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A paroled OJ Simpson better steer clear of Florida; Feisty AG Bondi is already prepping for him …

September 30, 2017 | | Print Article
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O.J. Simpson may be looking forward to serving out his parole in Florida but it seems the Sunshine State may not be feeling so hospitable.

Simpson’s attorney revealed that Simpson would be moving to Florida once he is released from a Nevada prison where he has spent the last nine years serving out a 2008 robbery conviction, the New York Post reported.

“He’s going to Florida,” Malcolm LaVergne said. “There’s no doubt he’s going to Florida.”

But Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has no plans to throw a welcoming party for the former NFL player and convicted felon.

“Floridians are well aware of Mr. Simpson’s background, his wanton disregard for the lives of others, and of his scofflaw attitude with respect to the heinous acts for which he has been found civilly liable,” Bondi said in a letter to the Florida Department of Corrections sent Friday.

“Our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal,” she wrote, pressing the department to let Nevada officials know that Simpson was not welcome.

The Florida corrections agency has not received a transfer request or any documents about Simpson, according to spokeswoman, Ashley Cook. But if Nevada’s request meets the requirements, Florida corrections officials have no choice but to accept the transfer, despite Bondi’s concerns over his “disturbing history of arrests and destructive behavior.”

Simpson becomes eligible for parole on Sunday and, with plans already in progress for his release, he could be a free man as early as Monday though details could not yet be made public due to safety concerns, according to Nevada prisons official Brooke Keast.

Simpson served nine years of a possible 33-year sentence at Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada. He was acquitted in the infamous case of the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles in 1994, though in a 1997 civil case,  he was found liable for their deaths and ordered to pay  $33.5 million to the victims’ families.

Bondi cited these facts in her letter to Corrections Department Secretary Julie Jones, pointing out the “added burden that his notoriety would impose on law enforcement personnel in Florida.” She also expressed concern over his “manifest lack of contrition for his crimes.”

Simpson’s lawyer, who spoke with him by phone Thursday, said he was excited about his release.

“He’s really looking forward to the simple pleasures,” LaVergne said. “Seeing his family on the outside, spending time with them, eating food that’s not packaged.”

A close friend of Simpson’s, Tom Scotto, has reportedly offered up his home on Florida’s west coast in Naples, but Scotto did not respond to the Post’s requests for comment.

Bondi cited Simpson’s remarks that he could stay in Nevada but that he didn’t “think you guys want me here,” in her letter.

“The same goes for the people of Florida,” Bondi wrote, adding that there was “no justification” to ask Florida taxpayers to “foot the bill” for Simpson’s parole, “especially in light of the added dangers that his relocation would pose to our citizens.”

Noting her “duty to protect Floridians,” the attorney general conceded that if Simpson still was allowed to live in the Sunshine State, certain requirements needed to be met. Bondi requested Simpson report to his parole officer in person and not by mail as an option, that he would have to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, have his travel “substantially restricted,” and not be allowed to consume alcohol or drugs.

“The specter of his residing in comfort in Florida should not be an option,” she concluded.

Twitter users and Floridians echoed the state attorney general’s sentiments.

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Frieda Powers
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