Jury out in Sizemore case

A US jury is considering its verdict in the case of actor Tom Sizemore, accused of abusing his ex-fiancee, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.

A US jury is considering its verdict in the case of actor Tom Sizemore, accused of abusing his ex-fiancée, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.

In closing arguments in the Los Angeles court, Sizemore’s lawyer described Fleiss as a liar, extortionist, convicted criminal and pseudo-celebrity who wrongly brought domestic abuse allegations against the actor.

“She exists as a pseudo-celebrity who is famous for being famous. She has something to gain here,” Michael Fitzgerald told jurors.

The prosecutor responded that Sizemore bullied and abused Fleiss because he believed he could get away with it.

“Anything you can do to hurt a person, to break her down, was done by the defendant,” said Deputy City Attorney Robert Cha.

Sizemore, whose films include Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan, faces charges of vandalism, threatening to inflict injury to a person or property, physical injury resulting in a traumatic condition, and making harassing phone calls. He faces up to 13 years in prison if convicted.

In his closing argument, Cha focused on about 100 phone calls, tapes of which jurors listened to during the six-day trial. He told them they contained “the most incredibly offensive use of the English language you could ever imagine”.

“Why did he have the arrogance to leave these recorded messages?

“He himself described it perfectly: ‘I’m an actor, you’re a convicted felon, a garbage whore. Who’s going to believe you?’

“The answer to that, ladies and gentlemen, is you,” Cha told the jury.

Fitzgerald said there was no credible evidence Fleiss was injured by Sizemore and if there were injuries, he suggested, they could have been inflicted by anyone.

Fleiss, who gained notoriety as a Hollywood madam in the 1990s, served 21 months in prison after being convicted of money laundering, tax evasion and attempted pandering. She became involved with Sizemore soon after leaving prison, and the two were together for about two years.

Fitzgerald argued that Sizemore was kind to Fleiss, ”giving her the opportunity to be out in public and be treated as a woman worth loving rather than a convicted felon”.