OJ was gang’s leader, court hears

FOUR of OJ Simpson’s accomplices struck plea deals and gave evidence against the former sports star in his trial, which attracted much less attention than his high-profile circus- like 1995 case when he was cleared of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, by a predominantly black jury in Los Angeles.

The 1995 verdict shocked the world and prompted debates over the racial elements of the case and the suitability of televised trials.

During this year’s trial, district attorney David Roger, prosecuting, said Simpson was the leader of a conspiracy and none of the men with him cared about the memorabilia.

Judge Jackie Glass, who rejected several mistrial motions and kept a tight rein on the proceedings, warned jurors against trying to punish Simpson over the death of his former wife.

Before the trial began, one prospective juror was dismissed after she told the court she “felt he got away with murder” in 1995.

In 2006, Simpson wrote a book called “If I Did It”, which set out how he might have murdered his wife, had he been so inclined.

But the book was withdrawn and pulped by HarperCollins shortly before being re-published after a Florida bankruptcy court gave the rights of the book to the Goldman family, who published it under the title “I Did It: Confessions of the Killer”.