The mystery of O.J. Simpson's Hall of Fame ring

O.J. Simpson’s sentencing next Friday in Las Vegas will lock in the former NFL star’s location for years if not decades, but whereabouts of one of his treasured possession, his Hall of Fame ring, remains a mystery.

A judge in Santa Monica had set a hearing for last week on efforts to seize Simpson’s Canton bauble, but the proceeding was postponed because the star witness is behind bars.

Collectibles dealer Alfred Beardsley, one of two men Simpson was convicted of robbing in the Las Vegas case, is in state prison in Chino on a parole violation.

An attorney for Fred Goldman, who is still trying to collect a multimillion-dollar civil judgment against Simpson for the 1994 slaying of his son, contends Simpson may have passed the valuable ring to Beardsley before he testified in the robbery case and wants to question him about the dealer under oath.

Simpson’s attorney has scoffed at the suggestion Beardsley has the gridiron great’s ring. In a 1997 deposition, Simpson said he misplaced the ring -- perhaps during a round of golf -- after the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

Getting Beardsley and the necessary armed guards to the courthouse proved “too much of a headache,” Goldman’s lawyer David Cook said. All parties agreed to wait until his release, anticipated later this month, to put him on the witness stand, Cook said.

“The ring’s not going anywhere,” he said.

Simpson, 61, was convicted Oct. 3 of armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges stemming from a confrontation with Beardsley and another memorabilia dealer last year in a casino hotel room. He faces a possible life sentence at his Dec. 5 sentencing.

The hearing is set for one week later, Dec. 12.

-- Harriet Ryan

Comments

[Patricia]

OJ is going nowhere. No appellate judge in their right mind is going to be the one to set OJ Simpson free. His appeal will be denied and he will do his entire sentence.

Expect the judge to give him and his co-defendant 25 to life -- with parole being available to him after 20 years in. Either way, at 61 years of age, it's a death sentence. The Nevada prison system is a hellhole. Gangs rule the roost and guards often look the other way on their say so.

The first year that OJ sits in there will be hard, but what will keep him going is his appeal. When he loses it, that's when the fun starts. That's when he realizes that he is in for life.

Good riddance!

[OJ did it]

Allen you are delusional. You'd have to be to stand up for OJ. Get your facts straight for you appear to me extremely undeducated. First off, read up on the sentence OJ will receive. He won't be walking out in a 1 1/, duh!. The forman shot his mouth off in 3 different appearences? WRONG

OJ already lost his appeal. How embarassing you didn't know this.

[Allen Kowlings]

OJ will be free in 1.5 years on the Nevada appeal. Jury Foreman Paul Connelly shot off his mouth in 3 different appearences.