Joe Hunt

The sentencing of Billionaire Boys Club leader Joe Hunt for murder was unexpectedly postponed in Santa Monica today after his lawyer complained that he had not received Hunt's probation report in time to study it. Superior Court Judge Laurence Rittenband, noting that California law requires delivery of probation reports nine days before sentencing, said, "I have no alternative but to continue this until July 6."

The state Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Joe Hunt, the founder of the Billionaire Boys Club who was convicted in 1987 of murdering a man whose body has never been found. The court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that there was insufficient evidence to support Hunt's appeal for a new trial. Hunt was sentenced to life in prison for the 1984 slaying of Ronald Levin, a con man who had duped him.

Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Laurence J. Rittenband agreed today to reinstate a defense lawyer for convicted killer and Billionaire Boys Club leader Joe Hunt, just two days after kicking the attorney off the case. Arthur H. Barens, chief attorney for Hunt, had said he could not proceed with the trial's penalty phase if co-counsel Richard C. Chier was not also permitted to represent Hunt, who faces a possible death sentence. "I made an impassioned plea to the court to reinstate Mr.

Ron Levin is dead. Or maybe he's not. Joe Hunt helped kill him and then buried the body in the Angeles National Forest. Or maybe he didn't and, like Elvis, Levin keeps turning up: at a funeral, driving a car through Brentwood, even relaxing in a taverna on a trendy Greek island. Levin's body has never been found.

The penalty phase in the murder trial of Billionaire Boys Club leader Joe Hunt--in which jurors will recommend either death or life in prison without parole for the former boy tycoon--began Monday with the defense arguing that sending Hunt to the gas chamber would be unfair because his victim's body has never been found.

City Councilman Joe Hunt, who last week announced plans to resign as soon as a replacement is found, changed his mind Monday night and walked out of the council meeting, vowing never to return. "I am physically and mentally weary," said Hunt, who represents District 5. "I'm just plain burned out."

Billionaire Boys Club bodyguard Jim Pittman, who twice eluded conviction on charges that he killed Beverly Hills con man Ron Levin, admitted in a television interview that he did commit the crime. "Yes, I did kill Ron Levin, but I can't be tried for it twice," Pittman said in an interview aired Thursday on "A Current Affair."

Randall Sullivan's monumental (in every sense) book about Joe Hunt and the Billionaire Boys Club is full of excellent ironies. One of my favorites is that in May of 1984, both the world class con artist Ron Levin and Jim Pittman (a.k.a. Graham), the former security guard who later admitted on "A Current Affair" but not in court that he shot Levin in the head, were both driving around Los Angeles in Rolls-Royces obtained under suspicious circumstances.

Judd Nelson has agreed to star in an NBC-TV miniseries next season, "The Billionaire Boys Club," his agent said. Nelson will play Joe Hunt, the convicted killer who led the group of wealthy young Southern Californians who had dreams of making millions by pooling their investments. Hunt was sentenced last week to life without parole for killing Ronald Levin, who had tricked him into thinking that Levin had parlayed a $5-million investment into $13 million.

Many who knew Ron Levin considered him a shady if entertaining con man, but his mother testified in the trial of one of the men accused of murdering him that he was a devoted son who telephoned at least once a week and showered her with flowers, gifts and love notes.

Randall Sullivan's monumental (in every sense) book about Joe Hunt and the Billionaire Boys Club is full of excellent ironies. One of my favorites is that in May of 1984, both the world class con artist Ron Levin and Jim Pittman (a.k.a. Graham), the former security guard who later admitted on "A Current Affair" but not in court that he shot Levin in the head, were both driving around Los Angeles in Rolls-Royces obtained under suspicious circumstances.

State prosecutors went to court Friday for the first time under California's "Son of Sam" law to prevent criminals from cashing in on books they write or other self-promoting enterprises. Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said his office sued over earnings from a book by Death Row inmate Rodney Alcala and a 900-number phone line featuring former Billionaire Boys Club leader Joe Hunt. Money recovered from the convicted killers will go to the families of their victims, Lungren said.

Billionaire Boys Club bodyguard Jim Pittman, who twice eluded conviction on charges that he killed Beverly Hills con man Ron Levin, admitted in a television interview that he did commit the crime. "Yes, I did kill Ron Levin, but I can't be tried for it twice," Pittman said in an interview aired Thursday on "A Current Affair."

Murder and kidnaping charges were dropped Friday against Joe Hunt, the leader of the Billionaire Boys Club who represented himself in a trial that ended in a deadlock and who drew unusual public support from some jurors. San Mateo Superior Court Judge Ara Serverian ordered the dismissal at the request of state prosecutor John Vance, who said charges may be refiled later after further investigation.

A memorial service for former Mayor and City Councilman Joe Hunt will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Leisure World, an area that he represented for five years. Hunt, a retired electrical engineer, died in his Leisure World home April 8 after a two-month bout with liver cancer, family members said Saturday. He was 65. Hunt was a councilman from 1986 until last year, serving as mayor from 1988 to 1989. He also belonged to numerous community organizations.

City Councilman Joe Hunt, who last week announced plans to resign as soon as a replacement is found, changed his mind Monday night and walked out of the council meeting, vowing never to return. "I am physically and mentally weary," said Hunt, who represents District 5. "I'm just plain burned out."

The star prosecution witness in the murder trial of Billionaire Boys Club leader Joe Hunt recounted in grisly detail Wednesday how he helped plan the 1984 slaying of Beverly Hills businessman Ron Levin and how Hunt allegedly carried it out. Testifying in a monotone punctuated by occasional sighs, former BBC member Dean Karny said Hunt woke him early on June 7, 1984, waving a check for $1.5 million signed by Levin and saying "that he had done it; that Ron was dead."

For the record, please note that of the $200,000 "coughed up" by NBC and ITC Productions to "gain permissions to portray certain characters in 'The Billionaire Boys Club,' " not one penny was paid to Joe Hunt ("Murder Most Glamorized," April 2). Mr. Hunt refused to grant NBC-ITC permission to make or broadcast its fictional "docudrama" and has filed suit against both network and producers for libel and slander. In his letter of April 16, producer Harvey Kahn spoke eloquently of the "underlying reasons a producer might have for retelling events involved in murder."

Billionaire Boys Club mastermind Joe Hunt has piled up so many law books and documents in his cell at the San Mateo County Jail that state officials have declared it a fire hazard, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday. Hunt and his club of well-connected young Southern California men gained notoriety in 1987 when he was convicted of murdering Ron Levin, a Beverly Hills con artist who allegedly pulled a scam on the group.