3 Ordered to Stand Trial in ‘Cotton Club’ Murder Case

After two months of court testimony that focused on the dark side of Hollywood deal making, a woman identified by authorities as a cocaine kingpin and two former bodyguards for Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt were ordered Wednesday to stand trial for the 1983 murder of theatrical producer Roy Radin.

Los Angeles County Municipal Judge Patti Jo McKay ruled that there is sufficient evidence to bind Karen DeLayne (Lanie) Greenberger, Alex Marti and William Mentzer over for trial in a hearing that has become known as the “Cotton Club” murder case.

McKay also decreed that the Radin murder may have been committed for financial gain, a move that would clear the way for the defendants to receive the death penalty if they are convicted.

The case has captured widespread attention for its unsparing look at the film capital’s unsavory side, its gruesome details and its occasional mentions of prominent Hollywood mogul Robert Evans--who has not been charged in the case but was linked to the murder by a key prosecution witness.

Radin, a 33-year-old New York entertainment figure, came to Los Angeles with dreams of gaining a foothold in the film business by consummating a production company deal with Evans. Instead, the corpulent, cocaine-snorting showman wound up in a desolate canyon with more than a dozen bullet holes in his head.

Anticipated Ruling

Prosecutors said they anticipated McKay’s ruling. In his closing arguments, Deputy Dist. Atty. David Conn charged that Greenberger ordered Radin’s murder after he tried to cut her out of a production deal on “The Cotton Club,” a film about the famous 1930s nightclub in Harlem.

“Mr. Radin was an obstacle to further negotiation involving ‘The Cotton Club,’ ” Conn said. “ . . . The deal could not go through until specific issues such as percentages were worked out. It was at that time that Mrs. Greenberger had the motive to murder Mr. Radin.”

Conn said that Greenberger hired Marti and Mentzer to carry out the killing. In recounting court testimony, he said that the two bodyguards committed the murder after kidnaping Radin on the night of May 13, 1983, when the producer was on the way to a dinner engagement with Greenberger.

Defense lawyers did not rebut Conn’s arguments, and Greenberger, Marti and Mentzer accepted McKay’s ruling matter-of-factly before being led back to their holding cells.

Edward Shohat, Greenberger’s attorney, said the defense was “saving its arguments for another day.” He said McKay’s ruling was expected, even though defense lawyers believe it is incorrect.

The defendants will be arraigned Tuesday, but their trial probably will not begin until next year. In the meantime, journalists, writers and film producers will have an opportunity to pore over about 4,500 pages of testimony produced during the long preliminary hearing.

Several witnesses testified that Greenberger, 42, a prim-looking woman with close-cropped silver-gray hair whom authorities described as a major drug dealer, proved to be Radin’s undoing.

Prosecutors said Greenberger hired Marti, 27; Mentzer, 39, and Robert Lowe, 42--a fourth defendant who spent the preliminary hearing fighting extradition from Maryland--to carry out Radin’s murder.

Use of Cherry Bomb

One prosecution witness said Greenberger told him: “They’ve got the fat pig and they’re taking him to the desert.” Another said the defendants placed a lighted cherry bomb in Radin’s mouth to obscure his identity.

After a brief friendship, relations between Greenberger and Radin soured, witnesses testified, when Greenberger accused Radin of helping to steal $200,000 in cash and 10 kilograms of cocaine from her home.

The final straw came when Radin cut Greenberger out of the $26-million production deal he and Evans had lined up on “Cotton Club,” prosecutors said. Radin was last seen stepping into a limousine with Greenberger on May 13. His corpse was found a month later.

Evans, who was implicated by one witness, drew a packed crowd when he took the stand and nervously refused to testify because of concerns of self-incrimination. On another occasion, a star witness had to be led from the court shaken and sobbing when he confessed to being drunk.

And just last week, as the high-security hearing was nearing its conclusion, the sound of gunfire sent everyone in McKay’s courtroom scurrying for cover. Officials later discovered that a guard in a neighboring courtroom had accidentally fired his gun.