Florida’s attorney general has objected to OJ Simpson’s plans to live in the Sunshine State once he is released from prison.
In a letter to Florida’s Department of Corrections on Friday, Pam Bondi urged its secretary to tell officials in Nevada – where Simpson remains incarcerated – that it does not want him to become a resident.
She used the 1994 murders of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, which Simpson was criminally acquitted of but found liable for in subsequent civil lawsuits, among her reasons why he should not be allowed to settle in the Sunshine State.
Another was a previous conviction for speeding in his powerboat in a manatee zone.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (L) has written a letter to the Department of Corrections asking it to inform Nevada officials that she does not want OJ Simpson (R, at a parole hearing in July) to become a Florida resident once he is released from jail
Simpson’s lawyers told his parole board there was ‘no doubt’ he would be setting up his new life on the outside in Florida once he is released.
The 70-year-old is due to be released from Lovelock Correctional Center as soon as next week, the earliest possible date, after serving nine years behind bars for armed robbery. He was granted parole earlier this year.
The former NFL star has not given detailed plans of where in Florida he wants to live, but it’s likely he will choose somewhere close to his two children who live in St Petersburg.
During his parole hearing in July, he joked: ‘I could easily stay in Nevada but I don’t think you guys want me here.’
Sydney and Justin Simpson were at home sleeping when their mother was slaughtered on their doorstep in Brentwood, California, in 1994. Brown’s killer has never been caught.
It is not clear what influence Bond’s letter will have on the decision to grant Simpson’s release.
In July, the state’s Department of Corrections said it would have to accept him if Nevada officials were satisfied.
‘We are aware of his potential relocation to Florida. Pursuant to the Interstate Commission on Adult Offender Supervision, if Nevada’s request meets all criteria, Florida must accept the transfer,’ the Florida Department of Corrections said in a statement.
In her letter, Bondi pointed to the 1994 murder of Simpson’s wife Nicole Brown and the fact that he had been found civilly liable for it despite being acquitted of murder. The pair are seen with their children Sydney and Justin before Brown’s death. Now adults, the kids both live in Florida
‘As is the case with any offender who transfers under this routine procedure, he will be assigned a Florida probation officer and will be supervised in accordance with the conditions of his parole.’
Ron Goldman was found dead alongside Brown outside her home in 1994
Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders in what was arguable the most highly publicized murder trial in recent history.
He was however found culpable for Brown and Goldman’s deaths in a civil lawsuit later.
As part of the judge’s decision in that lawsuit, he was ordered to pay $33.5million to their families in damages.
On Friday, DailyMailTV exclusively revealed previously undisclosed FBI documents which suggest he hid his money before going to jail in 2008 for his robbery conviction.
He had managed to avoid paying the families’ money since the civil lawsuit verdict in 1997.
Given the amount of time which has now passed and interest accrued, Simpson is on the hook for damages of more than $100million.
His armed robbery conviction stems from an incident in a Nevada hotel room in 2007.
He claims he was going to retrieve stolen sports memorabilia with a group of friends who were heavily armed.
Simpson, now 70, has been in jail in Nevada for the last nine years for armed robbery but he is due to be released as soon as Sunday. He is pictured in July