her desk to give to police, and said it was because of all the hours she’s spent watching “Law & Order: SVU.”

Naturally, NBC is having a field day with the “TV is good for you after all!” idea.

Proving that TV can be good for you after all, a 24-year-old “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” fanatic helped police nab a suspected serial robber in New York, thanks to the amateur sleuthing skills she picked up watching the long-running television series. It was a day just like any other day when the fast-talking stranger entered City Lights Media in midtown Manhattan, telling assistant Justine Faeth he had an idea for a show — something involving 50 Cent, Faeth said — and wanted to talk to someone about it.

Faeth told the man that he needed an appointment to talk to an executive, but the intrusive visitor continued to hang around. “We don’t allow walk-ins,” Faeth told hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry on TODAY Thursday. “So I gave him some information, like e-mail [addresses], and I told him he could set up a meeting. I thought he was annoying, like, ‘Just go away; I’m trying to work,’ ” she added. Then the man told Faeth he felt sick and needed a glass of water. A wary Faeth directed him to the kitchen to get his own water. Leaving his used cup and a used tissue on Faeth’s desk, the man finally left the office via the stairwell, Faeth said.

It wasn’t long after that Faeth discovered that a wallet, an iPod and a cell phone were missing from a co-worker’s purse, which was discovered in the stairwell. Having seen every episode of “Law & Order: SVU,” Faeth thought: What would the show’s intrepid female sleuth, Detective Olivia Benson, do in this situation? Career criminal Kevin Moore stole several items from Justine Faeth’s workplace — but made the mistake of leaving behind a cup of water he drank from and a used tissue. Suspecting that it was the slick stranger who had stolen the missing items, Faeth alertly saved the cup and tissue he used, knowing they might contain helpful DNA evidence. However, when police came to investigate, they said DNA was used mainly in major cases such as rape and murder, so they did not take the cup and tissue, according to Faeth.

But Faeth’s faith in “SVU” would pay off after all. After viewing a video surveillance tape, police returned the next day to ask if Faeth still had the evidence. Fortunately she did, and police were able to match DNA samples from the cup and tissue to a man in their criminal database. Faeth credited her “Law & Order” addiction and the science of genetics for helping to nab Moore. “I have family in law [enforcement], so I think it might be in my blood,” she explained on TODAY. “I’m just happy he was caught and I was able to help.”

[From MSNBC]

Kevin Moore was charged with multiple counts of burglary and grand larceny – according to police, he’s been pulling stunts like this all over the city. The best part of the interview – which seems a little disorganized when you watch it – is that they have SVU star Mariska Hargitay call in and compliment Faeth on her great detective skills. It could have been cheesy but was actually really cute because Faeth went all fangirl on her and kinda sorta freaked out a bit. Mariska Hargitay, by the way, is all class. She is one of the few celebrities I’d actually want to hang out with. She always comes across as whip smart, gracious, and well-adjusted. Now I sound like a fangirl too. Which I sorta am – there’s a chance I’ve seen every single episode so many times, I could quote them all if need be.

Here are Mariska and Christopher Meloni relaxing on West 43rd Street in New York City, on August 13, 2009 before heading to the set to film “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”. Images thanks to Fame Pictures .

In February, Audrina Patridge’s LA home was burglarized by two young robbers, a male and a female, who were caught on tape by Patridge’s home surveillance system. The tape was dark and grainy, but you could see that the robbers were an attractive woman of asian descent and a skinny caucasian guy with sideburns wearing a hat.

TMZ has compared the footage of Patridge’s home being robbed with outside videos of the three robbers entering Lindsay Lohan’s house last weekend. It looks like two of them could be the same people, with one of the suspects being a skinny guy with a hat and another a young dark-haired woman trying to hide under a scarf. Both robberies were committed by entering through an unlocked door, as if the criminals knew the homes and were aware of how to enter without breaking in.

TMZ has learned law enforcement is looking at the possibility the burglars who hit Lindsay Lohan are the same people who broke into Audrina Patridge’s Los Angeles pad.

Look at the striking similarities between the male burglar in both break-ins — down to the hat and t-shirt. Law enforcement sources tell us they have noticed the similarities and are looking into the possibility that the burglars in both cases are one and the same.

And the M.O. is also strikingly similar — in both cases the thieves entered through unlocked doors.

The Audrina break-in occurred on February 22 — the Lindsay break-in occurred on Sunday morning.

