Christine Prody OJ Simpson NEWS

O.J. Simpson’s girlfriend, who had been hospitalized in February after a fall, was back in the hospital, this time with two broken legs and other serious injuries, CBS4 in Miami reported.

Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Pat Santangelo said Christie Prody was injured early Saturday morning on the Don Shula Expressway near Miller Drive after she pulled over to an emergency lane because she had two flat tires on her 2-door Mitsubishi.

Police say she rode on the flat tires for quite a distance because one of the tires was completely shredded and the other had come off the rim completely.

For an unknown reason, Prody, 32, got out of her car and tried to cross the highway. Santangelo says she nearly made it across but about two thirds of the way, she was hit by an oncoming car. Her head and arms went through that car’s windshield and she landed inside the vehicle with her legs sticking out. The driver stopped and called 911 immediately.

She was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital where Santangelo says she was still being treated Wednesday for broken legs and other serious injuries.

Santangelo says Prody was cited for “being a pedestrian on an expressway” which is against the law.

Troopers found an empty bottle of Smirnoff vodka on her front seat. While toxicology reports are not back, police say she won’t be charged with DUI because she was not at the wheel of the vehicle when the crash occurred.

A responding officer also found her pet dog, a Shitzu, in the vehicle after the crash. The dog was taken to a safe shelter until her family could pick it up.

In February, Prody was hospitalized with a severe head injury after she slipped and fell at a Miami gas station.

O.J. SIMPSON’s girlfriend CHRISTIE PRODY was spotted leaving the house in Miami on Wednesday night where she told ET, when asked about O.J., “I just hope what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” and that “this is really unfair.”

September 22, 2007 — FOR a guy who owes $33 million, O.J. Simpson ain’t doing that bad. He lives in a five-bedroom ranch with the obligatory in-ground pool surrounded by 12-foot-high hedges on a lush two acres.

The house is in the neighborhood of Kendall, one of Miami’s ritziest.

OK, it’s not his old pad in Brentwood, but the old Juice is hardly living on food stamps.

His girlfriend, Christie Prody, drives him around in an elegant, cream Mitsubishi convertible.

This morning, he put up posters on his driveway palm trees reading: “Private property. No trespassers.”

Life goes on - dinner at the Prime 112, the Forge Steak House and the recently opened DeVito’s in South Beach.

But The Office, promoted by Tommy Pouch, formally of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, doesn’t lay out the welcome mat for Simpson.

“We don’t let him in this club,” Pouch said.

Like the bad old days in Brentwood, his new place has suddenly become the mecca for every wacko this side of the Mason-Dixon line.

But, again, life goes on.

Thirty-three million clams in the hole, and he lives better than you and I ever will.

Could you imagine owing $33 million to the boys downtown? That would get you a studio apartment in Campbell’s funeral home.

They sat in their lawn chairs, waiting.

All day. Since first thing in the morning, some said.

Nothing. Nada. Zip. Not a glimpse of The Juice, who arrived at his Kendall home after midnight Thursday following a four-hour flight from Las Vegas.

Sure, there were the rumors. O.J. had checked into the Seminole Hard Rock. He was playing a round of golf. He had slipped out of his house and was having lunch at a Kendall restaurant.

But no O.J. sightings at Simpson’s $1 million Kendall spread — to the chagrin of waiting reporters.

There was, however, the long-time girlfriend. As Christie Prody drove down the driveway — leaving, returning, leaving, returning — she always smiled into the cameras and the lights to let them know O.J. was just fine.

”People need to know that he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Prody added, before someone in the house yelled for the writers and photographers to leave her alone.

Outside O.J.’s home were journalists from Entertainment Tonight, Fox News, Associated Press, local television stations, paparazzi photographers and one high school TV station.

Some said they’d been entrenched since 8 a.m.; all said they didn’t know how long they would stay.

They are there, of course, to cover Simpson, the former football star charged with kidnapping, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, coercion with use of a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime. He has not entered a plea.

The media crush was not fun for neighbors.

On the two-lane road past his house, traffic slowed to a crawl. A pickup truck and a minivan had a fender bender just at rush hour.

