Bill Pavelic - Famous Investigator

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)

September 04, 1996, Wednesday

BYLINE: ERIC E. HARRISON, Democrat-Gazette Critic at Large

SECTION: STYLE; Pg. 3F

LENGTH: 660 words

If elected, I will not serve: Tom Hanks has turned down the lead role in "Primary Colors," the film version of the best seller written anonymously by Newsweek's Joe Klein. Director Mike Nichols hoped to cast Hanks as the Clinton-esque candidate and Emma Thompson as his hard-charging wife. But the actor, reportedly a chum of the president's, has bolted. No word yet on a second choice.

School daze: Comedian Dennis Miller on education: "Our culture has gon e from the 'G.E. College Bowl' to the guy on 'Wheel of Fortune' who asks, 'Is there an F, as in Pharaoh?' "

Speaking of game shows, it must be really hard to play "Wheel of Fortune" in Poland (and no, this is not a Polish joke, so simmer down). Imagine: "I'd like to buy a vowel, Pat." "Sorry," Pat replies, "there aren't any."

Culture vulture: In the September issue of GQ, a piece by Joe Queenan called "How Bad Can It Be?" delineates the different levels of American popular culture. Queenan decides to go outside his "elite, effete" tastes, which include Elvis Costello, Igor Stravinsky, Tom McGuane and Henry James, and plunges into "the culture of the masses," which includes Michael Bolton, "Cats," Dean Koontz and the movies of Chris Farley and Adam Sandler: "Until I saw 'Billy Madison' and 'Tommy Boy,' I'd always thought that the three scariest words in the English language were 'starring Dan Aykroyd.' " Queenan also describes John Tesh's recent CD as sounding "so much like dentist's-office music that I inexplicably found myself flossing in the middle of the day." That's pretty bad.

No sex, please, we're British: In Britain, 60 percent of the women sur veyed in an opinion poll said they would rather go out to a restaurant for dinner than stay home and have sex. Here's a little tip, folks: Even if you're British, it's possible to do both. And on the same night, too.

Not just no, but ... Remember the May offer of Hal Lipset and five oth er private detectives to investigate O.J. Simpson's claims that the murderers of his late wife were in San Francisco?

About a week after the offer was made, Lipset says, he received a fax from Simpson's investigator, Zvonko Bill Pavelic, too strongly worded for a gentleman to read aloud.

"He could have just said he discussed this with his client and thanks, but no thanks, but his letter was very mean," Lipset notes.

P.S.: Philip Vannatter and Tom Lange, lead detectives in the Simpson case, have signed with Pocket Books to write their version of the whole saga.

Tie food: Venture Initiative of Dallas offers Tie Cuisine, a selection of 100 silk ties in patterns that mimic common food stains.

"For years, men everywhere have struggled with the universal fashion problem: spillage," says the brochure. Patterns on the ties match the "drops that spot their best tie just as they're about to make a remarkable point during a meal."

The ties, $ 15, are available in Chinese Food, Wine, Club Sandwich, Buffalo Wings, Cordials, Salad and Dessert. Previous offerings have included Tacos and Quesadillas, Pasta, Pizza, Barbecue Ribs and Soup du Jour. Perfect for folks like us, who only wear ties to keep food off our shirts.

Son of a you-know-what: Rottweilers are the most popular dogs in Russi a.

"It's the Mafia's favorite breed," Anatoly Glebov says, by way of an advertisement for his $ 350 puppies. "She's a killing machine, and she'll fight to the end. A terrifying dog. She'll guard your house, your car, your family. And she's very good with children."

Short stuff: Carol Burnett will play Jamie's (Helen Hunt) mom in an episo de of NBC's "Mad About You," to be taped this month for broadcast later in the season ... Diane Sawyer has scored a coup: She'll interview the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, on Nov. 13; it'll be Fergie's first TV chat since leaving the royal family.

Partially compiled from Democrat-Gazette wire services.