One law enforcement source tells TMZ Lindsay was shown a picture of the man who broke into her place and said he “looked familiar.”

[From TMZ]

Lindsay has posted on Twitter that she new the robbers, writing “that’s how i know it was not a ROBBERY. electronics weren’t taken… just things that a certain old friend knew meant a lot to me.” Her dad also claimed that it was an inside job and vowed to find the evildoers who robbed his daughter. (I’m not kidding, he really said “evildoers.”) It’s rumored that the pilfered items may include a sex tape or two, although that sounds like speculation at this point so we’ll have to see.

I don’t follow Audrina and “The Hills” women at all, but it genuinely seemed that she didn’t know those two people who stole from her. She posted the surveillance footage on her blog and asked for help identifying them. The question is – are they people who party with the lesser celebrities and case out their homes and/or do they have some kind of “business” relationship with them, i.e. dealing certain illegal substances? Many have wondered if Lindsay’s home got burgled because she failed to pay her dealer. There’s also a whole conspiracy theory that this was a set up made to look like she’s having sex tapes stolen so that she can cash in for millions without making it seem like she was a willing participant. I doubt that’s true, but we’ll see. Whoever these people are, they’re pretty dumb for not stopping over at CVS and buying some pantyhose to stick over their heads before they go and rob people. Hats and scarves just don’t cut it, and once they got caught on tape at Audrina’s they didn’t have the sense to invest in proper disguises for their next spree. You have to be pretty stupid to commit crimes in the first place, I guess.

[Thanks to La Chica for the tip on the sex tape conspiracy]

Lindsay Lohan is shown out on 8/24/09. Credit: Fame Pictures

Lindsay Lohan’s been the victim of a two break-ins since she moved into her rented home less than a year ago. It’s hard to feel badly for her, considering she’s believed to have quite the sticky fingers herself. The thieves stole really strange things – everything from a safe to actual doors. But Lindsay herself points out they left valuable electronics while going for the more personal items. Not that a door is personal – but whatever was in that safe probably is. According to Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times, Lindsay had “incriminating” photos and videos in there. Which I’m going to assume means nasty, filthy sex tapes.

I’ve learned the real reason Lindsay Lohan is so upset about the theft of the safe from her L.A. house is the contents included some very incriminating videos and photos, plus legal documents, that LiLo believes could cause embarrassment if made public.

[From the Chicago Sun-Times]

I’m sure the really embarrassing things are Lindsay’s legal papers. All those lawsuits and settlements for running over people’s feet in angry rages… that’s some embarrassing stuff. Or contracts that show her salary. That’s humiliating. A good sex tape could make her! Wait, no. Considering the recent trout pout, emaciated frame, and poorly-applied orange skin paint (I refuse to call it self tanner), I’d rather see a Mel Gibson sex tape. Shudder. It couldn’t possibly make Lindsay’s reputation any worse though. She’s blown every opportunity she’s ever had to blow. Enjoy that sentence.

Lindsay herself Tweeted that the whole thing was an inside job:

@duke2001j that’s how i know it was not a ROBBERY. electronics weren’t taken… just things that a certain old friend knew meant a lot to me

about 14 hours ago from web

[From Lindsay Lohan’s Twitter]

So, what have we learned here? Well, Lindsay Lohan has enemies. And not the unimaginative type that just write nasty things on bathroom walls or call up the Enquirer to give them exclusives. The kind that break into your house and steal your crown moldings and your sex tapes. Oh and that unicorn statue you think is really art. And they’ve managed to get away with it so far too, which means Lohan also has friends that are at least 17 I.Q. points higher than her. That’ll put them somewhere around the 110 range – we should tell cops to look out for that and put it in their description.

This is based on absolutely nothing, but if I had to bet which ex is behind this, I’d say Courtenay Semel. She’s at least as crazy as Lohan, and definitely seems off her rocker enough to go for it. Somehow I can see one of Lohan’s female exes being behind this more than I can see a guy.

Now let’s start crossing our fingers that hopefully she/he is just trying to blackmail Lohan. Pay them whatever they want Lindsay! Just please, please don’t let that tape leak.

Thanks to Dlisted for the lead!

Here’s Lindsay Lohan leaving her L.A. home yesterday. Images thanks to WENN.com .