Someone posted ”No Trespassing” signs at the driveway’s entrance.

No one left.

Lawyers for the family of Ron Goldman, one of OJ Simpson’s alleged victims, has announced that they are investigating claims that the disgraced sports star has hidden assets in offshore bank accounts to stop the Goldmans from accessing the money.

The inquiries follow allegations by one of the men allegedly robbed at gunpoint by Simpson in Las Vegas last week that he once helped the former American footballer set up offshore bank accounts.

Bruce Fromong, one of the two memorabilia collectors Simpson is accused of stealing from, rants in an audiotape recording reportedly made one hour after the incident: “Nobody puts a gun in my face. I stood up for [him] while he was in jail. I stood up for him in the press. I stood up for him… on the stand. I helped him set up his offshore accounts.”

The recording was released by TMZ.com, an entertainment news website.

Tom Riccio, the memorabilia dealer said to have set up the meeting between Simpson and the men, has also claimed that Mr Fromong told police investigating the theft that he helped Simpson hide his money in the Caribbean.

A spokesman for Las Vegas police, who arrested Simpson on Sunday, refused to comment on the investigation.

Mr Fromong suffered a serious heart attack after the incident and is recovering in a Los Angeles hospital.

The Goldman family has been unsuccessfully trying to access the former star’s assets since a judge ordered him to pay $33.5 million in a wrongful death case.

They have already launched an attempt to claim the items of sport memorabilia Simpson allegedly stole in last week’s incident to help satisfy the judgment.

The haul is estimated to have been worth $80,000 to $100,000. A judge has so far agreed the family can collect one of the items, Simpson’s gold Rolex Submariner watch, valued between $5,000 and $10,000.

There was no comment from Simpson who has been released on bail and has returned to his home in Florida.

Last November, Yale Galanter, his lawyer, robustly denied claims that his client had moved money offshore.

As O.J. Simpson dealt with the fallout from his arrest on multiple charges as he traveled back to his Miami home Wednesday, his longtime girlfriend remained committed to him and by his side.

An ABC producer on the flight with Simpson says girlfriend Christie Prody sat alongside him as he flew back to Florida, reading the book “You’ve Been Warned,” a murder mystery by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. Simpson smiled as passengers took pictures; he slept during most of the flight.

Prody’s profile has risen in light of Simpson’s arrest. She was an emotional presence in the Las Vegas courtroom Wednesday, where Simpson was arraigned, alternately smiling and appearing to fight back tears.

The Couple’s Beginnings

Prody is an integral part of Simpson’s inner circle.

“Christie is an extremely important part of O.J.’s life,” said Simpson’s defense attorney Yale Galanter.

The two met in 1995, after his acquittal on murder charges. At the time Prody was a 19-year-old cocktail waitress; the former beautician is said by many to bear a striking resemblance to Simpson’s slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.

In the past, Prody often has defended Simpson’s reputation.

“Marcia Clark is completely wrong about her two sides of this man because there [are] no two O.J. Simpsons,” Prody said during an “Inside Edition” interview in 2000. “The people that know him, know that there is one guy, one good guy.”

Roller-Coaster Relationship

Despite Prody’s support of Simpson, their relationship has not always been smooth during their more than decade-long relationship.

In October 1999, a 911 phone call documented one of their well-publicized blows, when Simpson called from Prody’s Miami apartment saying a girl needed help.

“We have a problem here. I’m trying to get a girl to go to rehab,” Simpson told a 911 operator. “She’s been doing drugs for two days … ”

Though Simpson later denied the girl he was talking about was his girlfriend, many suspected differently.

Another rift reportedly emerged when Prody sold an interview to the National Enquirer purportedly for $50,000. In the interview, she said that Simpson had confessed to the murders of his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman.

Despite the fact that they never lived together, the couple have had several domestic disturbances.

One incident included a violent argument at a Miami hotel. Police reports said Prody allegedly slapped and kicked Simpson.