LOAD-DATE: September 05, 1996

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Los Angeles Times

February 14, 1988, Sunday, Home Edition

SECTION: Opinion; Part 5; Page 4; Column 6; Letters Desk

LENGTH: 394 words

I know how difficult being a police officer is and how an individual can fall through the cracks when there is no one who cares. I am a former New York newspaperman whose paper closed down and I went into public relations for the New York Patrolmen's Benevolent Assn.

My letter has to do with the Los Angeles Police Department, in particular, the Mental Health Evaluation Unit run by Detective Walter J. DeCuir. This is a unit that has outstanding police professionals who care for human life. They help people in trouble get the proper medical attention so that they can take their rightful place in society.

One such police officer is Detective Bill Pavelic, a man who cares and has helped this New York family save our son and assisted us in getting the proper medical attention for him.

My son Thomas, a graduate from a top Ivy League school and who attended New York Medical School, had a breakdown. He was taken into custody while in Los Angeles for driving without a license -- actually one that was suspended because of many traffic violations.

We knew Tom needed help. We knew he needed to be hospitalized, but we didn't know how to do it because of the mental laws being what they are. Pavelic and an attorney we hired, Eric Epstein, a former New York City assistant district attorney, were of tremendous help. The traffic case and other minor charges were handled by the Los Angeles district attorney's office, especially Assistant Dist. Atty. Tom Herman, who, with the help of the court, insisted that as part of the probation, my son receive the proper medical attention.

Tom is now in New York-Cornell Hospital. We now see the light at the end of this long, long tunnel. We are grateful that he is now receiving the help he needs in order to return to society.

But without a caring Police Department, especially Detective Pavelic, this wouldn't be possible. This wonderful human being cared for my wife and I who traveled 3,000 miles seeking help for our son.

Tom was in Central Jail and we refused to bail him out, "hard love."

Pavelic helped us to help our son, and we are going public to thank him and all of the others who helped. I am sure that when my son gets well he'll come back to the city he loves, Los Angeles, and do something to thank the people for their outstanding Police Department.

GEORGE T. DOURIS

New York City

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

TYPE: Letter to the Editor

217 of 244 DOCUMENTS

Los Angeles Times

April 8, 1993, Thursday, Home Edition

judge delays trial in denny case until july;

COURTS: ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS IN THE BEATING OF A TRUCKER SAY THEY NEED MORE TIME TO PREPARE. THE POSTPONEMENT REMOVES THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE PROCEEDINGS WILL OVERLAP FEDERAL TRIAL OF FOUR LAPD OFFICERS.

BYLINE: By EDWARD J. BOYER, TIMES STAFF WRITER

SECTION: Metro; Part B; Page 1; Column 2; Metro Desk

LENGTH: 1088 words

The trial of three defendants in the Reginald O. Denny beating case was postponed Wednesday until July, removing the possibility that it will overlap with the federal trial of four officers accused of violating Rodney G. King's civil rights.

Superior Court Judge John W. Ouderkirk delayed the trial until July 7 or 8 after defense attorneys argued that they need more time to prepare. Prosecutors did not oppose the postponement, acknowledging that to go to trial with defense attorneys on the record saying they are unprepared would be grounds for reversal on appeal.

Defendants Damian Monroe Williams and Henry Keith Watson readily agreed to Ouderkirk's 13-week delay. But Antoine Miller answered, "Certainly not," when the judge asked him if he agreed to put the trial off that long. Miller's attorney, James R. Gillen, said after the hearing that Miller had conferred with his mother and is now reconsidering.

The trial had been scheduled to begin Monday, with jury selection set to start Wednesday. Closing arguments in the King beating trial will begin today, and that case is expected to go to the jury Friday afternoon.

While pushing the Denny beating trial back 13 weeks, Ouderkirk denied a motion by the defendants to delay a potentially volatile pretrial hearing that began Wednesday and that they see as important to their defense.

Defense attorney Edi M. O. Faal said during his opening statement at the hearing that the defendants will attempt to prove they were victims of discriminatory prosecution by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. He alleged that prosecutors routinely file more serious charges against blacks than against whites arrested under similar circumstances.

