It's a Crime

by Diane Fanning

This year, give the gift of crime. No. I am not suggesting that you break in to your neighbor's home and take custody of the nicely wrapped Wii under their tree. I'm suggesting that you take a look at the wealth of crime books available for your gift giving.

And while you're at it, think about shopping at your local independent book stores. They are all in a serious crisis caused by the economic downturn. Yes, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com aren't having it easy either but odds are they will weather the storm. The small shops are in a more precarious position.

On this subject, Roy Blount, Jr. (right) wrote a Holiday Message in the Author's Guild newsletter: "We don't want bookstores to die. Authors need them, and so do neighborhoods. So let's mount a book-buying splurge."

I say we all take up Roy's challenge. Shop at your area independent store or visit one on-line. My personal favorite is Murder by the Book in Houston. Not only do they have a delightfully crime-centric store but they also have a huge assortment of autographed books which make very special gifts.

In addition to signed books, here are a few other ideas for giving the gift of crime:

• Grab a few true crime paperbacks to stuff in a stocking.
  
• Pick up a group of books by different authors all set in a locale that has special significance for the recipient.
  
• Select books written by authors in your home state for someone far away who misses home.
  
• If you know someone interested in a particular type of crime, pull together a combination of fiction and non-fiction books featuring that element.


• Or be even more creative--start with Stacy Dittrich's book, The Devil's Closet, and find other crime books with a doll on the cover.
  

Do your part this holiday season to keep these independent operations stores alive through 2009. Don't let the Grinch of an economic downturn shutter their doors.

If the Grinch wasn't a fictional character, profilers would undoubtedly label him a sociopath--and Pat Brown would be the first to tell you not to trust his contrition at the story's end. Be a grinch-fighter, shop an independent book store and give the gift of crime fiction and non-fiction books this year.

Whatever you choose, books are great gifts. For Christmas. For Hanakuh. For Kwanzaa. Forever.

See below for the mysteries, thrillers, true accounts and informational crime books, released in 2008 by the contributors of Women in Crime Ink.

Tweet

A "Well Deserved" Guilty Verdict

by Tina Dirmann

When the guilty verdict finally came for Skylar Deleon, he didn't weep. He didn't sigh. He didn't blink.

Skylar just stood there, staring blankly, with the same cold expression I imagine he wore when he callously took the lives of three people whose biggest failing in life was to trust him.

On Monday, an Orange County jury took just two hours to deliberate before announcing that Deleon was guilty in the murders of a retired couple, Tom and Jackie Hawks, and the slaying of a former pilot, Jon Peter Jarvi. The details of the crimes, which I recounted in the book Vanished At Sea, are chilling, to say the least.

I remember, when doing press for the book, I often told interviewers that in all my 15 years as a crime reporter, I'd never covered anyone so bereft of humanity as 27-year-old Skylar Deleon. This is a man who, minutes after slitting the throat of one victim, boasted to a relative, "You're dealing with the devil now."

Indeed, if evil does exist in this world, it is embodied within the skin of Skylar Deleon and his wife, Jennifer Deleon, 25, who was convicted for her part in the murder in late 2006. The case that got the most attention from the media involved Tom and Jackie Hawks, who turned up missing in November 2004, shortly after posting an ad to sell their home, a 55-foot yacht they called Well Deserved.

Skylar and his young, pregnant wife, posing as buyers, answered the ad. After gaining their trust, Skylar arranged to return to the boat with a few associates to take the Well Deserved for a test ride.

But while at sea, Skylar used a taser to overpower the couple, then handcuffed them and held them at gun point while forcing them to sign a document transferring the boat title and power of attorney to Skylar.

With the help of associates Alonso Machain and John Kennedy, Skylar then tied the couple to one of the boat's anchors and, while Jackie tearfully begged for their lives, dropped the anchor overboard. The couple was hurled overboard and sank to their deaths.

Skylar, an unemployed bit-part actor, and his wife, a hair dresser, insisted they bought the boat and the Hawks drove off to Mexico. The Hawks' loving family knew their relatives—responsible, respectable, outgoing people—would never drop out of touch. They assumed the worst. And that worst was confirmed when accomplice McCain, a guy more dumb and naive than evil, confessed to police.

