The Region - News from June 26, 1987

A judge has denied a bid for a new trial for Billionaire Boys Club leader Joe Hunt but postponed formal sentencing until July 6. Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Laurence Rittenband said he had “no alternative” but to delay sentencing because of a legal requirement that attorneys be given nine days to review probation reports before sentencing and the report on Hunt arrived late. Rittenband is expected to follow the jury’s recommendation that Hunt be given life without possibility of parole for the slaying of Beverly Hills con man Ron Levin, but the delay makes i1948281961separately from three co-defendants in a second murder case, set for trial Aug. 24. In denying the motion for a new trial, the judge did not comment on a contention that he made numerous errors in conducting the proceedings and that “new evidence” has surfaced, a reference to recent reports that Levin, whose body has not been found, has been seen alive.