Man Jailed for Bail Violations

A federal judge tossed alleged racketeer Eddie Nash back behind bars Friday for violating bail terms.

U.S. District Judge Carlos R. Moreno put off a decision on whether the former nightclub owner will forfeit the $1.5 million in cash that he put up to get out of jail seven weeks ago.

Nash’s wife, Estee, hugged him and wept before federal marshals led him from the courtroom. He was taken to the nearby federal detention center, where he is being held in an isolation cell normally assigned to the most dangerous prisoners.

Nash, 71, was indicted last year on charges of running a drug racketeering enterprise for the last 25 years. The indictment includes allegations that he ordered the murders of four people in a Laurel Canyon drug den in 1981.

He also is accused of bribing a juror who held out against convicting in one of two murder trials in state court.

During a bail revocation hearing that extended over two days, Assistant U.S. Atty. Daniel Saunders accused Nash of deliberately “thumbing his nose at the court.”

When Moreno released him in November after seven months in custody, Nash was ordered confined to his Tarzana townhouse except for authorized visits to doctors. He has emphysema.

He was required to wear an electronic bracelet so his whereabouts could be checked at any time. A security guard was posted outside his door. His mail and phone calls were monitored by the FBI. And he was barred from having contacts with any likely witnesses in his case.

Saunders charged that Nash violated those conditions by twice meeting with Sherman Oaks attorney Forrest Concannon, whose office is next door to a building occupied by Nash’s doctor. Concannon was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating Nash on Dec. 13.

Defense lawyers argued Friday that the encounters were unplanned and innocent. Previously, however, Nash had been told by a court official supervising his release not to meet with Concannon, an old friend and advisor.

On Christmas day in his home, Nash entertained a man and a woman he was not entitled to see. Moreno had restricted Nash’s visitors to his immediate family, his lawyers and doctors.

“These were technical missteps and nothing more,” defense attorney Bradley Brunon told the judge.

Moreno might have agreed, were it not for an unexpected disclosure Friday by Nash’s wife. Under questioning by Saunders, she acknowledged that her husband had been using a second telephone line that was unknown to authorities and unmonitored.

Brunon argued that it was the result of a misunderstanding. Moreno was not persuaded.

“The defendant is remanded into custody,” Moreno said. “Given the totality of the circumstances and knowing that he used an unmonitored phone line, these are clear breaches of his bond. Any fine-tuning of his restrictions would not satisfy the court.”

Nash’s defense team said they would seek to have him tried as soon as possible, perhaps by spring. His trial is now set for September.