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Dream team O.J.'s former consultant joins Williams' defense effortPosted: Thursday July 18, 2002 6:02 PMTRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A consultant who worked for O.J. Simpson at his civil and criminal trials and a retired New Jersey judge have joined Jayson Williams' defense team. Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, chief executive officer of a Los Angeles trial consulting firm, has worked on more than 600 trials, Williams spokeswoman Judy Smith said Thursday. Leonard N. Arnold was a state Superior Court judge for 17 years before retiring in 2000. Williams, a former New Jersey Nets player who retired from the NBA two years ago, is charged with first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of limousine driver Costas Christofi. Williams also is accused, along with two other men, of trying to conceal or destroy evidence, encouraging witnesses to lie and attempting to replace Williams' fingerprints on the shotgun with Christofi's. The additions of Dimitrius and Arnold could indicate Williams is unlikely to make a plea bargain. Williams is to be tried at the state courthouse for Hunterdon County, which is part of Arnold's former district. Christofi, 55, was invited inside Williams' Hunterdon County mansion early Feb. 14 after picking up Williams' friends at a Harlem Globetrotters game in Bethlehem, Pa., and driving them to dinner. Williams pleaded innocent and remains free on $270,000 bail. He could face nearly 45 years in prison if convicted on all charges. His lawyer has said the shooting was an accident. |
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