 Armed only with a whim of iron Pat embraces
his friends, castigates his foes, challenges establishment thinking,
and sheds light on the human condition.
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District Attorney of the County of Los Angeles
Office of the District Attorney
Los Angeles, California
RE: Information regarding O. J. Simpson
Dear Sir,
I happen to in Pasadena on business not long after Simpson had been arrested. I always like to swim every morning, even when I travel. On this particular morning I went to the Pasadena Aquatic Center for my swim.
"I arrived about 8:45 AM, bringing my gear and dress clothes with me. By 9:30 I was ready for a shower. It's my habit to shave and dress at the pool and, from there, go directly about my business. After my shower I dressed, closed my locker, and walked out of the dressing room on the way to the lobby, with my gym bag in one hand and my coat on a hanger in the other. There were a couple guys in the dressing room, but they didn't speak to me or to each other as I passed by them.
As I was about to go out into the lobby, the thought crossed my mind: What if I get stuck in traffic on the LA freeway and can't get out of my car to go to the bathroom? I reasoned that I had better use the bathroom now even though the urge was nascent. So I doubled back to the bathroom area taking my gym bag and my coat inside the bathroom cubicle, which is well out of sight, but not out of hearing, of the main dressing room. I sat down and studied the Sharper Image catalog I had retrieved from my bag.
Shortly, I heard a crisp voice say: "It was time Simpson got his." A second man replied, saying something with conviction. I didn't catch it. After all, I was not seated there to overhear conversations. The thought flashed through my mind: "These two guys I had seen must be LA detectives who live in Pasadena. Like me, they're getting a swim before going into work." I was impressed by the authoritative tone of their speech.
I continued to read the catalog and more or less shut out the conversation. Then oneman said clearly: "All O.J. had to do was give an endorsement." The other man said, harshly, "Yeah, but he pulled back, the S.O.B." Now it dawned on me clearly that these guys didn't know I was present and within earshot. They probably thought I had left and hadn't noticed that I had doubled back. From the tone of the exchange, which was growing ever louder and tougher, I could feel the hair on the back of my neck begin to rise. I was obviously overhearing something I shouldn't. The thought came to me: "I better be very quiet. If these guys discover me, I could be in big trouble. I'll just stay right here until they finally leave." I froze.
The conversation continued along similar lines. I was so shocked by what I heard, I didn't get it all. And besides, at this point, I didn't really want to hear this. I didn't want to be involved. I didn't care what they had to say. But I couldn't avoid hearing what I heard. Next, one man said in an unmistakable menacing tone: "That endorsement would have saved our ass. He was warned. The S.O.B. knew without it we'd go down. He knew what he was doing when he walked."
There were more exchanges, which I couldn't make out, and then the other man said very clearly: "He needed to be taught a lesson, the arrogant bastard. It was time." These crude-sounding statements came down with such finality and harshness that the thought came to me: "These men aren't detectives. I'm listening to a couple of corporate thugs."
Suddenly the two men abruptly stopped talking. I then heard other voices. I gathered that additional bathers had entered the locker room. I sat a while longer and when I judged the coast clear, I, too, hurriedly moved on. Going directly to my car, I left the Rose Bowl parking lot without delay.
Speculating on what I heard and felt, I concluded that principals of a corporation in financial trouble had asked Simpson for an endorsement of their company or its product. This would have resulted in increased sales or, at the very least, possibly financing by a bank or investment group. (I heard the words "financing" and "endorsement".) O. J. Backed out of the so-called "deal."
It was decided to teach Simpson a lesson. Roughing up Nicole was the objective. But Ron happened, unexpectedly, to be present and got in the way. Ron's involvement changed the equation. It forced killings to be the outcome.
This explanation resolves a number of questions including the question that many have asked: what was Simpson thinking as he drove the bronco speaking with his friend confusedly while followed by an ad hoc pose of police vehicles? He could have been thinking: "My God, next they'll kill my children and my mother and the rest of my relatives. They'll make me pay for turning my back on their demands. I might as well be dead. If I kill myself, that will stop them. They won't have me around to vent their wrath upon."
Following this line of reasoning, Simpson got the message and decided the
only course was to remain quiet. He would not have known the identity of the
hit man, but he did know who was behind the killings. He couldn't reveal this
fact to the authorities because to do so would bring down the further wrath
of the corporation upon his family. All Simpson could do was what he did:
maintain his innocence and pray the wrath of the corporation would stop.
–– Standing Pat
