O.J. SIMPSON AND THE STORAGE FACILITIES
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By Sherman H. Skolnick
[CN Transcript of a reading by Mr. Skolnick]
O.J. Simpson has always been close to criminal interests, even as
a sports star. And, he was subject to being used and blackmailed.
He was a spokesman for Hertz Rent-A-Car, no angels: their past
reportedly dotted with gangster links.
As a result of the bitter divorce, Nicole and her circle took
over some of O.J.'s Hertz franchises. Some claim that was used to
conceal illicit money, like from dope. She took control of some
of his fast food stores. *Top* police brass became secret owners
and operators, reportedly to peddle dope and money launder the
proceeds through California banks owned principally by the
Japanese mafia, the Yakuza -- bloodily fighting over the dope
business with the CIA-linked Herrera dope gang of Mexico.
Some years ago was started a nationwide chain of storage
facilities now amounting to hundreds of locations. The founder
was closely linked to a foreign intelligence agency *and* reputed
gangsters here and overseas. The founder was later sent to prison
for embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from a California
savings and loan. And guess who has been a major owner of this
storage firm, with the reputed criminals? Well of course -- O.J.
Simpson. Do you suppose once in a while they store contraband
there, huh?
The locations are usually run by a family living right on the
premises.
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*KEN* ITO THE GANGSTER, *LANCE* ITO THE JUDGE
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[CN follow-up interview -- *abbreviated* -- 10/22/95]
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
The founder [of the storage business] was connected with a
foreign intelligence agency. And we started checking on him. And
he was tied in with known gangsters, here and overseas. Now their
business is spread out all over the country!
This is a storage place like, supposedly, for furniture. They're
all over the place! There's probably one right near where you
are!
CONSPIRACY NATION:
That's an idea that's not been covered too much: the idea about
the use of storage facilities to conceal contraband.
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
I know a lot about this, because some years ago I got an
interview with the founder of this storage business. As far as
the storage company, there is a lawsuit relating to this pending
in the courts. You know me, I find out about things that others
don't even know about -- certainly not the mass media. They've
never covered too much about the financials of O.J. Simpson! They
always deal with the romantic, the sexual, the racial. Whereas we
like to get into the nitty-gritty of "Who is this character?"
So when you know what he's been into, and why he all along likes
to be in business with gangster enterprises, it makes more sense
about what we feel is his role in covering up the double murder
and in becoming an accomplice to murder because he knows what
it's about.
CONSPIRACY NATION:
But maybe, as a mitigating circumstance: he's got two children
that he may have been fearful that if he spoke out, something
could have happened to them.
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
I understand. I mentioned that [earlier]. But the point is,
anybody could come up with that, "mitigating circumstances".
Someone that robs a bank could say, "I needed the money."
CONSPIRACY NATION:
It never would have occurred to me that storage facilities would
have been an obvious place to look.
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
I guess from our long background of investigating corruption in
all the dark corners of America [laughs]. Over the years I've
gotten around to interviewing and finding out about so many
different businesses that occasionally some of that information
comes in very handy in analyzing some of these situations.
Our work in fingering corrupt judges almost always involved banks
owned and operated by judges. So, as a result, over 30 years, I
and my associates have become very knowledgeable about the
banking business, about who owns the banks and who runs the banks
-- you know, what kind of secret interests are connected to
banks. And that's how we get to know about corruption.
Too many people suppose that corruption, if you corrupt some
public official or judge, that you hand them a bag of money at
midnight in an alley. That's not where it's at. Cynically, why it
can't be so, is most suburbs don't have alleys [laughs].
CONSPIRACY NATION:
Then how *do* they corrupt the judges?
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
In our 30 years of experience? The banks, owned and operated by
the judges.
Let me just tell you an example: In 1969 we touched off what
amounted to the biggest judicial bribery scandal in the history
of the country. It involved a bank diagonally across from the
court-house in downtown Chicago. At that time, the court-house
was called the Civic Center and the bank, naturally, was called
the Civic Center Bank! And who owned the bank? 30 judges and 9
gangsters.
CONSPIRACY NATION:
So the gangsters come to the judges and say, "How'd you like to
get in on this deal with this bank"? Is that how it goes?
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
Uhhh..... Yeah. Somethin' like that. Yeah, somethin' like that.
And the principal of, largest owner of the bank, a former state
revenue director, Ted Isaacs, had a criminal problem pending in
the State Supreme Court. So he did a thing that's natural for
Illinois: two weeks before the oral presentation of the case on
appeal, he brought most of the judges of the court into his bank!
They let him [Isaacs] go.
As a result of the commotions, he was then prosecuted in the
federal court, along with the former governor, who by that time
had become a federal appeals judge -- Otto Kerner, Jr.
CONSPIRACY NATION:
What about Ito? Does Ito own any banks that you know of?
SHERMAN SKOLNICK:
No. But we made a big issue about his wife.
But I finally figured out *how* we made that Freudian slip
originally, calling him Judge "Ken" Ito when he was Judge Lance
Ito. One of the most notorious Japanese-American gangsters in
Chicago was *Ken* Ito. So when I was typing up my thing about
Judge Lance Ito, because I considered Judge Ito to be a gangster,
I guess I extrapolated the other character's name.
*Ken* Ito, by the way... some gangsters tried to kill him by
shooting him in the head. But they didn't shoot straight, and he
survived. And he later testified about that. The two gangsters
that shot him were later found in the trunk of a car! You know,
"Chicago style".
But I finally figured out how it was that I was calling the judge
in the O.J. case "Judge Ken Ito". Because from a *Freudian*
standpoint, I think I *was* calling him the proper name -- I
mean, he was a gangster judge. Look at Judge Lance Ito's wife,
Margaret York, in charge of corruption investigation with the
L.A. Police. I mean, didn't Judge Ito's wife know about corrupt
police that were in the dope business through the stores that
O.J. formerly owned, which were then owned by Nicole? I mean,
they [some corrupt L.A. police] became secret owners and
operators. And Margaret York, Judge Lance Ito's wife -- she
didn't *know* what this was about? Of course she did.
So in describing him, I guess I put the correct [appelation]. For
cynical people, that really knew things or know what's done, I,
in fact, had the *correct* name on Judge Ito! In other words, I
guess it would be Judge Lance "Gangster" Ito!
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Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 6 Num. 32
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("Quid coniuratio est?")
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