It looks like LaToya Jackson might just be right, after all. The L.A. County coroner’s office has ruled that the death of Michael Jackson was not an accidental overdose. Jackson had quite a cocktail of sedatives in his system, including Valium and lorazepam, in addition to the much-covered dose of propofol. According to E! News, it’s looking more and more like Jackson’s private doctor, Conrad Murray, is going to be on the hook, possibly facing manslaughter charges for his role in the death.

The cause of Michael Jackson’s death? Homicide.

According to a published report citing a law enforcement official close to the case, the popster died as the result of criminal wrongdoing, making it likelier than ever that his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, will now face involuntary manslaughter charges.

Meanwhile E! News has obtained a search warrant affidavit unsealed today in Houston quoting Los Angeles County coroner’s officials as saying Jackson had lethal levels of propofol in his system when he died.

“Toxicology analysis shows Michael Jackson had lethal levels of propofol in his blood,” reads the court document.

Per the affidavit, Murray told the LAPD he’d been treating the 50-year-old singer for insomnia for six weeks and giving him 50 milligrams of the powerful anesthetic intravenously every night.

The doctor not only acknowledged that he obtained and administered propofol on June 25, the morning Jackson died, but he also admitted to leaving the King of Pop under the influence of the drug when he left the room to tend to other business.

The plot thickens.

According to Murray’s account, Jackson was having trouble sleeping the night of June 24. Noticing that the Moonwalker was forming what he believed was an addiction, the doctor claimed he had been trying to ween him off propofol for some time with little success and, as a result, initially withheld the drug traditionally used only in hospitals and monitored by an anesthesiologist.

Instead, he gave Jackson the milder sedative Valium at 1:30 a.m.. With Jackson still awake, he next tried giving him a shot of lorazepam at 2 a.m. followed by midazolam. When those failed to have any effect, Murray said he then decided to give him 25 milligrams of propofol, which induced sleep right away.

But in perhaps the affidavit’s biggest bombshell, the cardiologist admitted to detectives that he left Jackson alone to go make phone calls to his Houston office and family members. When he returned, Murray found Jackson had stopped breathing. He immediately began performing CPR as one of the entertainer’s employees dialed 911.

Such admissions don’t bode well for the doc, whom police are considering charging with involuntary manslaughter. However, while it’s now coming out that M.J. had lethal levels of the drug in his body, the L.A. County Coroner’s office still has not issued an official cause of death.

Autopsy results have been delayed indefinitely.

One thing Murray can breathe a little easier about: Investigators have not discovered any evidence that the doc bought propofol under his medical license or that he had obtained it illegally, noting Jackson had apparently been prescribed the medication from several other doctors, two of whom were reportedly based in Germany.

[From E! News]

“Autopsy results have been delayed indefinitely.” Why? Between this and the Jackson family’s inability to bury the body, I am more convinced than ever that something sneaky is going on here. How long does it take to do an autopsy? I believe the family and Jackson’s handlers are trying to keep some major secrets here. Why else would it take two months to complete an autopsy and bury his remains? Anyway, this Dr. Murray had better get used to the inside of a courtroom. Something tells me he’s going to be spending a lot of time in one soon.

Lindsay Lohan had a lot of drama over the weekend. First we heard that she freaked out and called the cops when a NY deli worker asked her to verify that she was the rightful owner of her misplaced cellphone before handing it back to her. Then, when she returned to LA, her home was burglarized. For some reason, maybe because she was embarrassed after calling the cops in NY, Lindsay called her father Michael first and then he called the cops. Lindsay’s home was supposedly broken into back in May with nothing taken, and cops had to ask her if it was ransacked because it basically looked trashed. It turned out that Lindsay was just a slob and that her place always looks like that.

Now Lindsay’s home is said to have been broken into and she’s the victim of a theft for once instead of denying that she’s committed one. Her father and mother are confirming the news, with Michael and Dina Lohan granting multiple interviews that basically make the whole thing look like it was staged to give Lindsay positive press after the cell phone incident. It’s probably a legitimate burglary, it’s just that Michael and Dina Lohan basically taint any story they touch:

Lindsay Lohan’s Hollywood Hills home has been burglarized, the actress’s manager-mom Dina, has confirmed to PEOPLE.

“It’s true,” Dina Lohan tells PEOPLE of the TMZ report Lindsay arrived home early Sunday to discover that her home appeared to have been burglarized. “The safe was ripped out of the wall, and the door was off the hinges and door handles removed,” Dina says. “Bags, shoes and jewelry were taken too. Thank God she wasn’t home.”