No less horrific was the death of Jon Jarvi, whom Skylar befriended only to swindle him out of $50,000 in a bogus real-estate deal. Skylar lured Jarvi to Mexico, supposedly to surf and talk over this "deal of a lifetime." But once there, Skylar drove Jarvi down an isolated dirt road, calmly slit his throat, then left him to bleed out, alone, on a deserted roadway.

It took nothing short of heroic investigative efforts on the part of the Newport Beach Police Department to tie the murders back to Skylar and his main accomplice, the innocent-looking Jennifer Deleon, who, at every turn, covered for her husband and lied to the police.

In the end, Skylar and all of his accomplices landed in jail. Jennifer is serving life behind bars. Alonso and another accomplice will probably get reduced sentences for cooperating in the investigation.

But death will surely come for Skylar, and, likely, John Kennedy, who notably kicked Tom off his feet so he would more easily slide off the boat and into the frigid waters that tragic night—then grabbed a rod onboard and fished all the way home. Kennedy, a known Long Beach gang member, will face trial next year.

Skylar's death penalty case begins on Wednesday. You can bet his attorneys will drag out all the details of Skylar's terrible childhood. Basically, his dad was a drug dealer who verbally abused his son. Yeah, his tender years were rough. But I can't imagine that's going to be enough to excuse his sins.

This jury already got it right once. I'm sure they will again.

And I know, no one is more anxious to see the ultimate penalty pronounced than the Hawks' son, Ryan, who is the spitting image of his deceased father. "Let's just get on with it," Ryan said simply after the verdict was announced.

I couldn't agree more. . . .

Tweet

MacKenzie Phillips Busted for Drugs . . . Again.

by Tina Dirmann

I am a true-crime author as well as a Hollywood news reporter. As a result, I usually use this space to combine my expertise and give you updates on whatever is happening with celebrity types who've landed on the wrong side of the law. Usually it involves some A-lister acting bratty (i.e. above the law). Or, at worst, highlighting a jury who let celebrity cloud their judgment, and let someone off the hook, mostly because the person was, you know, famous. . . .

This time, I'm having a little trouble coming down too hard on the notable name in the news this week: MacKenzie Phillips. You remember her, don't you? The lovable eldest daughter on the old sit-com One Day at a Time and daughter to John Phillips, the founding member of the ’60s band the Mamas and the Papas. Her battle with drugs has been long documented in the media. She's talked about it plenty—even credits the problem with her abrupt removal from the popular ’70s show.

"I grew up in mansions," she said years ago in an interview. "But everything was dirty and broken. Very little was going on inside except sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll."

In more recent years, Phillips went on to say that she successfully battled the problem. She's talked plenty, in interviews, promising not to be one of those childhood star statistics—the one who ends up in jail or, worse, deceased. She kicked the habit, she said.

Turns out, sadly, that wasn't exactly true.

Earlier this week, Phillips, 48, was charged with two felonies in connection to a drug bust at Los Angeles International Airport. On August 27, during a screening by a TSA officer, it was uncovered that Phillips had baggies and balloons containing heroine and cocaine, and had unauthorized possession of a syringe.

Yesterday, her high-powered entertainment attorney, Blair Berk (whose laundry list of celebrity clients include Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan), packed her up and sent her to rehab. It will be her tenth trip.

The judge in the case has already said in court that he expects to settle with MacKenzie. Now, I'm never one to advocate leniency in the world of criminal justice. But in this case, yeah, the judge is right on. This is a sad woman. A sick woman. Putting her in jail serves no purpose. She's abused drugs nearly three decades. A stint in jail isn't going to change that. I'm not sure what will, in fact. But a hospital bed, rather than a jail cell, feels right.

One other notable here in the world of celebrity crime news . . . albeit, this one really is only notable because of his famous (and infamous) niece. . . . Anyone following the case of Paul Sullivan, uncle to Lindsay Lohan (and brother to her reality star mom, Dina Lohan)?

I only bring it up because of the unbelievably low depths to which he sank to earn a buck. On August 29, Sullivan (pictured right) was sentenced to a year in jail for defrauding the government out of roughly $646,000.

How? He claimed he had a business that suffered losses in the 9/11 attacks. He didn't. No business at all. Just made it up. But he applied for a small business administration loan, made available to victims of the attacks, and cashed his check.

And you thought Lindsay's tabloid behavior was despicable. . . . I guess she's not quite the black sheep in the family after all.

