A Strange Twist to Clarett Case

Maurice Clarett, a former Ohio State football star charged with weapons violations last week, has ties to an alleged Israeli mob figure in Los Angeles and, according to his attorneys, feared for his safety.

At the time of his arrest, the former running back was wearing a bulletproof vest and allegedly carrying three loaded handguns, a hatchet and an AK-47-type assault rifle in his car.

Nick Mango, a lawyer for Clarett, said his client had received numerous threatening letters and e-mails, many of them related to the athlete’s brief but controversial college football career.

However, the lawyer singled out for special concern what he described simply as one cryptic postcard from Los Angeles. He said he had notified the FBI.

“The one person [Clarett] spent time with and had a relationship with” in Los Angeles, said Mango, was an accused racketeering figure from Israel, Hai Waknine.

Waknine is connected to a crime organization called the Jerusalem group, according to court documents filed by the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, and was living the high life, with numerous luxury cars and homes in the Hollywood Hills and Marina del Rey, until his extortion and racketeering indictment in 2005.

Clarett was a regular visitor to the federal courthouse where Waknine went on trial this year, accused of extorting a Beverly Hills Lamborghini dealer.

In mid-trial, Waknine interrupted proceedings by agreeing to plead guilty to one felony extortion charge. Trial was suspended, and he is awaiting sentencing.

Mango said the postcard made him wonder about Clarett’s relationship with Waknine.

Law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Waknine had connections in Hollywood and the music industry and acted as some type of agent for Clarett during 2004 and 2005.

The terms of that agreement are not clear, they said.

Mango said he had heard stories of Waknine loaning money and cars to his client but did not know firsthand whether Clarett owed Waknine money.

“We don’t have personal knowledge of their relationship,” he said.

A records search shows that Waknine might have used Clarett’s mother’s address for some type of credit application.

Authorities had been curious about the Waknine relationship since Clarett began showing up in the courtroom gallery listening to hours of testimony about alleged extortion, racketeering and other crimes.

However, Clarett “wouldn’t talk to us,” said one law enforcement official who asked not to be identified because the case is still open.

Authorities believe Clarett might have information about “strong-arm stuff” involving Waknine or his associates.

“Obviously, we are interested in any information we can get about that relationship,” said another official close to the investigation.

Clarett played one season for Ohio State, then was suspended in 2003 for ethics violations and for lying to police. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2005 but was released shortly thereafter.