Chicago, IL—Shortly after the confession and arrest of John Wayne Gacy partial human remains were discovered on a warm spring day of 1979 at the Indian Boundary Forest Preserve near Belmont and Cumberland. This was very close to Gacy's Summerdale Avenue bungalow.
Apparently wild dogs and other creatures ate part of the victim who was later positively identified as Douglas Morgan, Jr. Nearby was a cardboard box containing porno magazines and some women’s undergarments. The contents of the box were positively connected to Morgan.
Morgan was a young apprentice electrician living in the area. The cause of death was not determined at the time because of the condition of the remains. But it appeared that it was anything but natural death of a young healthy man.
Detectives that did not have the great forensic tools available today followed up that investigation. Additionally, Gacy was on the fast track to a solid conviction for so many other murders. To bring forward yet another case would be like beating a dead horse. Morgan’s case was suspended accordingly.
There are still more questions about Gacy than answers. Gacy was a very twisted killer and had some equally twisted friends. Did Gacy have the ability to kill and dispose of all of the bodies without some help? Gacy was out-of-shape and incapable of overpowering young athletic men. He claimed he used a rope and handcuffs to control his victims but I never believed he could fool every kid into voluntary submission.
One surviving victim police told that he somehow let Gacy place him in medieval restraint stocks. Gacy then buggered him from behind. Gacy apparently employed chloroform to subdue that victim who was able to escape. Since Gacy remodeled pharmacies he had easy access and often stole drugs from his clients.
Sheriff Tom Dart is convinced there is an accomplice or even more still out there. He’s put his Cold Case Squad on this long dormant investigation and now wants to begin digging for more victims. I think Dart may know a lot more than he’s letting out of the bag.
It was a legendary Des Plains, Il police detective, Joe Kozenczak who broke the case. However Gacy’s home was located in unincorporated Norwood Township, which automatically gives jurisdiction to the Sheriff’s police.
Morgan’s remains were recovered inside Chicago city limits and Chicago police detectives followed that up. That Morgan death investigation went nowhere and Gacy was executed at the Menard State Penitentiary by a lethal injection in 1994.
I suspect that a careful matching of names will bring the Morgan kid close to Gacy or at least an accomplice. DNA was not an available tool back then but often it still survives on evidence from decades earlier.
It’s long past time to take a fresh new look at Douglas Morgan, Jr.’s untimely demise.
Los Angeles, CA—Pamela Fayed was savagely slashed and stabbed to death in a Century City parking garage in 2008. Her husband, James Fayed was under federal investigation for running a unlicensed gold trading Ponzi scheme. Pamela Fayed was divorcing her husband and cooperating with the FBI in their investigation when she was murdered.
Today a jury convicted James Fayed who now may face the death penalty for this crime. The jury was told a horrible story of James Fayed's recruiting and paying a trusted employee who recruited two gang members that carried out the killing. They drove a red Suzuki SUV that was rented by James Fayed that was caught on surveillance tape with the killers at the garage.
That evidence was overshadowed by the testimony, a jailhouse snitch that was cooperating with authorities and recorded the hapless James Fayed’s admission on tape.
The remaining trio of suspected killers will stand trial separately for their roles in this saga of unbridled greed and contracted mayhem.
Today it’s Communist China cracking down with heavy handed and routine Socialist tactics. People resisting this government are disappearing at an alarming rate as the days of Mao Zedong and the Red Guard seem to have returned.
Along with the enslavement, depravation and poverty brought on with Socialism is the shocking mandate that people fleeing these regimes be shot in the back. Death without a trial is the penalty for anyone that tries to escape from Socialism.
Socialist governments always create and maintain vast snitch networks where their government agents use bribery, extortion and fear to recruit participants.
Socialist government agents threaten mothers with taking their children if they refused to spy on their own families and neighbors.