“The security person came with police,” Simpson said during a TV interview. “They asked me, ‘Mr. Simpson were you attacked or something?’ [I said,] ‘No, the girl was frustrated, but look I’m not making any report. I’m not making any complaint.’”

In another incident, Prody accused Simpson of breaking into her home and erasing a message on her answering machine. In total, police were called four times, but no charges were filed.

Average Couple

Despite the couple’s well-documented ups and downs, Prody’s uncle said the two are a good couple.

“[They are] just like any other couple, except for the fame that he draws to the situation,” said Steve Bellmore.

September 20, 2007 — ABOARD US AIRWAYS FLIGHT TO FORT LAUDERDALE - The passenger in Seat 4D was the biggest deal on Flight 888 - but he didn’t act the part. US Airways had emptied the plane — which had originated in Los Angeles — when it landed in Las Vegas so O.J. Simpson could board alone with his lawyer, Yale Galanter, and girlfriend, Christine Prody.

The graying, paunchy, 60-year-old took the aisle seat in the first row of economy class.

Nearly every one of us who boarded behind him stole a glance as we passed by his seat.

A few of my bolder fellow travelers whipped out their cellphones and cameras to snap a shot.

The Juice favored some of us with a smile, others with a nod. But that was it — there was no autograph hunting, no shouted insults or shouted words of praise.

He bought a $3 snack pack for himself and a $5 sandwich for Prody, and paid for the meal with a $50 bill, according to ET. He then watched some of “Ocean’s 13.” Prody carried a small, black miniature Pomeranian on board in a dog carrier.

O.J. pulled his white tennis visor over his eyes and catnapped for the flight to Fort Lauderdale, which landed just after midnight.

When he was awake, he was watching “Ocean’s 13.”

Prody curled up next to him and laid her blond curls against his chest.

When we landed, he stood and gave Galanter, who had been sitting across the aisle, a big hug before getting into a car and driving off without a word.

Before takeoff, Galanter had said, “There is nowhere in the world where O.J. is not known.”

In other words, if O.J. skipped to another country, he would be made in a New York minute.

But tonight? He’s hardly a blip on the screen.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a scene of legal deja vu, a grayer, heavier O.J. Simpson stood handcuffed in court Wednesday to face charges that could put him behind bars for life. The prosecutor who failed to get him a dozen years ago was there to watch, and news cameras tracked his every move as if they were covering a slow-speed chase.

But as Simpson made his $125,000 bail on charges including kidnapping and armed robbery, legal experts were questioning: Could a former football star who beat a double-murder rap really do hard time for a crime that sounds like a bad movie?

Police have laid out a case that makes Simpson the leader in an armed holdup of sports memorabilia collectors, and they arrested a fifth suspect in the case Wednesday. Some of the facts — including a curious recording of the confrontation — don’t seem so clear-cut.

Legal experts say that issues such as who had rightful ownership of the goods and the reputation of witnesses in the sometimes less-than-reputable world of memorabilia trading could cloud the prosecution’s case.

Simpson has insisted he was merely retrieving items that were stolen from him earlier.

Alfred Beardsley, one of the collectors who says he was robbed at gunpoint by Simpson and several other men, told NBC’s “Today” show before Simpson’s hearing that he didn’t think an audiotape made at the scene was accurate. Beardsley was arrested on a parole violation Wednesday.

The other victim, Bruce Fromong, was recovering from a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital. The man who arranged the meeting between Simpson and the two collectors, Tom Riccio, has a criminal record.

“The credibility of the cohorts in the enterprise would be a key issue at trial,” said University of Southern California law professor Jody Armour.

Agreed, said Dennis Turner, a professor at the University of Dayton School of Law. “This is a pretty shady world and pretty shady characters dealing with each other in a pretty shady way.”

A key difference with the 1995 murder trial is that there are plenty of witnesses this time who place Simpson at the scene, including hotel video surveillance. Simpson has made no secret he went to the hotel room intending to take the memorabilia and told The Associated Press that a man who came with him brought a truck to cart away the goods.

