Trial of Alleged Madam ‘Babydol’ Gets Underway

Alleged madam Jody “Babydol” Gibson arrived in court Tuesday dressed in a lilac suit, her long blond hair pinned back like a schoolgirl’s.

The primly dressed Gibson, 41, is on trial in Van Nuys Superior Court, accused of pimping, pandering and procuring for prostitution. She allegedly ran an international call girl business, employing as many as 34 women who charged up to $3,000 per assignation.

Gerald Scotti, Gibson’s lawyer, told a seven-woman, five-man jury that authorities will never be able to prove that Gibson was involved in anything other than casting and producing pornographic videos and setting up “dance parties.”

Scotti also revived long-standing allegations of misconduct by an undercover police officer who, he said, romped naked with one of Gibson’s prostitutes and took nude photographs of her during an undercover sting.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard F. Walmark only shook his head at Scotti’s allegations. He denied that police altered the statements of witnesses, as suggested by the defense.

The larger problem facing the prosecution is getting Gibson’s alleged employees to testify against her. Walmark told the jurors they will hear from the women “if they are available.”

Scotti said outside court that it is “very unlikely they will testify,” pointing out that he subpoenaed four of the women for the preliminary hearing. They did not testify, asserting their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.

If they do testify, Scotti told jurors, he intends to demand the names of clients and, if supplied, he will subpoena those men to testify at the trial. He complained that authorities have not investigated any alleged prostitution customers.

But district attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said: “This is not a case of prostitutes and johns committing crimes; it’s a case of a defendant using women to line her pockets with money.”

The heart of the evidence against Gibson is the testimony of two undercover officers--a woman who posed as a prospective prostitute and a man who posed as a client and allegedly twice hired prostitutes through Gibson.

Los Angeles Police Officer Cynthia Neff in testimony Tuesday authenticated tape-recorded conversations between herself and Gibson.

During the recording, which was played for jurors, Gibson talked about pay rates and employee rules, including a requirement that employees supply their own condoms. She said on the tape that her workers charged as much as $3,000 for overnight visits, and included work in New York and other U.S. cities.

LAPD Det. Raz Kertenian, the undercover officer, is expected to testify later in the trial. At a preliminary hearing, he was grilled by Scotti about disrobing during the sting. Kertenian denied having sex with the women during meetings at the Century Plaza Hotel. His supervisors said he was given permission to undress during the undercover operation.

An LAPD detective will also be called to explain some of the evidence seized from Gibson’s home, including binders and notebooks, as well as Louis Vuitton and leopard-print date books. Authorities say the records include employee and client lists.

Scotti said the lists include “names you would recognize” but denies they are prostitution clients. “In terms of what any individual’s name is doing in her notebook, I could not assume that,” he said outside court.

“I would say that the most probable answer is that she knows some of these people,” he added.

He said some of the documents seized by police may involve Gibson’s work in the porn industry.

Among the names listed on Gibson’s records are two contributors to Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, Scotti said. The defense lawyer unsuccessfully moved to bar the district attorney’s office from prosecuting Gibson on the grounds of conflict of interest.