The star’s rep, Leslie Sloan, said in a statement: “Lindsay and her sister Ali Lohan were fortunate [in] that they weren’t in the home when this incident happened.” Dina Lohan added that Lindsay was planning to move, even before the incident occurred: “Ali and Linds just left me in New York, and left people in charge to pack, as we are moving her to a safer place.”

As for Lindsay’s frame of mind post break-in, Dina tells PEOPLE, “She is okay, but upset.” She also said that before arriving home, Lindsay – currently working on the 2010 crime thriller Machete, costarring Robert DeNiro and Jessica Alba – attended a birthday celebration in Malibu for a family friend.

The LAPD tells PEOPLE, “All we can confirm is that we are investigating a possible break in at the residence and we still have officers on the scene. We got a call shortly before 7 a.m. this morning and it’s still under investigation. No arrests have been made.” In May, police were also called to the actress’ home after a surveillance video showed what looked like an attempted break-in.

[From People]

Michael Lohan also told Radar Online that he was using a team of private investigators to find the burglars, which sounds just like his pledge last year that he was going to find Lindsay’s drug dealers. He told TMZ that it was an inside job, and to Radar he promised “I’m going to work my own investigation and find out who did this.” Part of me thinks that Michael Lohan is much more motivated by the positive press coverage than helping out his victimized daughter.

Here are photos of cops outside Lohan’s LA home on 8/23/09. Credit: Fame Pictures. She is also shown shopping in NY on 8/19/09. Credit: WENN.com

The strange story of the murdered Playboy model and the fugitive reality show contestant has come to an end. 32 year-old Ryan Jenkins, a murder suspect and contestant on postponed VH1 reality show “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” was found dead of an apparent suicide on Sunday in a motel outside Vancouver, British Columbia. The strangled and mutilated body of his ex wife, Jasmine Fiore, 28, was found in a suitcase in a dumpster in Orange County, CA on August 15. Her teeth and fingertips were removed, and she was identified by the serial numbers on her breast implants. Jenkins, a Canadian native, was the subject of an international manhunt.

The search for a former Calgary man accused of killing his ex-wife — in a case that captured international headlines — has ended after the discovery of his body in a motel in Hope.

Ryan Alexander Jenkins, 32, was found hanging from a belt in a room at the Thunderbird Motel.

Jenkins was found dead Sunday morning when a motel manager decided to check on the room rented three days earlier.

Jenkins had been charged with the murder of his ex-wife, Los Angeles swimsuit model Jasmine Fiore, on Thursday.

The same day, a woman checked into the Thunderbird Motel, saying she needed a room for at least three days, maybe longer, and paid cash through Sunday. Outside, a man waited in a silver PT Cruiser with Alberta licence plates.

Kevin Walker, the manager at the secluded budget motel, couldn’t remember the woman’s name and said RCMP have seized the slip of information she filled out for the hotel room. He could see there was a man in the vehicle but thought nothing of the fact he didn’t come in, he said.

After entering unit two, a single room with a double bed, the mystery woman stayed for about 20 minutes, then left.

Walker said he never saw her vehicle again.

In the days following, Walker said he saw a man walk past his own balcony at the motel — a man who would later turn out to be Jenkins.

“But he didn’t look like the Ryan Jenkins I’d seen on TV,” he said. “He looked like a man at the end of his rope, not the muscle-bound macho man you saw on TV.”

The man, he said, had a sunken face and looked thinner than Jenkins looked in the photos released by the police and others that appeared on television news programs.

On Friday and Saturday there was very little activity at the room, with Walker noting that no one seemed to be coming and going.

Then on Sunday, when no one came to check out by the required time of 11 a.m., Walker went to the room.

“I thought maybe they left the key in the room and just left,” he said.

After knocking and saying ‘hello’ without a reply, he used a second motel key and opened the locked door, just a crack.

He saw an open laptop sitting on the bed and a few other things, said the still-shaken man.

“As I was pushing the door open, I smelled death,” Walker said. “And then, as I kept opening the door, there was death staring at me.”

He said he saw a man “hanging from the coat rack by a belt.”

Walker reeled back from the horrific sight, returned to the office to call the police.

“After I swung the door open and saw him hanging there — I didn’t notice anything after that.”

Even then, he wasn’t sure who the man was, going back to his own room to scan newspapers to see if the face of the dead man in the room matched those of the fugitive from Calgary.

