Part 9

PART 9: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1998

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THE O.J. COVER-UP -- Part 9
How Wasz story was buried. His incarceration made media interviews impossible
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Editor's note: This is the ninth part of
an ongoing series of stories based on a
seven-month WorldNetDaily investigation
into the events surrounding the murder of
Nicole Brown Simpson. The investigation
includes exclusive interviews, conducted
in person and by telephone, with key
witness Bill Wasz, now serving time in a
high-security prison for other crimes.
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By David M. Bresnahan
© 1998, WorldNetDaily.com

The "hitman" who says he was hired to kill Nicole Brown Simpson should have been a key witness in the trial of the millennium, but someone made him go away.

First the media reported the existence of a notepad dealing with Nicole. In the frenzy for information and evidence, the media quickly learned about Bill Wasz.

He said he had been hired by Robert Kardashian to murder Nicole Brown Simpson. Police and investigators had interviewed him and investigated his claims. Certainly his story could not be ruled out and many elements were corroborated The discovery of Wasz should have been considered a vital element of the investigation.

Instead, Wasz found himself moved to Calipatria State Prison with a signed order from the warden that he was not permitted to make more than one five-minute phone call per month. Someone wanted him to disappear. Someone wanted him silenced.

Court records on Wasz contain a sealed file. Wasz does not even know what is inside and is not permitted access to the sealed documents.

"In order for the courts to have a confidential file, there would have to be some sort of informants involved in my robbery convictions," explained Wasz. "There were no informants in my case whatsoever.

"The only other thing it could be would be interagency memorandums concerning the Simpson case, and the need to shuffle me off to Calipatria where my communication ability would be almost nil."

Police, prosecutors, and even the O.J. defense team all claimed that Wasz had no credibility. The media were told he was just trying to take advantage of publicity. Prosecutors claimed that his information did not check out.

Within a few days, the media forgot about Wasz and his story. The prison turned away requests from the media for interviews. Four years later it was still a major task for WorldNetDaily to gain admission to the prison to meet with Wasz.

When asked to respond to charges that he is a convicted criminal with no credibility, Wasz makes a very good point.

"Who would you hire for a murder-for-hire? Your stock broker?" Wasz had no experience as a hitman, but he had been hired to do "shake downs" for Hollywood producers. He was known as an enforcer and tough guy. You don't hire nice guys to kill people. Criminals, really bad criminals, are hired for such things. And Wasz maintains he was actually hired for a set-up -- as a patsy to take the fall for the crime.

It would seem obvious that the media were easily persuaded to abandon Wasz by discrediting him. No one questioned the investigators. No one went looking for evidence.

The evidence substantiated the claims and gave credibility to Wasz and his story. WorldNetDaily has obtained copies of police files through a confidential source. It is clear that that police investigated everything and knew even more than Wasz had told them.

Despite efforts by some of the past attorneys who represented Wasz, initial interest by several media groups to purchase copies of the notepad disappeared very quickly. The witness was a career criminal trying to make a fast buck, and the evidence was tainted by attorneys trying to do the same.

That was the picture painted by investigators, from the both the defense and the prosecution.

A month after the public attention, Wasz had been moved to Calipatria State Prison -- three hours drive through the desert from Los Angeles.

The press gave up, but the police showed up for another interview.

"This time they were armed with information and knowledge," said Wasz. Investigators had built a large file filled with evidence to document the claims Wasz had made. They told him they knew everything.

Police were looking for evidence to prove their case, in the way they wanted to prove it. Anything that did not fit the picture would be eliminated.

"Had I simply said, 'O.J. hired me,'(instead of 'Kardashian hired me'), I would of been the most famous criminal in America," he told WorldNetDaily. "They would have used me like I was a golden child."

One investigator who looked into the Wasz story says that Wasz is a "straight-up guy. If he says it happened, you can believe it happened." That investigator spoke on condition that his name not be
used.

Despite the picture that some have tried to paint, Wasz does have a certain credibility. He has never had one of the charges brought against him go to trial. He has always quickly admitted guilt and accepted the consequences of his actions. He has also been very cooperative with police and investigators.

Initially, alert police investigators saw Wasz as a key element of their investigation. They pursued every avenue they could find and turned up a substantial amount of supporting evidence, even evidence that went beyond what Wasz revealed.

Any good investigator is eager to pursue every lead to get at the truth, so it is understandable that when they were ordered to drop Wasz they would be disappointed and upset.

Two years after the trial, one police investigator tipped off Joseph Bosco, crime writer, that Wasz held a key to the truth that he should pursue.

"He had spoken with many people in L.A. concerning me, and was constantly told, off the record, that I was yet but an unsolved mystery in that case, and I held knowledge far greater than anyone besides O.J. himself," explained Wasz.

So Bosco conducted his own investigation, assisted by at least one police officer who wanted the truth to be known.

"They tried to sell it to the 'boys upstairs,' The same ones who months before decided that the case was the ultimate curse to the LA DA's office, and it should be kept away at whatever cost," said Wasz.

Bosco's investigation validated everything Wasz ever claimed. It was a great story, but if it broke it would cause a major problem for many people.

"The DA's office would have some serious explaining why they covered up the most crucial aspect of that case," said Wasz. "Covered up to the point where there would be no explaining away. They would have to admit and be held accountable -- something that they always manage to avoid."

Bosco was unable to get his story to the press. The magazine that hired him to write a major article canceled plans to run it. They claimed they backed out for fear of libel charges, according to Bosco.

WorldNetDaily was tipped off about the story and ran several articles in April and May. Those stories revealed that the district attorney had agreed to reopen the investigation, but had failed to take action.

Despite many attempts, Kardashian, police, and deputy district attorneys refused to return any calls made by WorldNetDaily for more information.

Suddenly in June the LAPD sent two detectives to interview Wasz in prison. Wasz told them everything, and they displayed a very large file that had been compiled on Wasz, which even included articles from WorldNetDaily.

Those interviews included a lie-detector test.

Police have refused to comment on the interviews or the test. Bosco has given up on his efforts to pursue the story, and Wasz even lost his attorney.

Wasz believes his information was accurate and could not be denied, so the only thing that could be done to silence him was to ignore him.