Lawyer Cites Wayne Mystique as Gionis Is Still Denied Bail

A Superior Court judge Friday refused to overturn a lower court decision denying bail to Dr. Thomas A. Gionis, accused of masterminding the attack on his ex-wife, Aissa Wayne, and her companion last October.

Gionis’ attorney, Marshall M. Schulman, called the courts’ bail refusal “outrageous” and accused the district attorney’s office of making it a “political case” because Aissa Wayne is the daughter of John Wayne.

“It’s disgusting and ridiculous; only in Third World countries do you deny someone bail in a case like this,” Schulman said outside the courtroom.

Gionis, 35, a wealthy orthopedic surgeon from Pomona, is accused of hiring a private investigator, O. Daniel Gal, 32, to find someone to rough up Wayne and the man she was with, financier Roger Luby, at his Newport Beach estate on Oct. 3, 1988. Gionis and Wayne were involved in a bitter custody dispute over their 2-year-old daughter, Anastasia.

Gal was arrested in Switzerland earlier this week and is expected to be returned to Orange County in the next 60 days. The two men accused of carrying out the attack, Jerrel L. Hintergardt, 37, and Jeffrey K. Bouey, 35, are in Orange County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail each.

The attackers reportedly pistol-whipped Wayne and Luby, bound them and slashed Luby’s Achilles’ tendon.

Prosecutors scoffed at Schulman’s accusations of “political” overtones.

When Schulman mentioned it before the hearing to Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas M. Goethals, the prosecutor smiled and answered: “Marshall, I learn something new every time I see you.”

Municipal Judge Russell A. Bostrom refused to set bail for Gionis last week, citing evidence of a series of telephone calls from Gionis’ house to Greece, where the surgeon has friends and relatives. He also pointed out that Gionis had obtained a passport for his daughter, indicating that he might flee the country. Prosecutors also produced testimony from Wayne that her ex-husband had threatened her and that she feared for her safety if he were released.

Friday, Schulman argued to Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald in Santa Ana that he could prove that the calls to Greece had been made by other members of the doctor’s family. The defense lawyer also argued that there was never any evidence that Gionis had ever been violent.

Schulman also took issue with police reports, printed by the news media, regarding Luby’s injuries. His Achilles’ tendon could not have been slashed, the lawyer said, because Luby recovered too quickly. Prosecutors, however, maintained that police reports about Luby’s injuries were correct.

Found No Error

Judge Fitzgerald said at the end of Friday’s hearing that he found no error in Judge Bostrom’s ruling and refused to set bail. That means that Gionis must remain in County Jail while awaiting trial unless another court overturns Fitzgerald’s ruling.

A preliminary hearing for Gionis is scheduled for Monday in Municipal Court in Newport Beach. Schulman said that he would press forward without postponements, which is rare in serious felony cases where the defense usually requests more preparation time.

“My client is sitting in jail; he wants this thing over with as quickly as possible,” Schulman said.

Prosecutors this week filed papers seeking to have Schulman and his partner, Byron K. McMillan, removed from the Gionis case on the ground that McMillan had a conflict of interest because he once gave legal advice to Luby. Prosecutors contended that Luby had provided McMillan with intimate details of his business relationships, which could cause problems during the Gionis proceedings.

Says Case Is Weak

Schulman said he believed prosecutors are not anxious to have to put on their case against Gionis until Gal can be brought back from Europe, because their case is weak without help from Gal.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans said that Schulman is wrong.

“We’re ready to go,” Evans declared.

Schulman said that he and McMillan may ask for another hearing before Bostrom to ask him to reconsider his ruling, or that they may file an appeal with the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana.

“I’ve had murderers who were permitted bail,” Schulman said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Each of the four defendants is facing eight felony counts in the attack. Gionis is accused of one count of conspiracy and is suspected of being an “aider and abetter” to the other participants in the other counts.

Prosecutors claim that Gionis hired Gal, whose office is in Los Angeles, last year during the divorce proceedings, and that Gal hired the other two men to carry out the attack.

One of the attackers reportedly told the two victims that “next time, we kill you.”

Gionis had won custody of the daughter during the divorce proceedings. However, Wayne was given temporary custody after Gionis’ arrest.