[From VancouverSun.com via WeSmirch]

People Magazine has some quotes from a friend of Megan Hauserman, the star of the show in which now-deceased Jenkins competed to date her, “Megan Wants a Millionaire.” The show has been postponed indefinitely, and Megan is said to be “devastated” by the news of the murder. The source explained that “She got to know Ryan through her show, and she is shocked and saddened by the week’s events.”

Jenkins was convicted of assaulting a girlfriend in Calgary in 2007. He was sentenced to 15 months probation and ordered to undergo counseling and sex addiction treatment . VH1 issued a statement after the murder that they use an outside firm to run background checks on all contestants and that Ryan wouldn’t have been chosen for the show if they were aware he had a prior conviction. “Obviously, if the company had been given a full picture of his background, he would never have been allowed on the show.” Maybe these reality shows will tone it down in the future, or maybe they’ll just make sure they use contestants who are based out of the US and easier to trace.

This is a very sad story and one that seems unfinished in a way. Fiore’s family will not be able to see justice served now that her assumed murderer has committed suicide.

We heard this story yesterday but none of us really wanted to cover it. Ryan Jenkins, 32, a contestant on the VH1 reality show Megan Wants a Millionaire, is wanted for the murder of his new wife, 28 year-old Playboy playmate Jasmine Fiore. Fiore’s body was found Saturday apparently strangled and stuffed in a suitcase in a dumpster in a suburb of Los Angeles. Jenkins married Fiore in Las Vegas on March 18 after knowing her just a few days. It’s hard to tell if Jenkins was married while he was on the dating show, or if he got married immediately after being eliminated. VH1 states that production was completed on Ryan’s show at “the end of March”.

Jenkins is a millionaire real estate executive from Calgary, Canada, and is said to be worth $2.5 million. He’s now a fugitive. Federal agents were monitoring the US/Canada border near Washington trying to prevent him from fleeing the country, but it’s thought that he’s already escaped to Canada on foot.

To make this story even stranger, Jenkins reportedly won the $250,000 grand prize in the VH1 meta reality-competition “I Love Money 3″ in which contestants from various VH1 reality shows go to a tropical location and compete Survivor style. That was also filmed in March, and hasn’t aired yet. The show Ryan stars on, Megan Wants a Millionaire, premiered on August 2, but VH1 has decided to pull all future episodes due to the murder investigation. People Magazine has the most complete explanation of this sad story, below.

Nearly five months ago, Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a contestant on Megan Wants a Millionaire and I Love Money 3 – and a real-life millionaire from Canada – impulsively married Playboy model Jasmine Fiore in Las Vegas.

Their move to Los Angeles, with the blond and buxom Fiore, 28, hoping to work in real estate or as a personal trainer while Jenkins, 32, traveled North America competing for money and another woman’s attentions, could have been a reality show of its own.

But now the story has taken a deadly turn from escapist television fare: Fiore has been murdered, the Millionaire show has been pulled off the air, and Jenkins is an international fugitive.

“Her death is a tragedy,” Buena Park, Calif., police Lt. Gary Worrall tells PEOPLE. “Our investigators have been working around the clock. Many of them haven’t slept in a while.”

Body in a Dumpster
It began, police say, when a nude female body was found stuffed in a suitcase in a Dumpster behind an apartment complex in Buena Park, an Orange County suburb south of Los Angeles, on Saturday, Aug. 15. That night, Jenkins called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to report Fiore missing, and by Monday the Orange County coroner confirmed the victim as Fiore, apparently strangled.

Now, police in the United States and Canada are scrambling to find Jenkins, a Calgary real estate salesman considered a “person of interest” in the murder.

“We are aware that he is from Canada and there’s a potential for him to go there,” says Worrall. “We’re concerned he might flee the country.”

Worrall says that he was aware of some media reports that a representative for Jenkins promises he’ll turn himself in; however, the police have received no such offer.

Although not a familiar face, Jenkins does live on the fringes of fame. Worth over $2 million, he appears in the current season of VH1′s Megan Wants a Millionaire, in which wealthy suitors compete for the affections of Megan Hauserman a young lady with expensive tastes who has appeared on previous VH1 series Rock of Love 2, Charm School and I Love Money.

