| Grapesoda |
02-02-2009 09:36 PM |
girls gone wild: the sequel
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_11610684?source=rss
Arrest warrant issued for `Girls Gone Wild' founder
Daily News Wire Services
Updated: 02/02/2009 12:16:42 PM PST
A Los Angeles federal judge issued an arrest warrant today for "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis, who missed a scheduled court hearing on his attorneys' request to withdraw as his counsel.
U.S. District Judge S. James Otero issued the bench warrant when Francis did not turn up in court and was unable to be reached by telephone on the morning after the Super Bowl.
The hearing was to consider a request made by Francis' attorneys-of- record, the Bernhoft Law Firm, to withdraw as his legal representation at the entrepreneur's tax evasion trial next month.
In a court filing last week, defense attorney Robert E. Barnes said that the Bernhoft firm decided late last year to end their relationship with Francis based on "strategic differences of opinion," a spokesperson for the firm said.
The motion is pending because Otero has said that he wanted Francis to find new lawyers before he grants the Bernhoft's motion to withdraw.
Bernhoft attorneys refused comment today through the firm's spokesperson, Ross Johnson of the public relations company LA Strategic. A call to Department of Justice lawyer Caryn D. Mark, who is prosecuting the tax case, was not immediately returned.
Last summer, Francis pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to two felony tax evasion charges. He is accused of unlawfully deducting more than $20 million in bogus business expenses on his 2002 and 2003 corporate tax returns.
Today, the judge waited 30 minutes for Francis to show up in the downtown courtroom before issuing the arrest warrant. Earlier, Otero's clerk attempted to contact Francis by telephone, with no success.
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