“Girls Gone Wild” producer Joe Francis went wild in a court and he’s being handed a hefty bill as a result.
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Unimpressed with his antics, District Judge Michelle Leavitt ruled in favor of Wynn Las Vegas and ordered the soft-porn video mogul to pay the Strip casino a $2 million gambling debt, which, with interest and court costs, could soar to $3 million.
In court papers, the Wynn’s lawyers argued that Francis improperly asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to answer even the most innocuous questions during the nearly daylong deposition in February.
And several times during the deposition Francis openly passed gas, further disrespecting the legal proceeding, the Wynn lawyers charged.
This guy is a real winner
“As the court will see from reviewing the video clips of Francis’ deposition, his utter contempt for the judicial system is apparent, including his repeated attempts to disrupt the deposition with flatulence,” the lawyers wrote.
The deposition was taken inside the kitchen of a Baker community center because Francis claimed he couldn’t travel outside California, where he’s facing federal tax evasion charges.
Among other things, Francis refused to acknowledge in the deposition whether he had a cell phone, even though he constantly checked his e-mail and took a call on his cell phone during the deposition.
When asked if he understood English, he took the Fifth by reading the privilege in English from a card his lawyer had given him.
“Obviously, Francis did not assert his Fifth Amendment privilege in good faith,” the Wynn lawyers charged.
At a hearing in June, Leavitt called Francis’ conduct “the most ridiculous exercise of the Fifth Amendment I think I’ve ever seen.”
Leavitt also dismissed his counterclaims against the Wynn, including allegations he was provided prostitutes as part of an effort to run up his gambling losses in February 2007. Francis had taken the Fifth in his deposition when asked about the prostitute claims. He refused to answer questions about whether he had sex with them and whether they were “male or female.”
Leavitt is set to finalize her ruling Monday following a meeting with both sides.
Francis, who is expected to appeal Leavitt’s decision, is still facing felony charges in Las Vegas stemming from his failure to pay back the Wynn, and he has a trial pending on the tax evasion charges in California.
Federal authorities also are looking to build a bribery case against him in Reno. One of his Hollywood associates was indicted last month on charges of trying to bribe jailers to get preferential treatment for Francis while Francis was behind bars there on the tax charges in November 2007.
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