3 Plead Not Guilty in Attempted Extortion of Erin Brockovich

After numerous postponements, the three men accused of trying to extort money from movie protagonist Erin Brockovich pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of conspiracy and attempted extortion.

Shawn William Brown, 38; Jorg Lawrence Halaby, 46; and John Jeffrey Reiner, 52, answered the felony charges during an arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court.

A preliminary hearing was set for Aug. 9, when defense lawyers hope to persuade a judge to move the case to another county because of publicity and allegations that authorities manipulated an investigation to lure the defendants into Ventura County.

Outside the courtroom, Brown, a Simi Valley resident and Brockovich’s ex-husband, said the case has been emotionally draining and hard on the couple’s children.

“This is an enduring process,” Brown said. “I’m looking forward to this being over soon.”

Halaby, Brockovich’s ex-boyfriend, smiled as he walked out of court but declined to comment on the allegations.

Halaby is portrayed in the movie that tells the story of how Brockovich, a twice-divorced mother of three, helped win a $333-million lawsuit against a public utility accused of poisoning a town’s water supply.

Prosecutors say Brown and Halaby, along with Brown’s attorney, Reiner, tried to extort $310,000 from Brockovich by threatening to tell tabloids that she was a bad mother who had sex with her lawyer boss, Ed Masry. Brockovich denies the allegations.

She told her Thousand Oaks divorce lawyer, Cathleen Drury, about the alleged extortion and Drury reported it to local prosecutors. After a two-week investigation, Brown, Reiner and Halaby were arrested during a videotaped sting at Drury’s law office.

Defense attorneys say the three men have committed no crimes and were engaged in a legitimate business deal. They have accused prosecutors of manufacturing the high-profile case.

“It was arranged like an arranged marriage,” said Brown’s attorney, Joel Isaacson, who joined in the motion filed by Reiner’s attorney to move the case to another county.

Defense lawyers had hoped that Superior Court Judge Art Gutierrez would rule on that motion Thursday, but he decided to assign it to the judge who will preside over the preliminary hearing. That assignment will come next week.

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Frawley, who is prosecuting the case, said he expects the preliminary hearing to last about one day.