Ex-’Twilight Zone’ Prosecutor Says His Integrity Is Attacked

Former “Twilight Zone” prosecutor Gary P. Kesselman charged Thursday that he is the target of an organized smear campaign by colleagues as a result of his recent dramatic courtroom testimony attacking the credibility of the current prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lea Purwin D’Agostino.

“Knowing that my testimony and the truth of my testimony cannot be discredited, apparently a campaign has been organized to smear me and attack my integrity as an attorney and as a person,” said a prepared statement by Kesselman, who had told jurors that D’Agostino tried to pressure him into supporting the testimony of a key witness.

Kesselman’s statement was a reaction to a private three-page memo, reported by The Times on Thursday, in which Sgt. Thomas Budds, the sheriff’s investigator in the case, charged that Kesselman has a deep-seated hostility toward D’Agostino and has been bitter because he would no longer be able to write a book about the case since he was taken off it.

The memo also questioned Kesselman’s testimony that he asked to withdraw from the case “at least a dozen times” for personal reasons between 1983 and 1985.

Budds is scheduled to testify next week as a prosecution rebuttal witness against Kesselman in the involuntary manslaughter trial stemming from the 1982 film set deaths of actor Vic Morrow and two child actors.

Kesselman, in his statement, denied ever having “any intention or plan of writing a book, selling movie rights, giving personal interviews or personally profiting from my involvement in the “Twilight Zone” case.

“My actions for the three years that I handled this case in consistently refusing to appear on TV talk shows, refusing to become involved in personalized and sensationalized interviews, are well known and speak for themselves,” Kesselman added.

The 17-year deputy district attorney also said that, contrary to allegations by Budds, he spent “extensive hours” preparing D’Agostino for the trial.

Meanwhile, Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Gilbert I. Garcetti backed Budds Thursday on his allegations concerning the replacement of Kesselman by D’Agostino.

“Gary was removed from the case because we were not satisfied with his performance,” Garcetti told a Times reporter.