SIMI VALLEY : Pair Admits to Extortion Attempt

A stripper and her cohort in a bungled extortion plot admitted Wednesday to trying to fleece an elderly admirer out of $80,000, but the two defendants said a fake handgun was used in the scheme.

Lawyers for both defendants made the admissions during closing arguments in the trial of Robin Goebel, 30, and Louis Ottilo, 57, both charged with attempted extortion.

Admitting to the plot leaves the jury to determine whether Ottilo used a real or fake gun during the botched extortion attempt in February.

Goebel and Ottilo have a lot riding on the jury’s decision. If the panel votes to convict and finds that a real gun was used, Ottilo would have 15 years added to his prison sentence. Goebel would be given an extra five years on top of the 16-month term the two face for the attempted extortion charges.

On Feb. 16, Goebel invited Joseph Nakashima, 72, to her Simi Valley home under the guise of a belated Valentine’s Day celebration. While the two sat on her couch and discussed marriage, Ottilo burst in the front door, pointed a gun at the couple and demanded $80,000.

Both defendants said a fake gun was used, and Ottilo said he threw the gun away. Prosecutors contend Ottilo used a real .38-caliber pistol, which authorities seized from his Canyon Country home.

Investigators said Ottilo and Goebel concocted the scheme to fleece Nakashima out of his retirement fund. Goebel was pregnant at the time and feared she would lose her job, prosecutor Audry Rohn said during her closing argument.

Nakashima was a regular customer at the Jetstrip Cabaret near Los Angeles International Airport, where he befriended Goebel.

During the course of their 15-month relationship, Nakashima said he loaned Goebel $56,000. Goebel used some of the money for breast implants, Nakashima said.

The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations today.