Roy A Radin

Rejecting the death penalty, a jury Friday called for two men convicted of the 1983 "Cotton Club" killing of theatrical entrepreneur Roy Radin to be sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. The panel's recommendation ended the monthlong penalty phase of the Superior Court trial of Alex Marti, 30, of Sherman Oaks and William Mentzer, 42, of Canoga Park, both former bodyguards for Hustler publisher Larry Flynt.

Movie producer Robert Evans was not involved in the murder of a New York theatrical producer, Evans' former lover testified Friday in the "Cotton Club" murder trial. Karen Delayne (Laynie) Greenberger, accused in the 1983 murder of Roy Radin, also told jurors she believed her own life had been saved on the night Radin was slain. "Mr. Radin had a gun and intended to kill me," she said. "That's what (co-defendant William Mentzer) told me the next morning."

After two months of court testimony that focused on the dark side of Hollywood deal making, a woman identified by authorities as a cocaine kingpin and two former bodyguards for Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt were ordered Wednesday to stand trial for the 1983 murder of theatrical producer Roy Radin.

A Florida woman pleaded innocent Thursday to charges she masterminded the 1983 contract murder of New York theatrical producer Roy Radin over financing of the movie "The Cotton Club." Karen De Layne Greenberger, 41, also pleaded innocent at her arraignment in Municipal Court in Los Angeles to special circumstance allegations that would qualify her for a possible death sentence if convicted. Judge David Milton ordered Greenberger to remain in custody without bail pending a bail review Jan. 20.

Verdicts in the "Cotton Club" murder trial were turned in Friday by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury, but will not be disclosed until next week. The sealed verdict forms will be opened when Judge Curtis Rappe returns to court Monday, prosecution spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

A word on methodology is in order. The material in "Bad Company" was based on interviews conducted over a period of several years. In addition to interviews, I also used court records, in Florida, New York and California, as the basis for parts of the narrative. The record of criminal proceedings in Los Angeles is particularly detailed and voluminous. The proceedings arising out of the events recounted in the chapters of "Bad Company" and the epilogue are still pending.

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of four people accused of killing producer Roy Radin in a dispute over financing for the movie "The Cotton Club." Karen De Layne Greenberger, 43, is accused of hiring William Mentzer, 40; Robert Ulmer Lowe, 43; and Alex Marti, 30, to kill Radin, a New York theatrical producer, in 1983. The trial is expected to last four to nine months. Jury selection before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe is expected to take several days.

The triggermen in the "Cotton Club" murder of would-be movie mogul Roy Radin were described Monday as veterans of Los Angeles' criminal underbelly, with resumes that stretched from strong-arm debt collection to the murder of a flamboyant prostitute.

One of two convicted triggermen in the "Cotton Club" slaying of New York impresario Roy Radin in May, 1983, was sentenced Wednesday in Los Angeles to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe rejected Alex Marti's request for a new trial, which the defendant based on what he claimed were more than four dozen errors committed during the proceeding. "So I guess probation's out of the question, huh?"

A reputed hit man in the "Cotton Club" murder case told a judge Friday that if convicted at his upcoming trial, he plans to ask jurors to recommend the death penalty for him. The reputed hired killer, Alex Marti, 30, asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Curtis Rappe for permission to act as his own attorney at his trial, which is scheduled to begin next week. The motion was denied.