The trial of alleged Hollywood madam and heir apparent to Heidi Fleiss, Jody "Babydol" Gibson, begins Friday in Van Nuys and Gibson's lawyer, Gerald Scotti, is going to use the famous "she's a porn producer" defense on behalf of his client. Gibson is charged with 11 counts of pimping and pandering. Will her famous clients be revealed? Stay tuned. Scotti who once represented John DeLorean, plans a full-frontal assault on the prosecution's "star" witnesses, five former employees of Gibson, he says. Scotti also says "Babydol" didn't employ them as prostitutes, but as actresses in the adult films she produces.
"'She knows a lot of famous people," says Scotti, adding that his client also works as a singer and talent agent. "They've been prostitutes for a long time, and their claim that she solicited them for prostitution is totally bogus." Scotti says he will file a motion to dismiss the case. If unsuccessful, he makes no secret of his plan to discredit the women, who claim they were procured for the rich and famous through Babydol.
Scotti also says there is no "little black book, per se," and confirms the public would "absolutely" be familiar with some of the names linked to the alleged prostitution ring. He further hinted that one of these "people" is a Fortune 500 executive. Scotti says he is unsure whether he will reveal these names in the trial. "I'm not into destroying people's lives, but if I find it necessary as the trial goes on to prove my client's innocence then I would absolutely do so," he says.
The names are in sealed court files. Scotti says he believes it is "hypocritical" to reveal the names of the women allegedly involved while protecting the men's identities. "Men are equally culpable," he says, "but they only go after the women."
Gibson was arrested last June in a sting operation involving three police officers; one, a female, allegedly offered to work for Babydol as a prostitute, while two male cops went undercover soliciting girls from the suspected madam.
Gibson makes her home in central California, though she was arrested in a Van Nuys hotel, "which is where she conducted business," according to a spokesperson for the D.A.'s office. Gibson faces up to 23 years in prison if convicted of all counts, though Scotti labels the case against her as "weak." He points to the "star witnesses" asserting their Fifth Amendment rights not to incriminate themselves at a preliminary hearing in questioning their veracity.
"I'm going to show their true motives in court," says Scotti, who plans to show sexually explicit movie "performances" in court, if approved by the judge. Gibson has released an album, "Good Girls Go to Heaven, Bad Girls Go Everywhere," and nude photos of her posing with her hand on a black book have been posted on the internet.
