Case Dropped in Dispute Over Dog on Jetliner

It began four years ago with a yapping, eight-pound Maltese on the loose in first-class during a cross-country flight, and literally became a federal case.

But on Thursday, at a prosecutor’s request, a U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles quietly dismissed a grand jury indictment accusing the dog’s owner, wealthy Beverly Hills widow Marcelle Becker, of interfering with an American Airlines flight crew.

“I am free at last!” said Becker, the Casablanca-born widow of insurance magnate Howard Becker. “This is the best news I could have had in four years. It’s been very difficult.”

The charge, which could have landed her in prison for 20 years, stemmed from a ruckus that broke out when the dog, named Dom Perignon, squirmed out of its Louis Vuitton carrier as a flight attendant attempted to shove it under a seat during a July 1995 flight from New York to Los Angeles. Becker, who had purchased a first-class seat for her pet, became upset, howling that the attendant had kicked her “baby.”

Eventually, Becker wound up tied into her seat with the dog’s leash. The dog died several months after the scuffle, and Becker sued the airline.

Last week, as the criminal case neared trial, Becker’s defense fought back with a barrage of sensational allegations. At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Harry L. Hupp, Becker’s lawyers alleged that American Airlines had pressured federal prosecutors to indict Becker to weaken her civil suit against the airline. She lost that case after a trial last year in Superior Court in Santa Monica.

Her attorneys, Pierson and famed Kennedy conspiracy theorist Mark Lane, alleged last week that federal prosecutors and airline attorneys were in illegal contact at least 16 times, sharing evidence gleaned during the civil case.

The defense charged that one prosecutor involved in the early stages of the case had previously performed legal work for the airline as an associate at a Los Angeles law firm.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, characterized the allegations of government misconduct as “ridiculous.” He noted that Hupp “completely rejected” them.

In court papers seeking dismissal of the Becker case, Assistant U.S. Atty. Kenneth P. White made no mention of her allegations, saying only that the decision came after prosecutors reviewed transcripts of the civil trial.

“It is highly unlikely that the defendant will engage in future similar conduct, and further sanctions . . . are unnecessary,” White wrote.

He also said prosecutors considered complaints by Becker that prosecutors waited three years to bring the charge against her. White maintained that the charge was supported by the evidence.