East Germany was a frightening example of Socialist tyranny. The German people were fresh out the 12 year reign of a madman when the Berlin Wall went up in 1961. They simply traded the Gestapo for the Stazi but the tyranny continued. Millions of lives destroyed under Socialist control until Germany was reunified in 1989.
The Socialists are here in our American Congress and Whitehouse and we face the very same threat as Barack Obama’s Homeland Security secretary, Janet Napolitano establishes a Socialist Snitch Program in America. This is beyond dangerous and we can either resist or be reduced to prisoners.
Americans must remember, what’s past is prologue.
Socialists murdering those that dare flee their so-called Utopias speak volumes of just how wonderful Socialism really is. In case you forgot about Socialist’s murdering those trying to escape let me show you some memorials to those shot in the back fleeing East Berlin.
I shot this video in Berlin during the “20 Jahr Mauerfest” on November 9, 2009. Mauerfest was the celebration of the wall and Socialism falling.
Tacoma, WA—The Forza Coffee Shop near McChord Air Force Base was the scene of cowardly attack where at least two Male, Black suspects opened fire and killed four Lakewood police officers who were working on their lap tops and having coffee prior to reporting for duty around 8:30 AM.
At least one of the dead Lakewood officers is a woman.
The suspect/s fled and Pierce County Sheriff’s deputys have taken jurisdiction of the crime scene.
A manhunt for the killers is underway and a $10,00 reward for information leading to the suspects was immediately offered. People with information should contact authorities at 253-591-5959.
Update: Police now believe there was only one gunman. They are looking for a career criminal and mental defective but are not yet calling him a suspect. They also beliebe that the gunman may have been wounded by the return fire of one of the dead officers.
Maurice Clemmons, man wanted for questioning, has long criminal history By Seattle Times staff
Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing of four Lakewood police officers this morning, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.
Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors.
"This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County said Sunday night when informed that Clemmons was being sought in connection to the killings.
Clemmons' criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. The record also stands out for the number of times he has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed.
Clemmons had been in jail in Pierce County for the past several months on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child.
He was released from custody just six days ago, even though he was wanted on a fugitive warrant out of Arkansas and was staring at eight felony charges in all out of Washington state.
Clemmons posted $15,000 with a Chehalis company called Jail Sucks Bail Bonds. The bondsman, in turn, put up $150,000, securing Clemmons' release on the pending child-rape charge.
Clemmons lives in Tacoma, where he has run a landscaping and power-washing business out of his house, according to a police interview with his wife earlier this year.
He was married, but the relationship was tumultuous, with accounts of his unpredictable behavior leading to at least two confrontations with police earlier this year.
During the confrontation in May, Clemmons punched a sheriff's deputy in the face, according to court records. As part of that incident, he was charged with seven counts of assault and malicious mischief.
In another instance, Clemmons was accused of gathering his wife and young relatives around at 3 or 4 in the morning and having them all undress. He told them that families need to "be naked for at least 5 minutes on Sunday," a Pierce County sheriff's report says.
"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," the report says.
As part of the child-rape investigation, the sheriff's office interviewed Clemmons' sister in May. She told them that "Maurice is not in his right mind and did not know how he could react when contacted by Law Enforcement," a sheriff's report says.
"She stated that he was saying that the secret service was coming to get him because he had written a letter to the President. She stated his behavior has become unpredictable and erratic. She suspects he is having a mental breakdown," the report says.
Deputies also interviewed other family members. They reported that Clemmons had been saying he could fly and that he expected President Obama to visit to "confirm that he is Messiah in the flesh."
Prosecutors in Pierce County were sufficiently concerned about Clemmons' mental health that they asked to have him evaluated at Western State Hospital. Earlier this month, on Nov. 6, a psychologist concluded that Clemmons was competent to stand trial on the child-rape and other felony charges, according to court records.
Clemmons moved Washington in 2004, after being released from prison in Arkansas, state Department of Corrections records indicate. That would mean he had gone five years or so before landing in serious trouble with authorities here, according to a review of his criminal record.