Williams and Miller, both 20, and Watson, 28, were originally charged with aggravated mayhem, torture and attempted murder, among other felonies. Those charges carry life sentences. Torture charges have been dropped against all defendants. Only Williams is now charged with aggravated mayhem -- the intentional infliction of permanent disfigurement or disability. All three still face attempted murder charges.

"I certainly have the sense that they have identified something that is a real issue," Southwestern University School of Law professor Isabelle Gunning said of the discriminatory prosecution motion. "When white defendants come up, I think prosecutors tend to see more humanness. Those who are poor, black and brown are going to get the hardest overcharging."

In legal papers and comments to reporters, Faal, who represents Williams, has made it clear that he intends to contrast the charges filed against the Denny defendants with those brought against the four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating King.

Outside court Wednesday, Faal said he plans to call Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, a defendant in the federal civil rights trial, to testify during the hearing, which is expected to last several days. "I want to know if he intended to cripple Rodney King -- break his bones," Faal said. "If Koon intended to do so, why was he not charged with aggravated mayhem?"

Although evidence presented to the district attorney should have indicated "a specific intent to maim and permanently disable" King, prosecutors chose not to try the officers for attempted murder or aggravated mayhem. Instead, he said, the officers were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, a charge carrying a sentence of five to 10 years.

The conduct of the officers toward King is "very similar to the alleged conduct of the men accused of beating Mr. Denny," Faal said in court. He said he believes prosecutors were fully aware that Officer Laurence M. Powell intended to inflict a "sadistic beating" -- an element of torture -- on King, yet he was not charged with torture.

Faal said he has subpoenaed former Dist. Attys. Ira Reiner and John K. Van de Kamp because they will be unable to justify the "disparity of treatment" of the officers in the King beating and the men charged in the Denny assault.

Faal also plans to call Deputy Dist. Atty. Terry White, who prosecuted the officers in state court, former Los Angeles Police Detective Bill Pavelic and attorney Stephen Yagman, who has frequently sued law enforcement agencies over abuses by police.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Janet Moore, one of two prosecutors in the Denny beating case, argued that the defense seems to be attempting to retry the four officers. "I don't feel that the comparison between the two cases is relevant to discriminatory prosecution," she said.

UCLA criminal law professor Peter Arenella agreed, criticizing the analogy between the King and Denny cases. He said in an interview that the comparison "ignores the fact that the officers were justified in using those batons for the first 30 seconds. There is no justification possible for the Denny defendants hitting Denny or anybody else with bricks or fists for any amount of time."

Arenella said that "since we live in a racist society, it comes as no surprise that that racism will and does infect the criminal justice system. That is true in general, and one can point to all too many examples.

"Having said that, I do not believe that the prosecution decision to bring charges as serious as attempted murder reflect an obvious example of that racism."

Prosecutors commonly bring the most serious charges possible to enhance their plea bargaining positions later on, Arenella said, but prosecutors do not "necessarily believe conviction on those charges are necessary to do justice."

USC law professor Charles Weisselberg noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has said that "while prosecutors generally have broad discretion on who and how to prosecute, they can't base that on race. The defense has to show that others in a similar situation have not been prosecuted or were prosecuted differently. They have to show that prosecution is based on an impermissible motive. That's the hard part."

In recent weeks, there had been wide speculation that the Denny case might end in plea bargains. The speculation was fueled, in part, by Judge Ouderkirk's suggestion that the parties explore that option.

During Wednesday's proceedings, in his request for a delay, defense attorney Gillen said Ouderkirk's "public urging through the media of plea bargaining" had prejudiced the potential juror pool against the defendants.

The judge, however, called that suggestion "a glaring inaccuracy" and described his own comments as "a suggestion that all the parties get together and talk."

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

The Associated Press

July 31, 1984, Tuesday, AM cycle

SECTION: Domestic News

LENGTH: 173 words

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES

Lord Killanin, former president of the International Olympic Committee, choked on food at an Olympics reception last week but was saved by a policeman's sharp blows to the back, officials said Tuesday.

