Ito Delays Return of Simpson’s Possessions

O.J. Simpson will have to wait at least two weeks to get back his fake mustache, Frank Sinatra tape, Blockbuster membership card and other property seized from him in the days just before and after he was arrested on charges of murdering his ex-wife and Ronald Lyle Goldman.

Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito ruled Tuesday that the eclectic assortment of personal property should remain in custody until Nov. 15. A civil judge handling two wrongful death lawsuits against Simpson has scheduled a hearing for that date to decide how to dispose of the items.

Simpson wants them back--from the handgun and cellular phone to the Calvin Klein underwear and Armani eyeglasses case. Since his acquittal last month, the former football star has received only two of the many items seized from his home and car in June, 1994: his NFL Hall of Fame ring and his passport. “Mr. Simpson has waited patiently for 16 months for the return of his property,” defense attorney Carl E. Douglas said.

But Daniel M. Petrocelli, the lawyer representing Goldman’s father, Fred, argued that Simpson could wait a few more weeks for his membership cards, cheap disguise and $3.93 in change. Petrocelli wants time to sift through the property and determine what might be relevant in his case against Simpson.

“What is he going to do with a fake goatee in the next two weeks?” Petrocelli said. “And those credit cards--they’re probably expired by now. . . . We want to make sure we are in a position to protect and preserve the evidence.”

In one of his last rulings on what he called “the Simpson matter,” Ito decided to send the property question over to Santa Monica District Court for Judge Alan Haber to resolve. Haber has been assigned to handle all pretrial motions in the wrongful death suits filed by Goldman’s parents and Nicole Brown Simpson’s estate.

Simpson was not present in court during the brief hearing Tuesday morning. But his lead defense lawyer during the criminal case, Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., popped in to watch from the back--and to pick up fan mail for him that continues to pour into Ito’s Department 103.