Show Goes Off the Air
In last weekend’s episode, Jenkins won a one-on-one date with Megan, drove her in an Aston Marin DBS Coupe to an intimate dinner – and picked up the $1,500 tab. The pair also shared a passionate kiss. A “battle royale” between the finalists was scheduled to air this weekend.

But on Wednesday, VH1 had shut down most of their Web content connected with both shows, and pulled Megan Wants a Millionaire off the air.

“Given the unfortunate circumstances, VH1 has postponed any future airings. This is a tragic situation and our thoughts go out to the victim’s family,” says a statement from the network.

According to some media reports, Jenkins won $250,000 on I Love Money, in March. At around the same time, Jenkins met Fiore at a strip club, and the two were married two days later – on March 18, according to the Clark County, Nev., Recorder’s Office (although Fiore’s mother told reporters she doesn’t believe a legitimate marriage took place.)

A Plea for Public’s Help
Fiore, who also goes by the name Jasmine Kinkade, has modeled for radio personality Howard Stern, for Las Vegas hotels and for Playboy. Her mother told reporters her daughter also was interested in selling real estate and starting a personal training business.

Jenkins and Fiore were living in Los Angeles at the time of the murder. Worrall says he knows little about the nature of their relationship – only that they were last seen together Friday evening at a poker tournament in San Diego.

According to TMZ, Fiore texted an ex-boyfriend that evening, offering to meet him in Las Vegas. Later that evening, the ex got another text from Fiore’s phone that said: “Suck it.” The site also reports that Jenkins was convicted in 2007 of assaulting his girlfriend at the time.

For now, though, the case is a manhunt, with police calling for the public’s help in finding the reality star fugitive or a luxury car he may be driving: Fiore’ white Mercedes CLS550, with custom black trim including a black logo, or Jenkins’s own black BMW X5.

[From People]

Jenkins has a history of domestic violence that was easily uncovered by TMZ. The incident prior to his reality show stint happened in Canada, which may be why he passed whatever background check VH1 does. He was convicted of assaulting a girlfriend in 2007 in Calgary and sentenced to 15 months probation, counseling, and sex addiction treatment. He was also charged with misdemeanor battery in Las Vegas in June for hitting Jasmine, but that was after the show had wrapped.

Does this mean that VH1 and all the other networks are finally going to tone it down with the outlandish reality shows or are they just going to do more thorough background checks and make sure all their legal ducks are in a row? There was a huge scandal in 2000 when it came out that the guy on Fox’s one-off competition “Who Wants To Marry a Millionaire?” had a restraining order against him for domestic violence. The fact that a reality show contestant probably committed a murder should make some executives question whether these types of shows are exploitive and unsafe. We can safely assume that significant changes aren’t going to happen unless they’re legally mandated, though.

Here are some photos of Jasmine Fiore in 2006. These are described as “Drivers Richard Rawlings, Jasmine Fiore and Keith Pervite – After party for the Bull Run cross-country rally held at the social club” LA, California, 7/28/06. Credit: WENN.com

Although she spent 13 years with O.J. Simpson, his now ex-girlfriend Christie Prody admits she’s afraid of the former NFL player/current convict. She’s hired lawyer Gloria Allred to represent her, which must mean she wants a little attention, too. Simpson is appealing his conviction on the legal equivalent of “I don’t like being behind bars and should get to do whatever I want without ever having a single consequence.” I’m not up to putting that in legalese. His lawyers are also claiming he should be let out of prison while he’s appealing his case. Naturally, so that he can chill at home, maybe eat a nice steak and watch some T.V. O.J. Simpson should never have to sit in a concrete cell because he kidnapped a guy, robbing and threatening him. Allred claims Prody is afraid that if Simpson’s let out, he’ll contact and/or harm her. This after thirteen years of her denying he killed his wife. NOW she gets that he’s someone to be afraid of.

One person who is hoping O.J. Simpson is not released from prison is the former gridiron star’s now ex-girlfriend Christie Prody, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

Simpson was convicted last December on robbery, kidnapping and weapons charges and sentenced to nine-to-33 years in prison. His attorneys on Monday argued before the Nevada Supreme Court that he should be released pending his appeal.

“Christie would not want to see him released because she is concerned that he might try to see her,” Prody’s attorney Gloria Allred told RadarOnline.com exclusively. “She is concerned that he is dangerous and she fears for her safety.”