Killanin, who turned 70 on Monday, "stood up, leaned over and grabbed the ta-ble cloth... It was evident he was choking and having great difficulty breath-ing," said police Cmdr. William Booth.

Detective Bill Pavelic, 36, a 10-year veteran of the department assigned to dignitary protection, "struck him three to four sharp blows at the proper place on his back and it dislodged the food," Booth said.

"A few minutes later, Lord Killanin was all right," he said.

Pavelic received a letter of commendation Tuesday from Edgar Best, security chief for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, Booth said.

The incident occured last Wednesday night at the First Interstate Foundation reception for the Olympics. Killanin did not require medical attention, Booth said.

Killanin was president of the IOC from 1972 to 1980.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

For more Information on Bill Pavelic Visit his official website at www.billpavelic.com

“...When Shapiro called, Zvonko "Bill" Pavelic was in his basement office at home in Glendale, cut off from everything. Bill Pavelic finished his investigations that way. He isolated himself with his computer and his tapes from mid-morning till midnight or later. Bill Pavelic allowed himself only one break, for dinner with Maria and the kids. He was proud of his tight, loyal family.  That was one reason he worked at home in the big house that Maria kept so well...”

“...Robert Shapiro called just before eleven P.M. They'd worked together three years. Pavelic liked the lawyer's style-intellectual, highly organized, well prepared. Shapiro's particular genius, he thought, was laying a foundation so solid that the case was a winner no matter who presented it. They had won every case they'd worked on...”

“...Would Bill Pavelic like to join the defense team in the Simpson case? Shapiro asked. "Are you available?" Naturally Pavelic said yes. Bill Pavelic apologized because he couldn't make Shapiro’s first meeting the next day. But he shifted into gear mentally while he was still talking. He'd need Maria to clip newspapers. He knew he had to identify the documents already being generated in the case. The prosecution's discovery file would undoubtedly be voluminous..."

“...Bill Pavelic met Robert Shapiro at his office in Century City. Elegantly appointed with original art, Baccarat and Lalique crystal. Polished and expensive, like its occupant. Then they moved to a conference room. Their forty-five-minute meeting ranged over the entire case.  Nothing would be easy, Shapiro said. An arrest might be coming soon. He needed the investigator to do what he did best, run parallel with the police detectives and figure out how they saw things; then, as soon as possible, move their own investigation ahead of them. As always, the first days were the most important...”

“...His one experience with O.J. Simpson was part of his police history. When Simpson was one of the runners carrying the Olympic torch before the 1984 games in Los Angeles.  Pavelic was assigned to protect VIPs. He and Simpson had talked briefly in the special seating section. Around that time, the International Olympic Committee's Life President, Lord Killenin, nearly died choking on his food. Pavelic had saved his life and he thought Simpson might remember the incident...”

“... Bill Pavelic put his background to work as a private investigator and learned to make his computer think like a cop. That was why he was so concerned with early discovery material. If you took the documents, the crime reports, the logs, the affidavits and connected them to each piece of evidence, then considered how each cop might view it, then you could make a pretty good guess where the department was going with the case. You could see who'd like one thing, who favored another. Sometimes you could see their destination and arrive there ahead of them...”

“...As an ex-cop, he drew on his knowledge of what the police do at a crime scene. They don't always go by the book. They cut corners-some officers more than others-but their reports make them sound like Boy Scouts.  Pavelic knew how to read between the lines of police verbiage and find the hidden stories in the photographs the D.A. had turned over...”

“..Bill Pavelic knew that Robbery-Homicide, the elite corps of detectives from LAPD, would be assigned the case when it became known that Simpson's ex-wife was involved...”

Read more about bill pavelic at his official website at www.billpavelic.com

“...Bill Pavelic was especially proud of his street sense. He had been one of the few (LAPD) Caucasian cops; he liked to tell friends, who understood how things really worked in the black community. He got so deep into it that he saw things, he was certain, through nonwhite eyes. He discovered that African-Americans and dark-skinned immigrants of all backgrounds had a lot to fear from the LAPD.  When the department couldn't prove something, some cops had no problem framing people who couldn't fight back. Bill Pavelic complained loudly, and soon enough he was seen as disloyal. Before long, he was out...”

