LOS ANGELES (AP) – Defense attorneys in the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial attempted to weaken the credibility of a key prosecution witness by questioning him about schemes to profit from his association with the former Playboy model.
Bodyguard Maurice Brighthaupt told Monday of *signing contracts with “Access Hollywood” for a total of $50,000 to provide pictures and interviews after the Playboy model died in 2007 from a drug overdose.
He said Smith had given him a camera memory card with more than 100 photographs.
Among the pictures he provided was one of him in bed with Smith and her newborn baby, Dannielynn, he said, and images of the casket and hearse that carried the body of her son, Daniel, after his death.
Brighthaupt testified last week about drug use by Smith.
The exchange began the second week of testimony in the trial of Smith’s lawyer-boyfriend Howard K. Stern and her doctors Khristine Eroshevich and Sandeep Kapoor. They have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to provide Smith excessive amounts of opiates and sedatives. They have not been charged with her death.
*The defense also sought to quiz Brighthaupt about a scheme detailed in deposition testimony in which he said he and another person planned to sell pictures of the newborn girl for $1 million.
Guess we can stop here as it’s the two underlined parts that caught my attention. While I don’t know Mr. Brighthaupt personally, some very interesting ethical dilemmas are raised by the defense as they ask the question, “is this just about the money?” Where does one draw the line (after death?) on client confidentiality? Is 50 thousand ok to accept but 1 Million a sign of something corrupt? Or is it an acceptable business practice especially for an agent that may be now out of work due to a separation from his employer, except in this case it’s being played out in the media?
I tell you what, I’ll let you answer.
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