Prody was a fresh-faced 20-year-old Nicole Brown-lookalike when she met Simpson. Back then she told her family and friends she didn’t believe he’d murdered his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman. Over their 13 years together, however, their relationship became increasingly violent, with numerous calls to 911 and allegations of drug and alcohol abuse.

A decision on Simpson’s request for bail could come at any time.

[From Radar]

I tend to go back and forth in my ability to have empathy for Christie. I mean she dated O.J. Simpson for 13 years. That’s a lot of time to make a better decision. And obviously it makes sense for to be as afraid of a rage-filled killer when he’s your ex-boyfriend as when he’s your boyfriend. It just seems to me like she should have been afraid all along.

In related – and tacky – news, the story of the botched heist that landed Simpson in prison is being made into a movie, according to the Enquirer.

Coming to a theater near you – O.J. The Movie! The knuckleheads behind the botched Las Vegas robbery that ended up landing O.J. Simpson behind bars for up to 33 years are now going to be immortalized in a Hollywood movie.

A script for the film version of the book “Busted!” – ex-con Thomas Riccio’s account of the bungled 2007 Sin City heist – has been making the rounds at top Tinsletown agencies and studios, where it’s caught the eye of filmmakers Nick Cassavetes and Martin Scorsese, among others.

The Enquirer has obtained a copy – which casts the main players in a startling light. The story is Riccio’s take on what happened when the former Heisman Trophy winner and his henchmen stuck up memorabilia collectors Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong in their Las Vegas hotel room to get back O.J.’s items.

As crazy as it seems, the screwed-up “gang that couldn’t shoot straight” is going to be portrayed in the movie as a bunch of heroes.

[From the National Enquirer, August 10, 2009, print ed.]

Well that just makes me physically ill. Simpson won’t profit off it, but Riccio sure will. In fact he’s already made a good deal of money from that ill-fated night – the Enquirer also says that he’s earned at least $200,000 from a secret audiotape of the crime, and received a $350,000 advance on the book. He’s also portrayed as a “noble righter of wrongs,” instead of a true criminal, even though he’s got a lengthy rap sheet. This’ll probably make Simpson pretty infuriated too. Maybe more reason to keep him behind bars… just in case.

Here are OJ and Christie in 2006. Images thanks to Fame Pictures .

Erin Andrews is a 31-year-old ESPN reporter who is known as something of sportscaster babe. She’s been the object of lust and fascination for many sports fans for years. Last week, someone set up some kind of peep-hole camera and photographed Erin in her Hilton Hotel room, then put those images up on the internet. The video quickly became an internet sensation, and became one of the most searched-for images and video over the weekend. Erin was royally pissed, as you could imagine. Through her lawyers, and through various site owners’ sense of propriety, most of the images and video were taken down within days. Her lawyer has been quoted as saying, “Although the perpetrators of this criminal act have not yet been identified, when they are identified, she intends to bring both civil and criminal charges against them and against anyone who has published the material.”

Now there are two more scandals brewing. First, it appears that there may be as many as seven videos of Erin made through the same kind of peep-hole voyeurism. Second, a “source” is telling Radar that it’s looking like the videos are an inside job:

Scandalous nude video footage of sports host Erin Andrews was probably shot by an employee of her home network ESPN, a source tells RadarOnline.com.

Currently, the network is launching a full-scale investigation to find the looky-lou and discipline him accordingly. ESPN is “freaking out, freaking!” the source adds.

ESPN frequently books Hilton hotels for employees traveling on assignment. But, the hotels have not yet been identified according to the source.

The video, which features Andrews fully nude from all angles, was shot without her knowledge, her lawyers insist, “in the privacy of her hotel room.”

Seven separate videos exist, dating back to February of this year, and have been posted to French website Dailymotion.com.

Lad-blog Don Chavez reports that the user uploading these files, named Goblazers1, identifies himself as a 49-year-old male from the United States.

“Andrews has been grievously wronged here, our people and resources are in full support of her as she deals with this abhorrent act,” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz tells us.

The attorney, Marshall Grossman, says Andrews plans to seek criminal charges and file civil lawsuits against the person who shot the video and anyone who publishes the material.

[From Radar]

I swear this reminds me of that Lifetime movie (based on a true story) called Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story. It’s about how one of Susan Wilson’s neighbors set up all of these cameras in her home and watched her for months and months before she realized what was up. When Wilson found the cameras, she found that her neighbor couldn’t be prosecuted because there were no laws on the books to deal with that kind of invasion. Granted, that’s not the case for Erin Andrews. I really feel for this woman – this whole thing is such a gross violation, and to think that she might actually work with the person who did it, it must be like being violated twice over.