"...I know (LAPD) Robbery-Homicide Division. I've actually seen them frame innocent people.  You can't take anything for granted..."

“...Bill Pavelic studied the LAPD's crime-scene logs. He called friends at LAPD to see what else he could learn. He put in twenty-hour days, and finally what happened in the early hours of June 13 started to come together...”

“...Bill Pavelic got a call from an officer on another matter. As they spoke, he realized that the cop was connected to the Simpson investigation. He said the department thought there was more than one killer. The wounds suggested each victim was murdered with a different weapon. Goldman's injuries indicated he had fought fiercely before he died...”

“...Bill Pavelic felt that there was no private investigator in town better at living inside the collective mind of the LAPD than himself. He was an expert on the department's rules and procedures. He'd been on the force for eighteen years, won hundreds of medals, commendations, favorable incident reports...”

“...It was Bill Pavelic who gave them their first real hope, however elusive: He saw corruption in the police casework...”

“...Under any circumstances, Bill Pavelic would have looked for it. His career with the LAPD had ended in angry protest.  In 1984, Bill Pavelic had testified against fellow officers who killed a fleeing suspect. One cop was fired, another suspended for six months.  Bill Pavelic assumed he was stigmatized forever. But by 1990, he'd made it to supervising detective in the Southwest Division. Then he got in trouble again.

His men were investigating a date rape at USC when their bosses began showing a heavy-handed interest.  Bill Pavelic, his partner, and their immediate supervisor eventually concluded that then-chief Daryl Gates and a deputy chief were listening to the suspect's father, a prominent lawyer with influence inside the department.

Bill Pavelic and his men protested publicly. And Bill raised similar charges again before a "people's tribunal" when activist groups held hearings on the LAPD after the Rodney King beating.  Bill Pavelic told the crowd that lying and covering up were the norm in the department.  That earned him a desk job. In 1992, he and the brass reached an accommodation.  He took a disability pension for asthma and chest pains. He told one doctor he'd rather spend time in a gulag than go back to work...”

Read more about Bill Pavelic at his official website www.billpavelic.com

“....I then called my friend Bill Pavelic. Bill Pavelic, a retired nineteen-year veteran of the L.A.P.D., with eleven of those years spent as a detective supervisor. Bill Pavelic is perhaps the most anal-retentive, thorough investigator I have ever seen, and he is passionate about police integrity and behavior. During his time on the force, he received more than two hundred commendations, including ones from the U.S. Justice Department and Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti. Pavelic misses nothing. Not only can he find the needle in the haystack, he can tell you who dropped it there and when. If there is a mistake made in police procedure, protocol, or timing, no matter how insignificant it may appear to the layman, he will find it. Most important, Bill Pavelic himself has absolute integrity, as well as an indefatigable work ethic. When he agreed to come on the case, I felt that one of the strongest links in the chain had been forged.....”

-- Robert Shapiro in an excerpt from his book, The Search for Justice: A Defense Attorney's Brief on the O.J. Simpson Case, discussing Bill Pavelic.

Learn more about Bill Pavelic at his official site, www.billpavelic.com

About Robert Shapiro -

Robert Shapiro is a high-profile attorney who has worked for famous athletes Darryl Strawberry, José Canseco and Vince Coleman as well as other celebrities like Johnny Carson and others. However, he is most notable for being part of the defense team which successfully defended O.J. Simpson from the charges that he murdered his ex-wife Nicole and Ronald Goldman in 1994.

In his career of nineteen years with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Bill Pavelic acquired an extensive background in administrative and criminal investigations. An expert in police procedures, interrogations and case biopsies, Bill Pavelic has investigated every conceivable crime.

Bill Pavelic was born in 1948, in Rijeka, Croatia. At the age of 13, his family emigrated to United States in 1961 where he attended private and public schools. Bill Pavelic also earned an Associate of Arts degree in Russian language and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law Enforcement and Administration.

