Eslamania is no stranger to a San Mateo County courtroom. In the case of his father's death, he stood trial with Joe Hunt and three others - the so-called "Billionaire Boys Club. Eslamania was convicted of murder and kidnapping in but it was overturned when a judge found the jury heard a taped interview that was inadmissible.
Two other co-conspirators made plea bargains; Eslamania fought the charges which were dismissed a decade later after the prosecution's main witness was placed in the witness protection program. Hunt defended himself in his trial and the jury hung after nine months. He is the only defendant in county history to represent himself in a capital murder trial and not receive the death penalty. He was sentenced to prison for the murder of alleged con man Ron Levin.
Eslaminia has said he bragged about his family's wealth to the other members of the club which is what led to his kidnapping and death. He claims no other responsibility. Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle smdailyjournal. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters smdailyjournal. Tafhdyd said:. View more. Ray Fowler said:. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Newsletter arrives every morning for your convenience.
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Get Started. View all rates. Basic Subscription. Access to all our award winning content does not include e-edition Commenting capabilities The good feeling of supporting real, local news in your community. Have a promo code? Find Offers. Hedayat Eslaminia , his father, a high-ranking security official and member of parliament under the shah, fled to America after the Islamic revolution. By , he was jobless, in financial straits and had resorted to shoplifting.
The prosecution contended that Eslaminia, motivated by greed and hatred of his father, was a co-conspirator in the failed plot that ended in Hedayat Eslaminia's death. He and co-defendant Arben "Ben" Dosti were convicted of second-degree murder and kidnapping for extortion and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. On Feb. The California attorney general's office's decision to retry Eslaminia surprised him and puzzles his attorney, Clifford Cretan , a former deputy district attorney.
Cretan said that Eslaminia's defense will be the same as it was in his first jury trial: He did not know that the Billionaire Boys Club was planning to kill his father, he had no motive for participating in it, and he did not participate in it. Eslaminia and Dosti are the only defendants remaining of the five originally charged with Hedayat Eslaminia's murder. The state has dismissed all charges against the three men the prosecution accused of carrying out Hedayat Eslaminia's murder: Joe Hunt , the charismatic leader of the Billionaire Boys Club; Dean Karny , the club's No.
Hunt's trial ended in a hung jury in The authorities, evidently influenced by that outcome, dismissed the case against Pittman, now dead, shortly thereafter. Karny, who confessed his role in the murder and that of another victim of the club, Beverly Hills financial trickster Ron Levin, received blanket immunity from the prosecution after agreeing to testify.
He subsequently entered the witness protection program, attended law school and was admitted to the California State Bar Association. Karny is the linchpin of the state's case against Eslaminia and Dosti. It's Karny's word against theirs, and he has been the focus of strenuous efforts by Cretan and other attorneys who want to find out what he's been doing the past 14 years to prepare themselves to cross-examine him.
So far, the prosecution has resisted giving up Karny's new identity, and when he appeared in court last year, he said he still fears for his life and wants to remain hidden. His name surfaced in a Los Angeles murder inquiry, and Karny said he believed that the murder was a diabolical plot by Hunt to frame him.
An independent detective firm hired at the direction of San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Carl Holm to inquire into Karny's present life produced a report, but "we think it's inadequate," Cretan said. Dosti was remanded into custody and taken to the San Mateo County Jail. Eslaminia has been in custody since his arrest. They could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Dosti, the son of a Times food writer, was also found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap for murder.
But the plan went awry, according to testimony in the case, when Hedayat Eslaminia suffocated in a steamer trunk in the back of a pickup truck driven by Billionaire Boys Club founder Hunt as it sped down Interstate 5 from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.
No trial has yet been set for Hunt, who is already serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the slaying of Beverly Hills con man Ron Levin. An appeal of his conviction in the Levin case is pending.
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