Tweet

Celebrity Jail Birds

by Tina Dirmann

What's the saying? Birds of a feather flock together. Well, let's pause for a moment to check out these celebrity birds. Jail birds, that is. We have one who just got out of jail. Another who is headed to jail. And another who is sitting in the slammer right now. And in my opinion, as a long time crime and celebrity reporter, it's classic spoiled star behavior that's landed each of them in their current predicament.

Let's take them in order:

First, the one who just got out? Josh Brolin, presently in Louisiana shooting the Oliver Stone film "W," a fictional flick about the president's relationship with his father. After work, Brolin, 40, and several co-stars and crew members headed to a local bar Saturday night to blow off some steam. No problem there. Until the clock struck 2 a.m. and the rowdy bunch apparently had a problem leaving. In the end, 10 officers from the Shreveport Police Department were called in, arresting Brolin and fellow actor Jeffrey Wright (who plays Colin Powell in the film) for impeding the officers.

The actors and four others were charged with interfering with police, a misdemeanor, while another man, a lighting tech, was cuffed for resisting arrest and public intoxication. All were booked into city jail, according to a report by the Shreveport Times. Brolin and others posted $334 bond and were released.

Bratty jail bird number two? Khloe Kardashian: co-star of the E! reality show "The Kardashians," sister to the better known Kim Kardashian, and daughter to the late O. J. defense attorney Robert Kardashian. As if it wasn't bad enough that Khloe, 24, was booked March 4 on a DUI charge (registering, at the time, a .13 blood alcohol level). Afterward, she decided to blow off her probation requirements. The terms? Oh, the usual for a drunk driving offense. She had to work for Cal Trans (I'm assuming that means donning the infamous orange vest and picking up trash along the freeway). And she had to complete an alcohol education program. She did neither. Just forgot, I guess. I haven't heard, yet, a plausible explanation. Maybe because there isn't one. Oh well.

At least she's off the hook for that trash pick-up thing. Instead, on Friday, she'll begin serving 30 days in jail. Let's just hope she doesn't fair as well as Nicole Richie, who, last August, served just 82 minutes of a 4 day sentence after driving the wrong way on the freeway at 4 a.m. (while under the influence of marijuana and Vicodin, of course). Overcrowding at the jail was to blame, sheriff's officials said. Well, at least Khloe still has to enroll in alcohol education. Let's hope she learns something.

Dare to dream . . .

But the most outrageously bratty celeb jail bird behavior of them all? Nick Hogan, 17, currently serving an eight-month jail sentence in a Florida County Jail for felony reckless driving. You remember this case, right? While street racing, Nick lost control of his father's 1998 Toyota Supra, hitting a raised median and slamming the car into a palm tree. Nick's passenger and best friend, John Graziano, suffered a broken skull, lingered in a coma for several weeks, and will need life long care. Medical bills for John have already totaled more than $1 million.

Nick's sentencing was carried live on CNN.

Nick, son of wrestling super star Hulk Hogan and a regular on the family's reality show, "Hogan Knows Best," has proven himself entirely ungrateful, despite leaving the accident unscathed, and receiving a relatively light sentence. Instead, he's whined about his inability to make it in jail, pleading to serve out his time through home arrest, with an ankle bracelet. The judge said no.

In addition, he's repeatedly tried to capitalize on his time behind bars, going so far as to try to develop his own reality tv show about his jail experience. So far, thankfully, no one in Hollywood will touch the pitch.

But I can only assume Nick's tacky behavior is a family trait. After all, jail transcripts of phone conversations between Nick and his family show Hulk blaming John, the victim, for the accident. It was payback from God, Hulk told his son, because John was such a bad guy. Nick's mom, Linda, meanwhile, called John's mother "nasty," according to TMZ, and claims the real suffering is in the Hogan family.

Ugh. Anybody else's stomach turning here? On that note, we'll conclude today's look at the very un-glamorous side of Hollywood. I think we've had enough.

Tweet

Hollywood (In)justice - The Show Must Go On . . . Even When Celebrities Are Guilty

by Tina Dirmann

R. Kelly is not guilty.

Wow. Honestly, who could have seen that one coming?

Well, just about anyone, actually. As I wrote in my last blog posted May 20, exactly two weeks before the Chicago jury handed down their across-the-board acquittal on child pornography charges: "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd say get ready to see the latest celebrity charged with a crime walk away a free man!"