Clemmons started Sea-Wash Pressure Washing Landscaping with his wife, Nicole Smith, in October 2005. The license for the business expired last month.
Long history of trouble in Arkansas
News accounts out of Arkansas offer a confusing — and, at times, conflicting — description of Clemmons' criminal history and prison time.
In 1990, Clemmons, then 18, was sentenced in Arkansas to 60 years in prison for burglary and theft of property, according to a news account. Newspaper stories describe a series of disturbing incidents involving Clemmons while he was being tried in Arkansas on various charges.
During one trial, Clemmons was shackled in leg irons and seated next to a uniformed officer. The presiding judge ordered the extra security because he felt Clemmons had threatened him, court records show.
Another time, Clemmons hid a hinge in his sock, and was accused of intending to use it as a weapon. Yet another time, Clemmons took a lock from a holding cell, and threw it toward the bailiff. He missed and instead hit Clemmons' mother, who had come to bring him street clothes, according to records and published reports.
On another occasion, Clemmons had reached for a guard's pistol during transport to the courtroom.
When Clemmons received the 60-year sentence, he was already serving 48 years on five felony convictions and facing up to 95 more years on charges of robbery, theft of property and possessing a handgun on school property. Records from Clemmons' sentencing described him as 5-foot-7 and 108 pounds. The crimes were committed when he was 17.
Clemmons served 11 years before being released.
News accounts say Huckabee then commuted Clemmons' sentence, citing Clemmons' young age at the time the crimes were committed.
But Clemmons remained on parole — and soon after landed in trouble again. In March 2001, he was accused of violating his parole by committing aggravated robbery and theft, according to a story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazzette.
He was returned to prison on a parole violation. But in what appears to have been a mistake, Clemmons was not actually served with the arrest warrants until leaving prison three years later. As a result, Clemmons' attorney argued that the charges should be dismissed because too much time had passed. Prosecutors dropped the charges.
It appears that Clemmons remained in trouble with Arkansas authorities even after moving away. This year, while Clemmons was living in Washington, a warrant was issued for his arrest, accusing him of being a fugitive from Arkansas.
More home grown Muslim Terrorists? We will soon find out.
Los Angeles, CA—The LAPD today released a video and composite drawing of the man they believe stabbed Pamela Fayed to death in a Century City parking structure on September 15, 2008. The victim’s husband James Michael Fayed is awaiting trial for his roll of arranging for this killing.
As you can see in the video there is an additional suspect sitting in the car's passenger seat that was rented with James Fayed's credit card.
Here is the information LAPD released this morning: Los Angeles: Detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying an individual depicted in a surveillance video and composite drawing. On July 28, 2008, at 6:30 p.m., Pamela Fayed, a resident of Ventura County, was murdered in a parking structure at 1875 Century Park East. On September 15, 2008, Robbery Homicide Division detectives obtained a warrant and criminal filing for James Fayed for the murder of Pamela Fayed. James Fayed appeared in court on a Federal matter where he was arrested.
The detectives believe that the person depicted on the surveillance tape may be an additional suspect involved in the murder. It is believed the individual may frequent the Cities of Oxnard and Ventura in Ventura County.
Anyone who has information is urged to contact Robbery-Homicide Detectives Salaam Abdul or Louis Zorrilla at 213-485-2135. After hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 or by texting CRIMES (274637) and beginning the message with the letters LAPD. Tipsters may also submit information on the LAPD website www.lapdonline.org. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Note: The LAPD posted the security camera video that I placed right here from the parking garage and later the LAPD yanked it. I suspect they don't like the fact that we noticed another passenger in the car indicating there are additional suspects.
Los Angeles, CA—Right now James Fayed, 45 and Jose Moya, 47 are in a fight for their very lives. This fact has probably not really been digested by the two accused killers as they adjust to life inside the L.A. County Jail. The defense lawyers have no choice but to give their clients hope and keep them in the mood to help them fight the charges. The lawyers also have to be paid to take on this promised long and protracted fight.
