This week in crime history- Heidi Fleiss, the “Hollywood
Madam” was arrested (June 9, 1993); first Salem witch trial hangings (June 10,
1692); mobster Henry Hill was born (June 11, 1943); Nicole Brown Simpson and
Ron Goldman were murdered (June 12, 1994); Medgar Evers was assassinated (June
12, 1963); Miranda Rights were established (June 13, 1966); TWA Flight 847 was
hijacked (June 14, 1985); police search home of Joran van der Sloot in search of
evidence in disappearance of Natalie Holloway.
Highlighted crime of the week –
On June 9, 1993 - Heidi Fleiss was arrested as part of a vice
sting operation run by the Los Angeles Police and Beverly Hills Police
Departments and the U.S. Justice Department. In the 1980s, Fleiss’
then-boyfriend introduced her to the leading Beverly Hills madam Elizabeth
(Alex) Adams, who, according to Fleiss, taught her the tricks of the trade.
Before long, Fleiss started a competing business, and when Adams was arrested
in 1988, Fleiss took her spot as the leading provider of high end escorts in
Hollywood. As her business grew, she enjoyed the perks of celebrity, even as
her rising profile attracted the attention of local authorities. On June 9,
1993, after she sent four of her employees (along with a quantity of cocaine)
to fulfill an arrangement made with three “clients” (actually undercover
agents), Fleiss was arrested and charged with pandering, pimping and narcotics
possession.
Fleiss’ trial, during which she refused to name any of
her agency’s high-profile clients (though testimony did reveal at least one of
them, actor Charlie Sheen), was the talk of Hollywood. She pleaded not guilty
to all the charges, and her lawyers argued that the authorities had entrapped
her. In December 1994, she was found guilty on three of five pandering counts
and not guilty on the narcotics charge; she was sentenced to three years in
prison and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine. Fleiss also went on trial before a
federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, money laundering and tax evasion.
She was convicted in August 1995 on eight of the 14 counts and sentenced to 37
months in prison. All told, Fleiss served three years in prison, and was
released in the fall of 1999. She later began a two-year relationship with the
actor Tom Sizemore, star of films such as Heat, Saving Private Ryan and Black
Hawk Down. Fleiss, who has also struggled with drug abuse, has attempted to
profit from her infamy by authoring several non-fiction books, including Pandering
(2003).
His book can
be purchased at Amazon through the following
link:
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