Trial of Alleged Madam Babydol Begins; Tape Heard of Defendant Discussing Rates

Alleged madam Jody Babydol Gibson arrived fashionably late to court Tuesday dressed in a lilac suit, her long blond hair pinned back like a schoolgirl--a stark contrast to her usual wavy-haired and provocatively dressed public persona.

Gibson, 41, is on trial in Van Nuys Superior Court on charges of pimping, pandering and procuring for prostitution. She is accused of operating an international call-girl business that employed as many as 34 prostitutes who charged up to $3,000 for their services.

Gerald Scotti, Gibson’s lawyer, told a seven-woman, five-man jury that authorities cannot prove she was involved in anything other than casting and producing pornographic videos and setting up “dance parties.”

“You will not make the link to pimping and pandering beyond a reasonable doubt,” Scotti said.

He also renewed long-standing accusations of police misconduct, alleging evidence tampering, the failure to prosecute Gibson’s alleged male clients and the actions of an undercover detective, who Scotti said “romped around naked” with one of Gibson’s alleged prostitutes and took nude photographs of the woman during an undercover sting.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard F. Walmark shook his head when asked to reply to Scotti’s allegations. He denied that police physically altered the statements of any witnesses, as suggested by the defense.

A larger problem facing Walmark is whether the named victims, all allegedly prostitutes, will testify against Gibson.

In his brief opening statement, Walmark told the jurors that they will hear from those alleged victims “if they are available.”

Scotti contended it is “very unlikely they will testify,” pointing out that he subpoenaed four of those women to appear at the preliminary hearing, but they did not testify, asserting their 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

If they do testify, Scotti told jurors, he intends to demand the names of their clients and, if supplied, he will subpoena those men to testify at trial.

“If that can’t be corroborated, you can’t have pimping and pandering,” Scotti said.

The heart of the evidence against Gibson is the testimony of two undercover officers--a female who posed as a prospective prostitute and contacted Gibson, and a male officer who posed as a client and allegedly hired prostitutes through Gibson on two occasions.

“The evidence is going to show that she was pimping and pandering,” Walmark said during a break in the proceedings.

Officer Cynthia Neff testified Tuesday and authenticated tape-recorded conversations between herself and the defendant in which Gibson allegedly gave her pay rates and employee rules--including that Neff needed to supply her own condoms--and discussed possible upcoming jobs.

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

A Los Angeles police detective who Walmark said is an expert on pimping will also be called to explain some of the boxfuls of evidence seized from Gibson’s home, including binders, notebooks and date books. Authorities say those documents include employee and client lists for a prostitution business.

Scotti said those lists contain “names you would recognize” but denies that they are clients who hired prostitutes through Gibson. He said some of the “scribblings” may involve her work in the pornography industry.

“In terms of what any individual’s name is doing in her notebook, I could not assume that,” Scotti said at an impromptu news conference on the steps of Van Nuys Municipal Court, where the trial is being held. “I would say that the most probable answer is that she knows some of these people.”

Among the names are two contributors to Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, according to Scotti, who unsuccessfully moved to recuse the Los Angeles district attorney’s office from prosecuting Gibson because of a conflict of interest.