It’s too early in this prosecution to learn just what prosecutors have learned from the LAPD and other agencies involved in this nasty murder probe. Fayed's wife Pamela Fayed 44, was slashed, hacked and stabbed to death in a parking garrage in Century City, CA on July 28th. These facts will slowly surface over the next two or three years. We will all know a lot more quickly if prosecutors opt for a Preliminary Hearing.
I’d expect to see lots of data and video that our new high-tech surveillance society now provides. The suspects like all of us are constantly tracked and photographed everywhere we go. Once they obtained the cell phone and credit card records the cops ran around gathering the video at the gas stations, drug stores and commercial buildings where the cards were used. The cops already know much more than most people can imagine.
The defense has to gather all they can to show other potential suspects and motives for the murder. They have to anticipate who adverse witnesses are and begin exhausting background investigations to either implicate their involvement in the killing or at least impeachment material for their expected testimony. This effort requires top notch and aggressive private investigators.
The defense attorneys begin their damage control carefully working a public relations campaign if for no other reason is to try and insure his client as fair a trial as possible. Reading reports of the L.A. Times I have already read the three ugliest words in a defense lawyer’s vocabulary, jail house snitch. That means we will hear a so-called confession bought and paid for with a get out of jail free card for some total scum-bag.
Now’s the time prosecutors have to make one of their most important decisions. That is to hold a public Preliminary Hearing or to seek an Indictment by a secret Grand Jury. The goal here is to get a finding that there is in fact Probable Cause to hold the accused for trial on the murder and related charges. This is not so challenging as the old saying goes, any good prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich. The difficult but true part here is that 80% of criminal defendants find themselves convicted.
We will learn shortly the route prosecutors will take to drive Fayed and Moya straight to the Death House by the Bay.
This case has a companion mess and that the tremendous assets tied up in the federal investigation of Fayed’s business they already called a Ponzi scheme. The feds have reportedly moved to dismiss the single indictment for operating without a required license. Will they also release control of the assets?
I suspect Pamela Fayed’s 18 year-old daughter could be in line to control the assets and protect the many investors who are unable to get their money refunded at present. A receivership appointed by a court makes more sense and identified investors will be repaid at least with whatever percentage of their money that has been located and protected. The investors must get legal advice and secure their claims to avoid missing time limits.
This investigation has yet to play out. The unidentified co-conspirators have not been located or arrested and the investigation is continuing. This is a story that should wind up at some point as a feature film.
Will the correct people pay for this brutal and cowardly crime? Will the investors see their money again? We will have to see what’s next in the Goldfinger Murder Case.
Los Angeles, CA—As Reported here last night, Jose Luis Moya, 47 has been charged with the July 28, 2008 slashing, hacking and stabbing murder of 44 year-old Pamela Fayed in a Century City parking garage.
Today the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office announced that in addition to Moya, James Michael Fayed, 45 has also been charged with capitol murder.
James Fayed reportedly paid Moya $25,000.00 to arrange the murder of his wife. The complaint also lists the involvement of at least one additional co-conspirator who is not yet in police custody.
This adds considerably to the legal troubles of James Fayed who has already been charged in connection with running what federal prosecutors called an, unlicensed Ponzi scheme involving gold investments and trading.
The Murder complaint already alleges death penalty eligible, “special circumstances”. These are aggravators that enhance the nature of the crime beyond simple killing. So far they are claiming that the crime was committed for financial gain and that the killers were lying in wait. More factors may lead Fayed and Moya straight to the lethal injection room at San Quentin Prison on the San Francisco Bay.
This ongoing murder prosecution, will most likely cause the gold trading businesses owned and operated by the Fayeds to be placed in a court appointed receivership. That action would facilitate investors getting repaid with any company assets located and placed under control of the government.
Initial court appearances for Moya and Fayed are set for today and tomorrow respectively.
It's also expected that James Fayed will be moved from the somewhat posh Federal detention Facility to the Los Angeles County Jail.