Erin Andrews is shown at the ESPY Awards on 7/15/09. Credit: PRPhotos

It was back in February, a little more than five months ago, when Chris Brown attacked Rihanna as they drove home from a pre-Grammy party. All hell broke loose, and for weeks there was constant speculation as to the exact circumstances of the incident. A photograph of Rihanna’s injuries was leaked from the LAPD just days after the beating that show (in my mind) what happened that night – a young man beat the hell out of his young girlfriend.

Initially, Chris Brown released a lukewarm statement on the incident, saying that “words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired.” Chris said he was seeking counseling, and then went on to point out that “Much of what has been speculated or reported on blogs and/or reported in the media is wrong.” Chris and Rihanna even spent time together after the incident, and it looked like she might forgive him or go back to him for a short while. Thankfully, someone must have talked some sense into her, because after a few weeks, Rihanna began steering clear of Chris.

Meanwhile, in the past few months, Chris’s actions and words seem to show that he wasn’t really sorry or concerned with learning any life lessons from the incident. In May, Chris made a video telling his fans and the world “We ain’t goin nowhere. Everybody that’s haters, they’ve just been haters. All my real fans, I love y’all. I aint a monster.” After Chris pled guilty and received five years probation, he seemed to celebrate by going on vacation and making the rounds on the party circuit with P. Diddy.

Perhaps Chris was concerned that his image may be permanently damaged by everything that’s transpired the past five months. Perhaps Chris really is sorry. In either case, Chris made a new video, this time giving a more soul-searching and in-depth apology. In the two minute video, posted first on TMZ, Chris does seem genuine and honest as he takes full responsibility for the incident that he now claims he’s “ashamed” of. Here’s the transcript of the statement:

“Hi, I’m Chris Brown. Since February my attorney has advised me not to speak out, even though since the incident I wanted to publicly express my deepest regret and accept full responsibility.”

“Although I would do some interviews and answer some questions in the future, I felt it was time you heard directly from me that I am sorry. I have tried to live my life in a way that would make those around me proud of me, and until recently, I think I was doing a pretty good job. I wish I had the chance to live those few moments again, but unfortunately I can’t.”

“I cannot go into what happened, and most importantly, I’m not going to sit here and make any excuses. I take great pride in me being able to exercise self-control and what I did was inexcusable. I am very sad and very ashamed of what I’ve done.”

“My mother and my spiritual teachers have taught me way better than that. I have told Rihanna countless times, and I’m telling you today that I am truly, truly sorry, and I wasn’t able to handle the situation both differently and better. I recognize that I’ve truly been blessed. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family, wonderful friends and fans. God has been generous in giving me the ability which has brought me fame and fortune.”

“I have done a lot of soul-searching, and over the past several months I’ve talked with my minister and my mother, and I spent a lot of time trying to understand what happened and why. I have let a lot of people down, and I realize that.”

“No one is more disappointed than in me than I am. As many of you know, I grew up in a home where there was domestic violence and I saw firsthand what uncontrolled rage could do. I have sought and am continuing to seek help to ensure that what occurred in February can never happen again.”

“As I sit here today I can tell you that I will do everything in my power to make sure that it never happens again, and I promise that. What I did was unacceptable, 100 percent. I can only ask and pray that you forgive me, please. I hope that others learn from my mistakes. I intend to live my life so that I am truly worthy of the term ‘role model.’ Thank you.”

[Transcript via US Weekly]

As I said, I do think the general emotion behind this is genuine. I do hope Chris is sorry, and I hope and pray he learns from his mistakes. I don’t think he’s learned the lesson yet though, for all of this “taking full responsibility” talk. I think Chris has learned from the incident that he can beat the hell out of his girlfriend and she’ll forgive him, many of his fans will forgive him, and he can walk away without going to jail. In child rearing, that’s considered positive reinforcement of negative behavior.

My greatest fear is that everyone will look at this video and say “Oh, okay, he really is sorry, let’s not make a big deal about this anymore.” It is a big deal, whether or not he’s contrite, whether or not that contrition is real or fake or private or public. What I’d like to hear from him is “I will never strike a woman again ever, in my life, so help me God, and if I ever break this promise, send me to jail and throw away the key.”