Oh, how I hate to use the phrase. . . . But, you know, I did. Told you so, I mean.

I'm not trying to gloat here. I'm actually sad that the inevitability of it all was so clear. Celebrity, once again, was the only piece of evidence a defense team need submit. Who cares if every other piece of evidence, including a videotape, showed Kelly having sex with a woman who looked an awful lot like his 13-year-old goddaughter?

Though I'm sure it didn't hurt that the R&B's fortune from fame allowed him access to the best defense attorneys money can buy. Even if the best they could come up with was to point out that it wasn't actually Kelly on the sex tape because a mole on the star's lower back region wasn't visible in the video. The defense put a video expert on the stand who declared that a small dot in that area--and obvious on film--was actually, get this: "digital noise," not a mole. And since there was no mole, well, it's not Kelly. Huh?

But the jurors, you know . . . They bought it.

One female juror, who asked to remain anonymous, said afterward, "At some point, we said there was a lack of evidence. There was nothing concrete enough to say it was him or her on that tape."

Even though there was the tape. With Kelly's apparent non-moled up twin on it.

I know, the "victim" in this case did deny it was her on the video. But the fact is, as any prosecutor who has worked with sex victims will tell you, it's often difficult to get them to say, publicly, they were abused. There's a lot of misplaced shame involved. And, in this case, the alleged abuser was the girl's famous, Grammy-winning, R&B star godfather. That's a lot to overcome. Perhaps the jurors, in their scant seven hours of deliberation, didn't have time to consider that fact. And apparently, they also didn't believe the girl's family members, who took the stand and swore it was, indeed, their 13-year-old relative having sex with Kelly.

A writer for the Village Voice, who ultimately lashed out at the unjust verdict, put it this way: "For entirely selfish reasons, it's natural enough to feel good when a favorite musician wriggles out of a predicament that would've kept him from making music for a long, long time."

It is? Is that why there were cheers--cheers--from courthouse clerks when the "not guilty" verdict was announced? I can't relate.

Isn't it ironic that R. Kelly's acquittal, on charges that could have brought him fifteen years in prison, by the way, comes just as HBO began airing its documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," which basically chronicles the charges brought against Polanski (pictured right) for having sex with an underage girl. Also thirteen years old, by the way. In that case, the intense media glare scared the victim so badly, she didn't want to testify.

Prosecutors in the 1978 case were willing to deal, dropping a laundry list of charges, including rape and supplying a minor with drugs and alcohol, but left unlawful intercourse with a minor. Polanski pled guilty, but fled the country, fearful that a media-adoring judge would sentence him to hard prison time. I think most people agree the judge in the case was a man driven more by reporters and public opinion than his law books.

But in the end, Polanski did engage in sex, even sodomy, with a minor. He now lives in France, where he is celebrated as one of the most brilliant filmmakers of our time. He refuses to return to the United States, where he'd be arrested. Technically, he's still a fugitive.

Still, I wonder if Polanski follows celebrity court cases in the United States today. And as he watches stars walk away from charges ranging from murder to child pornography, if he considers what would've happened if his case had been in a California court today. A media-obsessed judge would be irrelevant. All he'd need to set him free is your average, celebrity- obsessed jury.

Tweet

Tina Dirmann on Montel tomorrow!

Dear readers,

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Montel Williams on his daily talk show to discuss the case featured in my most recent book, Vanished at Sea (released in January). I want to thank Montel for taking the time to highlight this most heartbreaking story, which took place in Newport Beach, California. This beautiful seaside community is where retired couple Jackie and Tom Hawks lived on their yacht, appropriately named Well Deserved -- because the couple had worked a lifetime to buy her. They weren't rich, just cautious with their money. But after a few years of life at sea, the couple decided to sell their dream boat, to be closer to a new grandbaby. A murderous young couple, Skylar DeLeon and his pregnant wife, Jennifer, posed as buyers and coldly conspired to drown this gentle couple, whom they'd never met.

With little evidence of what happened on the boat that night, investigators and the Hawks' relatives scrambled to get to the truth, to find justice for Tom and Jackie. The Hawks' son, Ryan, appears on Montel with me. As does Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas.

The show, titled "Shocking Motives for Murder," airs Thursday. Check www.montelshow.com for the time and channel in your area. Watch a preview of the program here.

Tweet