Menendez Legal Papers Say Estate Is Worthless : Courts: Judge unseals documents that seek public funding for younger brother’s retrial expenses. The inheritance, once valued at $14 million, has been depleted by debts, taxes and legal fees.

Erik Menendez is so broke that he does not even have any bank accounts, according to legal papers filed on behalf of the younger of the Beverly Hills brothers facing a retrial in the 1989 shotgun slayings of their parents.

In the papers, which urge a judge to appoint defense lawyer Leslie Abramson at public expense for the retrial, Menendez asserted that his parents’ $14-million estate has been “rendered worthless” by debts, taxes, legal fees and court costs.

He also said his financial situation is so grim that he wants to raise money by selling his Jeep Wrangler but can’t--because a buddy racked up about $1,500 in unpaid parking tickets. Until the tickets are paid, the car, which is in storage, cannot be registered or sold, Menendez said.

The legal papers, which also detail the payment of $740,000 that Abramson has earned from the estate, were unsealed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Cecil Mills, who ruled there was no reason to keep them secret because Menendez is seeking taxpayer cash for his defense.

Erik Menendez, 23, and Lyle Menendez, 26, are charged with murder in the Aug. 20, 1989, slayings of their parents, Jose Menendez, 45, the millionaire boss of a Van Nuys video distribution firm, and Kitty Menendez, 47.

Prosecutors contend that the brothers were motivated by hatred and greed in killing their parents. At the first trial, the brothers admitted the slayings but said they acted in fear after years of abuse.

That trial ended in January when separate juries deadlocked between murder and lesser manslaughter charges.

Two public defenders have since taken over the case of Lyle Menendez, who also claims he is broke. Abramson has made it plain that she wants to stay on--but only if she gets paid.

Two weeks ago, Mills, the supervising judge of the county’s criminal courts, turned down Abramson’s request to be paid at public expense, saying she has a valid contract to defend Erik Menendez at the retrial. Last Friday, she filed legal briefs urging Mills to reconsider or let her leave the case. He said Tuesday he would hear her arguments again at an April 5 hearing.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg, who presided over the first trial, has scheduled an April 15 hearing to set a date for a new trial.

In TV interviews the past several weeks, Abramson has urged supporters of the Menendez brothers to contribute to a retrial defense fund. In the legal papers unsealed Tuesday, Abramson said the fund had taken in $15,000 in a few weeks, averaging $30 per check.

She also said that the parents’ estate paid her $50,000 of a $100,000 deal struck in 1990 for her legal fees; the other $50,000 came from an investment account the brothers’ aunt maintained for Erik Menendez. In 1991, the estate paid Abramson $550,000 more in fees.

The estate also paid Abramson $140,000 in court costs, according to court files. It paid attorney Robert Shapiro, who served briefly as Erik Menendez’s attorney, $15,000 in fees.

In total, the estate has paid $755,000 for the younger brother’s defense. It paid $740,000 for Lyle Menendez’s defense.

In the unsealed papers, Erik Menendez said state and federal tax officials have assessed more than $400,000 in liens stemming from the payout of legal fees.

But, he said, “I have no bank accounts,” and no longer own “any thing of value.”