O.J. suit sought by Goldmans may be fake

FRESNO, Calif., June 12 (UPI) -- The question of whether a California sports agent really has the suit O.J. Simpson wore at his 1995 acquittal is set to be answered in a Los Angeles courtroom.

Mike Gilbert of Fresno, an estranged friend of Simpson and author of "How I Helped O.J. Get Away With Murder," has long claimed the former football star, who is currently serving a nine- to 33-year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping, gave him the suit he was wearing when the jury declared him not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

The Goldman family, which is still seeking its portion of the $33.5 million civil jury verdict that found Simpson liable for the deaths, has sought to obtain the suit from Gilbert for its monetary value, but there may be one major problem with the quest -- the suit might not be genuine.

Gilbert recently told an interviewer he wasn't "under oath" when he claimed to have the suit and Yale Galanter, the lawyer who represented Simpson in the Las Vegas kidnapping and armed robbery case, said the suit Gilbert has is not the same one worn by his one-time client.

"I can tell you categorically that Mike doesn't have it. Whatever he does have, as far as we are concerned, the Goldmans can have it," Galanter said.

The Times said the truth is likely to come out soon, as a Los Angeles County Superior judge is set to take up the issue of the Goldman family's pursuit of the suit Monday.