In 1971, Bill started his professional career with Cluett Peabody Co., as a Corporate Investigator. In his three years of service, Bill Pavelic conducted many undercover investigations and discovered that his real purpose was to give "The Corporation" arguments to fire long term employees who were within the striking distance of retiring and or collecting their private pensions.

Bill Pavelic joined Los Angeles Police Department in 1974, where he worked for nineteen years as a detective. Because of his good work, Bill Pavelic received over 200 commendations and letters of appreciation from private and governmental institutions, including the United States Department of Justice.

He worked as an investigative consultant, defense investigator and trial preparation specialist in Federal and State cases.  He also specialized in police corruption cases. In fact, he personally initiated multiple criminal misconduct complaints (which were sustained) against several LAPD Rampart police officers.

Associated with some high profile cases such as The L.A. Riots Case, The O.J. Simpson Double Murder Case, The Limousine Rapist (Gordon Jones) Sexual Assault Case, The Max Factor (Andrew Luster) Rape Case, The Scott Peterson Murder Case etc., Bill Pavelic has been the subject of many articles nationally and internationally illustrating his dare acts.

On January 7, 1992, Bill Pavelic left the Los Angeles Police Department in part, because the LAPD Southwest Sexual Assault Unit knowingly framed the so called "USC serial rapist" (Richard Nichols) for crimes that he did not commit.

Currently, Bill Pavelic is self employed and works for clients and defense attorneys as an Investigative Consultant.

Visit Bill Pavelic official website at www.billpavelic.com

As a 19 year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, I am elated that Chief Gates was forced into retirement. His corrupt managerial style, coupled with his inflammatory and intemperate public comments, have done irreparable damage to the City of Los Angeles and its police department.

Daryl Gates and his close associates are suffering from a disease called megalomania……an exaggerated belief in their own greatness and that of the organization. In order to maintain a mythical status of being “the best law enforcement agency in the world” the LAPD management developed a bunker mentality and consciously impeded and retarded investigations or inquiries which reflected poorly on the organization. The “us against them” mentality required faulty analysis which was oftentimes based on pseudo reasoning, clever fallacies and distorted or manufactured evidence.

The disciplinary system under the leadership of Daryl Gates lacked consistency, uniformity and equality and sent a deplorable signal to others on the force, that it is OK to falsify official investigations, violate the LAPD manual, discredit the Code of Ethics and be dishonest as long as you are a member of management or have friends at the top who will protect you even when prima facie evidence of a crime is clearly evident.

Visit Bill Pavelic official website at www.billpavelic.com

When Bill Pavelic left the force in early 1992, he received a disability pension after saying he was suffering aggravated asthma, chest pains, rashes and anger over corruption, according to court files. A psychiatrist’s report quotes him as stating in a questionnaire that he had “prior thoughts of homicide toward LAPD management.”

Bill Pavelic on Wednesday denied having made that statement.

Psychiatrist Michael B. Coburn said Bill Pavelic was too alienated from the Police Department to return to work, court records show.

Bill Pavelic said he has no psychological disability, and Pension Board officials privately concede that his disability retirement was an accommodation to remove him from the force. Bill Pavelic receives a disability pension of $2,433 a month, tax free.

Since leaving the department, the stoic officer, whose voice still carries a distant note of his Balkan ancestry, has worked as an investigator to support his wife and three children. Among other assignments, he said, he was an adviser to two men accused of beating trucker Reginald O. Denny at the start of the 1992 riots. He said he took that case on principle because police and prosecutors filed too many charges against the defendants.

“I only take cases I strongly believe in,” Bill Pavelic said.

Before the Simpson case, the investigator reported earning about $60,000 a year for his investigative work, court records show. One police union official questions how Bill Pavelic could be disabled enough to leave the department and still perform similar duties for Simpson and other clients.

But Bill Pavelic insists that his retirement settlement is the city’s acknowledgment that it made his career untenable. “My pension was granted on the basis of corruption in the LAPD,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I can’t work for another organization and perform some of the same functions.”

Visit Bill Pavelic official website at www.billpavelic.com