Los Angeles, CA--Records of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department revealed that, JoseLuis Moya, 47 has been charged with the hacking, slashing and stabbing death of Pamela Fayed, 44 last July in Century City, CA. Moya was ordered, held without bail by a L.A. Superior Court Commissioner.
Moya was arrested on September 11, 2998 by officers from the LAPD Robbery/Homicide Division. So far, police are keeping mum about this arrest.
Sources close to the investigation revealed that Moya, a key employee of James Fayed is part of a conspiracy to murder Pamela Fayed and that he is not believed to be the actual killer of the woman.
We expect that information about the evidence that established probable cause for this arrest is contained in a new bunch of search warrants used to gather more evidence from property under control of Moya.
Anthony Fayed, the fugitive brother of James Fayed is still being sought for questioning.
So far James Fayed has not been charged with murder or conspiracy. Since he is already being held without bail on a federal charges police and prosecutors have no need to rush murder charges against Fayed.
The details of the Moya arrest are expected to emerge this week, Stay tuned!
See Moya Booking Information(Click on Picture to enlarge):
Los Angeles, CA—James Michael Fayed, 45 is still in the Metropolitan Detention Center being held on a single low grade felony charge for operating his gold trading company without a license. In most cases like Fayed’s, a relatively low bond would or a simple promise to appear in future court proceedings would bring about a defendant’s release.
Fayed’s case is anything but ordinary. Fayed’s estranged wife, Pamela Fayed, 44 was hacked, slashed and stabbed to death in a Century City Parking structure late last July. The killer used a getaway vehicle rented with James Fayed’s credit card.
It became clear that the Fayeds were involved in a high stakes, nasty divorce and that Pamela had agreed to join forces with the Justice Department in an investigation into James Fayed’s business practices.
Federal prosecutors successfully argued that because of the LAPD’s ongoing murder case that Fayed is a flight risk with access to substantial funds to finance his potential getaway.
The problem is the LAPD murder investigation has stalled, a person of interest, Anthony Fayed, 52 who was already a fugitive has been out of reach to the homicide investigators.
Statistically this murder investigation is unlikely to result in and Indictment with each passing day. However as long as Fayed is behind bars there is no rush to seek an Indictment for murder charges.
Without murder charges somewhere on the horizon Fayed must be allowed to obtain release on bail. This wrangling over the pre-trial release will certainly end over the next 45 or 60 days. Right now it’s anyone’s guess just how this will play out.
There is of course a likely “wild card” and that would be a second federal Indictment brought for other crimes now under investigation. Crimes such as fraud, racketeering and money laundering could result in charges that would justify a much steeper bail amount, but bail none the less.
I have reviewed the very latest documents filed in this case and have seen nothing new worth posting. The next shoe to fall will either be a new federal Indictment, a state murder Indictment or the release of James Fayed on bail.
Los Angeles—Friday, August 29, 2008 there will be a federal court status conference on the pending charge against James Michael Fayed for operating his business without a license.
Federal prosecutors said that Fayed was operating a Ponzi scheme and that the LAPD believes he orchestrated the horrible slashing and stabbing murder of his wife, Pamela Fayed in a Century City parking garage last month.
Fayed’s attorney Mark Werksman has filed notices of appeal to challenge the rulings made so far in the case. The primary issue now is the custody status of Fayed who is currently being held without bond.
Werksman has filed a new motion to get Fayed released on a bail amount similar to what’s expected for a low-grade federal felony. I can’t predict the outcome of the motion but I suspect that a new federal indictment is in the works for additional charges and of course there is that strong possibility that the currently stalled LAPD murder investigation may yet yield state charges against Fayed.
As long as Fayed is being held without bail there is no urgency for prosecutors to file any new charges.
Here’s a copy of Mark Werksman’s latest 51 page motion:
Los Angeles--The government seized considerable assets from murder suspect, James Fayed in connection with his Indictment for operating without a license. Those assets are considered by prosecutors as ill-gotten gains and also evidence of the crime for which Fayed is charged.
