Jury Selection Begins in ‘Cotton Club’ Trial
Jury selection began Monday in the trial of four people accused of killing producer Roy Radin in a dispute over financing for the movie “The Cotton Club.”
Karen De Layne Greenberger, 43, is accused of hiring William Mentzer, 40; Robert Ulmer Lowe, 43; and Alex Marti, 30, to kill Radin, a New York theatrical producer, in 1983.
The trial is expected to last four to nine months. Jury selection before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe is expected to take several days. Each defendant has pleaded not guilty. The four are being held without bail and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Authorities charge that, in exchange for introducing Radin to Hollywood producer Robert Evans, Greenberger, a reputed cocaine dealer, demanded 50% of the profits from the production company that the two men intended to form to finance the movie. But Radin only offered Greenberger a 5% finder’s fee and that led to his slaying, authorities said.
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