LOS ANGELES : U.S. Judge Refuses to Drop Charges Against Fleiss
A federal judge has denied former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss’ motion to dismiss money-laundering and tax evasion charges against her.
She had argued that she was the victim of selective prosecution. Fleiss claimed that no one prosecuted for pandering in a state court ever had been charged with tax evasion in federal court.
But U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall found “no colorable basis” that prosecutors singled out Fleiss, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark Holscher. Her trial is scheduled to begin June 20.
On May 24, Fleiss was sentenced to three years in prison for a Los Angeles Superior Court conviction in December on three counts of pandering. Fleiss, arrested in that case in June, 1993, is free on bond pending appeal.
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