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Smintjes
08-07-2003, 04:38 AM
Hollywood actor Tom Sizemore gave his ex-girlfriend Heidi Fleiss a "black eye and fat lip" after an assault, a court has heard.
Mr Sizemore, 41, star of such films as Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down, is facing 16 charges of domestic violence, threats, witness intimidation, property destruction and obscene and harassing phone calls.

He is pleading not guilty to the charges, many of which concern incidents alleged to have taken place during the couple's year-long relationship.

The pair, who met in January 2001, moved in together in August of that year but broke up in 2002.

Ms Fleiss, 37, broke down in tears during her testimony against Mr Sizemore in a Los Angeles courtroom, after Mr Sizemore's lawyers branded her a "liar".

'Dragged across room'

She told the court she had suffered a string of alleged attacks by Mr Sizemore.

She said that in an alleged incident in May 2002, Mr Sizemore had "dragged me across the room by my hair" and had left her with a "black eye and fat lip".

She said the attacks came after she had confronted Mr Sizemore over reports he had slept with prostitutes on a film shoot.

Ms Fleiss told the court she had also been attacked in November 2001, after she had appeared on the Howard Stern radio show and admitted she did not like Mr Sizemore's latest film.


"Tom (got) very mad at me because I said that I didn't like the movie (Black Hawk Down) ... He hit me. It was terrible," she said. She also claimed he had stubbed out a cigarette on her.

Ms Fleiss added she had not called police over the assault because she was on parole after serving a jail term for money laundering and tax evasion.

"Because I'm 'evil Heidi, convicted criminal'," she said. "The worst thing for me would be to go to prison."

Ms Fleiss achieved notoriety in the early 1990s when she was named as the organiser of *** parties for Hollywood stars. Prosecutors tried to force her to disclose a "black book" of stars who used prostitutes.

Before Ms Fleiss' testimony, Mr Sizemore's lawyer Michael Fitzgerald told the jury her allegations would be disproved during the trial.

"Tom Sizemore is innocent. Heidi Fleiss is a liar," he said.

Five of Mr Sizemore's assault charges stem from an alleged incident of domestic abuse lodged by another woman.

Mr Sizemore was in court but did not make any statements.

The case continues.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3128079.stm

Beloved Shiv
08-07-2003, 03:29 PM
Thanks a bunch!!

Seraphim
08-16-2003, 04:00 PM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=638&ncid=762&e=3&u=/nm/20030816/en_nm/crime_sizemore_dc

Actor Sizemore Guilty in L.A. Heidi Fleiss Case



By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (*******) - Actor Tom Sizemore (news) was convicted on Friday of domestic violence, criminal threats and obscene phone calls stemming from his relationship with ex-girlfriend and onetime "Hollywood Madam" Heidi Fleiss.



The actor, best known for roles in "Black Hawk Down" and "Saving Private Ryan," was acquitted by a seven-man, five-woman Los Angeles jury of nine other charges stemming from his turbulent relationship with Fleiss.


Sizemore, who is free on $100,000 bail, faces a possible four years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 2. He also must stand trial on charges of assaulting another former girlfriend in a separate case.


"I'd like to thank my family for their continued loving support, I'd like to thank all of my fans who have continued to be fans, and I'd like put this behind me now and do what I've always loved doing, making movies," Sizemore told reporters after the verdict. "I wish everyone involved the best."


The jury, which deliberated over three days, found the 41-year-old actor guilty of one count each of domestic violence, criminal threats, vandalism and repeated harassing phone calls and three counts of making obscene phone calls.


"Domestic violence is a destructive physical and psychological crime that often goes unreported due to the fear the aggressor inflicts on the victim," City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said after the verdict. "Today's verdict sends a strong message that neither socioeconomic status nor perceived celebrity will shield domestic abusers from the law."


Fleiss, 37, who ended her relationship with Sizemore last year, sobbed in court as she testified that he stubbed a cigarette out on her, smacked her in the face and verbally abused her during a rocky year-long relationship.


She said that Sizemore once hit her outside his Los Angeles home, knocking her to the ground as his "Dreamcatcher" co-star Thomas Jane (news) tried to intervene. Fleiss said she left in Jane's car, her head bleeding.


Prosecutors said that Sizemore had terrorized Fleiss, both physically and in more than 70 obscenity-laced phone calls.


Sizemore's lawyer, Michael Fitzgerald, called Fleiss a liar and said she had made the allegations against her former lover as part of an extortion plot. Sizemore did not testify during the six-day trial.


Fleiss, who ran a call girl ring catering to Hollywood's rich and famous, spent three years in prison for attempted pandering.