Wha...? Former Prosecutor: I Lied In Polanski Documentary
LOS ANGELES — A former prosecutor said Wednesday he lied when he told a documentary film crew that he advised a judge handling Roman Polanski's sex case that he should send the director to prison.
The statement later became part of the basis for a move by Polanski's attorneys to dismiss the case against the fugitive director who was arrested in Switzerland on Saturday.
"They interviewed me in the Malibu courthouse when I was still a DA, and I embellished a story," David F. Wells said in an interview with The Associated Press about his statements to the makers of "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired."
"I'm a guy who cuts to the chase – I lied. It embarrasses the hell of me." he said.
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Wells said he overstated his actions to the filmmakers because he was told the documentary would air in France, not the United States. The documentary aired on HBO.
In the documentary, Wells is depicted as conferring with the now-deceased trial judge Laurence J. Rittenband about Polanski's case. Wells says in the film the judge took his advice in deciding to renege on a plea bargain and give Polanski additional prison time.
"I made that up to make the stuff look better," Wells said. His admission was first reported in a story by former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark on the Web site The Daily Beast.