“It’s not like the murder case involving his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, where Simpson had a completely different story in which he said, ‘I wasn’t there,’” said Doug Godfrey, a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. “A prosecutor only has to show intent. And the intent is, ‘Were you acting in concert with someone with a gun to take property from someone?’ If you were, you’re guilty of armed robbery.”

Simpson attorney Yale Galanter said: “You can’t rob something that is yours.”

Simpson furrowed his brow as the judge read the list of charges against him. Gone was the slight smirk he flashed when he was arrested.

He answered quietly in a hoarse voice and nodded as the judge laid out restrictions for his release, including surrendering his passport to his attorney and having no contact with co-defendants or potential witnesses.

Simpson did not enter a plea.

Galanter said after the hearing that the $125,000 bond was reasonable.

The oddity of the case has attracted a swarm of reporters, including Marcia Clark, who unsuccessfully prosecuted Simpson for the 1994 murders and was reporting for “Entertainment Tonight.” A helicopter television crew followed Simpson’s vehicle leaving the court, strangely reminiscent of the slow-speed chase in which he once fled police in a white Ford Bronco.

Simpson, 60, flew home to Miami later Wednesday in a spectacle just as surreal. US Airways emptied a plane so he could board first with Galanter and his girlfriend, Christine Prody.

Simpson sat in seat 4D, an aisle seat in economy class. Passengers who boarded behind him took pictures with cell phones and cameras. He nodded and smiled as they passed.

He pulled a white visor over his eyes shortly after takeoff and slept almost the entire flight. Upon landing, he stood and gave Galanter, who had been sitting across the aisle, a big hug.

Simpson was arrested Sunday after a collector reported a group of armed men charged into a hotel room at the Palace Station casino and took several items.

The Heisman Trophy winner spent three nights in jail after being charged with kidnapping, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, coercion with use of a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime.

Four other men have been arrested on many of the same charges, and police were still looking for another suspect.

Charles Howard Cashmore, 40, surrendered to police Wednesday and was scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning. Cashmore brought in items that are believed to have been taken, police said without elaborating.

Authorities allege that the men went to the room Sept. 13 on the pretext of brokering a deal with two longtime collectors, Beardsley and Fromong. According to police reports, the collectors were ordered at gunpoint to hand over several items valued at as much as $100,000, including football game balls signed by Simpson, Joe Montana lithographs, baseballs autographed by Pete Rose and Duke Snider and framed awards and plaques.

Beardsley told police he expected that night that the collection would earn $35,000 from the “client” he had never met.

Beardsley told police that one of the men with Simpson brandished a pistol, frisked him and impersonated a police officer, and that another man pointed a gun at Fromong.

Authorities said Beardsley, of Burbank, Calif., was paroled in March 2006 after serving 11 months of a two-year sentence for stalking a woman in Riverside County.

He was arrested at his room at the Luxor hotel Wednesday for violating parole. A California corrections spokesman said Beardsley was required to get written approval before traveling more than 50 miles from home or leaving home for more than 24 hours.

Beardsley was held without bail pending an extradition hearing Thursday.

Court records show Riccio also has a criminal history, including grand larceny in Florida in 1984, when he received three years of probation; and felony arson in 1995, in California, for which he was sentenced to two years.

Riccio has said he was not concerned with how his past might affect his credibility “because everything’s on tape. That’s why it’s on tape.”

He also said he had been promised some form of immunity by prosecutors.

Two other defendants, Walter Alexander, 46, and Clarence Stewart, 53, were arrested and released pending court appearances. Stewart turned in some of the missing goods and Alexander agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, authorities said. Suspect Michael McClinton, 49, of Las Vegas, surrendered to police Tuesday. Jailers were unable to say whether Cashmore or McClinton had retained a lawyer.

Police have not identified the remaining suspect they are seeking.

Armour said if the other suspects who have been arrested turn on Simpson in exchange for lighter sentences, it could help the prosecution, but also damage their credibility. Allegations of a setup could also cast doubt on the testimony of the memorabilia dealers, he said.

“But at the end of the day, that may not matter as much as whether they think he (Simpson) deserves some punishmentfor something,” Armour said.