As always, defense lawyers in similar cases try to get either a portion or all of the assets returned to their client. Often those assets contain the defense attorney’s only hope of being paid to defend their clients.
So what may be a very protracted fight has begun with a motion to regain money claimed to be needed for the defense to protect potential defense evidence.
Additionally there is a list of subpoena witnesses and a proposed court order to release funds that has yet to be signed.
Prosecutors will have to respond and undertake a serious fight to keep all assets locked up. I fully expect the prosecutor’s argue that the money belongs to investors who were hoodwinked into Fayed’s unlicensed and illegal Ponzi scheme.
For investors of Fayed’s companies it’s important that those assets are protected so they can be returned to these innocent victims at some point. Prosecutors will be responding to the motion in short order. That response is expected to shed more light on Fayed’s business practices.
In the meantime the LAPD investigation into the stabbing and slashing to death of Pamela Fayed still appears to be stalled. Police have been still unable to locate Anthony Fayed who is wanted on unrelated felony arrest warrants.
Los Angeles—James Fayed is suspected of having his own wife, Pamela Fayed murdered during an acrimonious divorce. Pamela Fayed was assisting the FBI who was investigating Fayed’s gold trading, Ponzi scheme businesses. That was until she was horrifically stabbed and slashed to death in a Century City parking structure.
Monday, Aug 18, Fayed is expected to enter a formal plea to the Indictment charging him with operating without a required license. This is also the time that a trial judge will be assigned and a schedule of discovery matters will start. A pre-trial court date will be given and an actual trial date will be projected.
Soon we can expect to see a flurry of defense motions designed to get the indictment tossed.
Since Fayed is in custody, I doubt that he will waive time under speedy trial rules and force the government to try him expeditiously. It’s too early to tell exactly what defenses may be raised. However, I have my own expectations.
I would not be surprised to see the defense claim that Fayed relied on his murdered wife to obtain the necessary licensing from the State of California and that he reasonably believed she got the license. Of course I suspect that will be followed with a claim that his wife did not get the license and then falsely informed the FBI that James Fayed had no intention of getting the license.
As for the LAPD murder investigation, it is still stalled because they have been unable to locate and interview Anthony Fayed, the older brother of James Fayed who is being sought on unrelated felony warrants.
Update 8/18: U.S. Magistrate Charles Eick ordered James Michael Fayed, 45, back to court on Sept. 15 for a status conference.
Century City, CA—He’s close as you can get to James Fayed. He was already a wanted criminal and an ex-convict before the murder. He’s not been located or interviewed by the LAPD. Most importantly Pamela Fayed sought protection by way of a restraining order from this subject.
He’s 53 year-old Anthony Paul Fayed, brother of James Fayed. The LAPD does not want Anthony Fayed to know he’s the subject of a manhunt. The obvious fear is he will go even further underground.
Between the Avis car rental agreement, surveillance video and other leads it’s clear to me police want Anthony Fayed inside their interrogation confessional suite in a big way.
I suspect they will find Fayed in the Phoenix area or even in the United Kingdom. The big unanswered question is did James Fayed who has a solid alibi put his brother up to this deed or if he did it, did he do it on his own? Both brothers had a clear motive to collaborate in eliminating Pamela Fayed from their lives.
Anthony Fayed won’t be on the lam long because he can’t seem to avoid police on even the small stuff. He’s got a drug problem to boot.
Should Anthony Fayed quickly get a decent lawyer he could easily carve out an immunity deal to testify against his very own brother. One thing for sure is this horrible murder may well land someone on Death Row.
Did Anthony Fayed wield the knife that slashed and stabbed his sister-in-law to death? I don’t know that answer but I can’t think of a better person to talk to. Does anybody out there know where he is? If so please share that with me.
