Anatomy of a Plot

Whatever went down that night, it apparently didn't faze Simpson. Hours after the alleged plot took place, the football superstar was relaxing back at the Ghostbar, the watering hole at the Palms Las Vegas, a 55-story hotel and casino on Flamingo Boulevard in the heart of Las Vegas where Simpson was staying during the wedding. Between midnight and 1 a.m., Simpson was seen drinking, schmoozing and mugging for photos. "I said, 'O.J. what's going on?'" Ari Strauss, a Chicago man visiting Las Vegas with college buddies, told NEWSWEEK. "I said, 'The weather is nice here, 98 degrees at night,' and he said, 'Yeah, I'd love to be playing golf right now'."

The story began several weeks earlier, when California collectibles auctioneer Thomas Riccio rang up Simpson. Two old acquaintances of Simpson's—Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong—wanted to sell some of the football great's memorabilia on the q.t., Riccio said. The goods in question included several commemorative plaques and footballs—including one that marked Simpson's being named an All-American while at USC. There were also jerseys, personal photos and other personal family material that the Juice thought had been stolen years ago by his agent, Mike Gilbert. (Gilbert has denied that he stole material from Simpson.)

Riccio was a dealer with a checkered past. He'd served two terms in California prison for arson and receiving stolen property. This summer he gained notoriety for selling Anna Nicole Smith's diary, but a Los Angeles judge blocked his attempt to auction off a videotape of the late Playboy Playmate's breast surgery.

Simpson and Riccio talked over several schemes to get the stuff before settling on their plan. They would meet in Las Vegas during Simpson's trip there for the wedding (he was to be Scotto's best man), Riccio told police. Fromong, the man with the cache of contested goods, lived there. After more discussion, they worked out what Simpson would later call a "sting operation." Riccio would tell Beardsley he had a wealthy buyer for the Simpson trove, who would meet Beardsley and Fromong at Riccio's hotel room at the Palace Station. Riccio's client was billed as a big O.J. fan, who might pay $35,000 for the Simpson material, Beardsley would later tell Vegas detectives. (Fromong would also bring along other collectibles he hoped to sell—including baseballs signed by Pete Rose and Duke Snider, and lithographs from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana). After Riccio helped the two men bring the memorabilia to his room, Simpson was to arrive, confront the men with a few friends and reclaim his property. The meeting was supposed to start at 6 p.m.

Upon his arrival in Vegas for the wedding, Simpson began assembling the odd group of aging buddies who would accompany him. Sometime Thursday afternoon, Walter "Goldie" Alexander arrived at Simpson's room at the Palms, according to Alexander's lawyer, Robert Dennis Rentzer. Alexander had known O.J. for over a decade, and was now a Mesa, Ariz., real-estate broker. Alexander had been invited to the wedding, but he hadn't spoken to Simpson in months, according to Rentzer—having had a falling out with the Juice over his attempt to publish the money-making tell-all "If I Did It." (The book ran into legal trouble, but was subsequently repackaged and published by the family of Ron Goldman, who was slain, along with Simpson's wife Nicole, in the murder case in which Simpson was acquitted). Alexander's lawyer says his client was also hurt when he asked Simpson for financial help to bury his late father. "Simpson said, 'Everybody wants a piece of me'," according to Rentzer. Also on hand for the wedding was Charles Ehrlich, 53, a Miami friend of Simpson's. Another Simpson friend from Vegas, Michael McClinton, came along, too.

The men arrived at the Palace Station in two cars, an hour and a half late for the meeting. Simpson, Stewart and Cashmore—and perhaps one of the others—traveled in one car. McClinton and Alexander, and perhaps Erhlich, arrived separately.  Simpson and a man named Charles—either Cashmore or Ehrlich—each called Riccio to say they were behind schedule, Riccio told cops later that night. (Lawyers for both men say their clients are innocent. Cashmore's attorney, Edward Miley, told NEWSWEEK that his client "is a victim here" who "was in the wrong place at the wrong time.") Finally, at 7:30 they assembled in the hotel lobby. Riccio came downstairs to usher the surprise guests to the meeting in Room 1203. According to Stewart's account to his attorney, the final plan called for the two white men—Ehrlich and Cashmore-to go into the room first, posing as the buyers. The others quickly followed.