Here is a partial Criminal Histroy of Anthony Fayed:
Los Angeles, CA—The Associated Press reported this afternoon that a District Court Judge overruled a U.S. Magistrate by reversing the order that James Fayed be released on $500,000.00 bail.
According to the AP the judge ruled Fayed a flight risk and ordered him held without bond.
This is a big victory for the LAPD enabling them to complete their investigation and continue with the analysis of evidence without worrying about their prime suspect fleeing the jurisdiction.
Of course Fayed may appeal the Judge’s order and once again be allowed to post bond and be released until trial on that single federal charge.
West Los Angeles, CA.—Homicide detectives are actively pursuing leads in the stabbing murder of Pamela Fayed, 44. Detective Mike Pelletier informed Crimefile that are methodically working every lead but could not put a timetable on arrests at this juncture.
That means that suspect, James Fayed will probably be able to post bail on his pending federal charge and be released very soon.
When asked about the images of the suspect caught on video Pelletier refused to say if they were able to identify the killer. Pelletier also would not answer questions about James Fayed’s older brother Anthony, who is already wanted on an arrest warrant for failure to appear on another crime.
Of course Detective Pelletier is always looking for information and will accept information at 310-444-1520. There’s also a 24-hour hotline number, 1-877-LAWFULL (529-3855).
I will also accept tips here and relay them if requested. Click on my picture to send e-mail.
Century City, CA--Goldfinger Coin and Bullion Sales was the apparent brainchild of James Michael Fayed, 45. Today the government says it was nothing more than a $20 million scam and its byproduct was the brutal stabbing murder of Pamela Fayed, 44 in a Century City parking garage.
Author, Ian Fleming created that great spy, James Bond and among others that master criminal, Auric Goldfinger. Goldfinger was a man of unparalleled greed who concocted a scheme to contaminate and make useless the world’s gold reserves starting at Fort Knox, KY. Goldfinger’s plan was to make all gold but his own nonnegotiable thereby dramatically inflating his own immense wealth.
James Michael Fayed had his own scheme for wealth and adopted the Goldfinger name for his business. It was just a decade ago in 1997 when Fayed filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy listing thousands in debts. Today he was found to have surrounded himself with millions in gold bullion, cash, guns and real estate. Prosecutors say Fayed’s new wealth came from a common Ponzi scheme designed to part investor’s from their money.
Fayed found himself and his wife under criminal investigation and his marriage crumbling. His wife, Pamela Gouldie Fayed wanted out of this greed fueled cabal and James Fayed filed for divorce. Pamela began to cooperate with the government. That is what federal prosecutors say sealed her grim fate.
Over the years I’ve investigated some really interesting characters that have stolen millions through Ponzi schemes. Some like Fayed have taken dark names for their businesses that should have tipped off their customers such as Quality Screw, Pro Con Inc, Sunovabeach Club and Mein Geld.
Ed Schneider of Quality Screw who bilked his way into a fortune before he went to prison was famous for the savvy businessmen he ripped off. They were almost all accountants, lawyers and physicians.
Ponzi Schemes always flourish when interest rates, real estate and stocks take a tumble. People desperately search for new ways to invest that promise big returns.
This fascinating story could never be made up. There is so much more to learn about the characters and their world.
Disclaimer: The allegations against James Fayed are just that, allegations. He has not even been formally charged with fraud or murder at this juncture.
Los Angeles—James Fayed is only currently charged with a low grade Federal felony crime. Upon conviction he cannot get more than five years in prison. The offense may only warrant probation.
The rub here is he is the high-profile suspect of the hour in the brutal stabbing of his estranged wife Pamela Fayed. He was marked as a suspect in a contract killing of his wife by the federal prosecutor. The fact is without actual charges of murder this is a baseless argument to deny Fayed his right to bail.
The Eighth Amendment in our Bill of Rights must prevail as it was written, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
Using an argument that the accused may flee because he may be charged with an unrelated crime is beyond weak. The government can’t hold people on charges not yet filed in court. The government’s appeal did buy the LAPD time that is until today. The clock is running out with zero likelihood that bail will be denied or even increased.
The LAPD will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat in order to obtain a murder arrest warrant to hold Fayed in jail longer. I suspect that magic LAPD rabbit will appear sometime today. We will see.
If Fayed is charged with murder he will be swiftly transferred from the rather homey Federal Detention Center to the Spartan surroundings of the L.A. County Central Jail.
The government did file a document to supplement their position that gives additional information about the murder of Pamela Fayed that can be viewed right here:
Century City, CA--With yesterdays bail hearing revelations prosecutors made it abundantly clear that police believe that James Fayed used the services of another person in a conspiracy to kill is estranged wife Pamela Fayed.
The LAPD has surveillance video showing the murder car as well as its driver who is believed to be Pamela Fayed’s killer. Apparently they have been unable to locate the actual killer, so far.
It is believed the killer may have fled the country. Because this is a capital case, extradition will never happen unless and until American prosecutors agree not to seek the death penalty. Most civilized countries won’t return suspects facing death sentences.
I’m trying to learn if the rented murder car was ever returned and if so who returned it. There must be documents and video surveillance recording to examine at the Avis car rental facility that will prove who conducted the rental transaction.
If police recovered the car before it was washed, valuable DNA evidence belonging to the killer was most likely already found.
DNA, document and fingerprint evidence cannot be fully analyzed by crime labs as quickly as TV crime shows would lead people to believe. Often it takes weeks and even months to get results.
Police will only identify a wanted murder suspect when they run out of expedient ways of capturing him. Police are running out of time here. I fully expect police to quickly either make an arrest or publicly name a second Person of Interest.
Yesterday’s bail hearing revelations may have caused a minor setback for LAPD detectives by alerting a killer to stay further underground.
Like I reported earlier the killer may well be able to obtain complete immunity from prosecution if he can get a lawyer to arrange that deal in exchange for testimony that could put James Fayed on California’s Death Row.
Prosecutors are always willing to make a deal with the devil.
Los Angeles,CA-- U.S. District Court Magistrate Ralph Zarefsky is still hearing lawyer’s arguments at the bail hearing of James Fayed.
Prosecutors asked that bail for Fayed be denied because of issues surrounding Pamela Fayed’s murder and alleged earlier death threats made to her by her husband.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark R. Aveis revealed that Pamela Fayed was murdered when she came to Century City to meet with her husband and their lawyers to resolve numerous legal issues with their businesses.
Aveis said the vehicle used to commit the murder was rented with James Fayed’s credit card. Video surveillance cameras captured the vehicle license plates, which was registered to an Avis car rental office in Ventura County. The credit card itself was found in Fayed’s wallet when he was arrested.
Also seized during the search was $3 million in gold bullion, $60,000.00 in currency and 25 of what the prosecutor called, “assault rifles” with thousands of rounds of ammunition. (Update: In a document filed August 6 the government revealed there were 31 firearms discovered and not seized as they were lawfully possessed.)
Aveis called Fayed’s gold business a Ponzi scheme. As much as $20 million dollars has been invested by people. The allegation casts doubts that those investors will be repaid.
Aveis Called James Fayed a suspect in the “murder for hire” of Pamela Fayed.
At this hour the hearing is still going on and the Magistrate has not yet set bail or conditions.
If Fayed was convicted in this single charge he would only face a maximum offive years in prison.
Update! The Bail Hearing concluded with bail set at $500,000.00. According to the U.S. Attorney’s spokesman, Thom Mrozek, prosecutors plan to appeal the magistrate’s order and Fayed will remain in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Facility until a hearing to be held on Wednesday.
Chicago, IL—Shortly after the confession and arrest of John Wayne Gacy partial human remains were discovered on a warm spring day of 1979 at the Indian Boundary Forest Preserve near Belmont and Cumberland. This was very close to Gacy's Summerdale Avenue bungalow. 
