January 18, 1979
Another Break for Sid Vicious
By Ann Louise Bardach
In a stunning development, attorney Jim Merberg, associate of defense lawyer F. Lee Bailey, prevailed upon Judge James Leff yesterday, Jan. 16, to grant bail to John Simon Ritchie, aka Sid Vicious.
At a hearing in State Supreme Court, on felonious assault charges pressed by Todd Smith, Judge Leff ordered Vicious released on $10,000 bail.
Before the Tuesday hearing, most observers rated Vicious' chance for bail as slim , or in the words of Asst. DA Ken Schachter, "perhaps 500 to one."
Vicious is also facing 2nd degree homicide charges in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, on Oct. 12. The former Sex Pistol posted $50,000 bail on the homicide charges in mid-October; he was remanded to Riker's Island after the assault charges were filed in December.
The courtroom was startled by Judge Leff’s ruling. Not only did he grant Vicious bail on the assault charge, he also dropped Vicious' previous conditions for bail, which had
included daily sign-ins at the police department's 3rd Homicide offices and at the Lafayette St. Methadone Center (where Vicious was enrolled in a methadone maintenance program). According to Merberg, Vicious will now have to sign in at Homicide only three days a week and will no longer have to appear at the methadone center. His defense established that Sid had been detoxified for one week.
Leff granted bail conditional only on Vicious not "frequenting nightclubs and like places."
Although the hearing was expected to deal only with procedural matters, the defense introduced motions for additional serology and toxicology information on Nancy Spungen and a list of prosecution witnesses in the homicide case.
Merberg also pointed out a man in the courtroom whom he identified as Peter Kodick, one of Sid's companions on Dec. 5, the night of the alleged assault on Todd Smith. According to Merberg, Kodick is prepared to testify that, "Mr. Vicious was the victim of an unprovoked assault."
Vicious is expected to post bail and leave Riker's Island by the end of the week. His mother was ecstatic. "Now the public will know he is a good boy," she said.
The events of Tuesday seem a victory - though perhaps a temporary one- for Merberg, a longtime associate of Bailey, who did much of the preliminary work on the Patty Hearst trial. Bailey himself has not appeared in New York in connection with this case since he was retained. "When the jury arrives is when Bailey will arrive," commented one prosecution associate.
Prosecution is in the hands of Asst. DA and Sr. Trial Counsel Allen Sullivan, an eleven year veteran, and Asst. DA Ken Schachter.
Lawyer Shopping
The hiring of F. Lee Bailey was the decision of Malcolm McLaren, former Sex Pistols manager. Although Vicious and his mom, 46 year old Ann Beverly, met and chatted with several candidates, they gave McLaren responsibility to make the choice. It was, after all, a bad time for both mother and son: Mrs. Beverly (previously a brunette Bill Wyman-lookalike who has since cut her hair and dyed it red and blonde), was busy consoling Vicious who was then recuperating at Bellevue Hospital from his suicide attempt of Oct. 23.
Michael Berger, Sid's original attorney, was "clearly the wrong choice," according to McLaren. "He treated Sid like he was a kid," said McLaren. After interviewing more than 20 lawyers, McLaren retained the flamboyant Bailey on Oct. 28.
"Now that I think about it," reflected McLaren's friend Joe Stevens, "Bailey was a perfect choice for Malcolm and the way he thinks - everything is show business."
Among the other contenders for the Vicious defense job was Percy Foreman, the celebrated criminal lawyer from Texas, but "He just seemed too old," said McLaren. "He had this idea of moving into Sid and Nancy's room at the Chelsea and sort of re-experiencing their life."
Melvin Belli, the "aristocratic attorney" from San Francisco was "excited about the case," but at that point, McLaren was concentrating on New York City hometown lawyers. Gerald Lefcourt, among New York's most successful criminal lawyers, was considered, but "didn't seem terribly interested in Sid's case," according to McLaren. Stanley Arkin was eliminated because "Sid couldn't get a rapport with him," and attorney Robert Bloom of the Puerto Rican bombing case fame "seemed very nice but not quite right."
William "Wild Bill" Kunstler was interviewed, but McLaren found him "too crazy ... too over the top like an old hippie." However, Sid's chat with Kunstler at Bellevue went quite well. "Oh yes," recalls McLaren, "Sid liked Bill a lot."
Even though "Everyone was anti-Bailey," — partly because of his performance in the Hearst trial and partly because of the fear of agitating 100 Centre Street with "an outsider" — Bailey was retained, McLaren said, "because in no way could I not appreciate his eloquence and his stature."
Sidebar: Hard Day's Night at Hurrah
Around midnight December 5th, Sid Vicious entered the west side rock club of Hurrah in the company of Michael Morra aka Rockets Redglare [see SWN, Oct. 26], two photographer friends (Peter Kodick and David Still) and a blonde young lady named Danielle Boothe, formerly an amour of Johnny Rotten. According to Hurrah's manager, Henry Schissler, both Rockets and Sid had two tequila sunrises at the bar before heading towards the back of the club where Skafish and his group were finishing their set.
Vicious struck up a conversation with Tarrah, Skafish's drummer and girlfriend of Todd Smith, Patti's brother. After some poorly received flirtation, according to Schissler, Vicious "pinched" Tarrah, which prompted a protective Smith to rally to her honor. Following a brief verbal exchange, Schissler relates, "Sid picked up a Heineken's beer bottle, smashed it and lunged at Todd." Smith, who was bleeding profusely from over his eye, was rushed to nearby Roosevelt Hospital where he received five stitches. "Everybody knows," said Schissler, "that Patti urged Todd to press charges against Vicious."
Another version of the evening's affairs is offered by Rockets Redglare, Sid's self-appointed bodyguard and one-man volunteer army for the defense of Sid Vicious.
"Smith provoked Sid," states Rockets, who says he spent seven hours with A.D.A. Sullivan," and attacked him with the bottle . . . Then pieces of the bottle broke in Sid's hand and flew back and hit Smith." A photograph taken by David Still was introduced as evidence by the defense on the January 16th hearing.
Vicious was arrested on Dec. 7th and arraigned on December 8th by Judge Betty Ellerin. After accepting the charge of felonious assault in the Smith affair, Ellerin decreed that Vicious had broken the terms of his $50,000 bail and remanded him to Rikers Island, where he has been since December 8th.
Felonious assault carries the penalty of seven to fifteen years upon conviction. Even if the Smiths decided to drop charges, the D.A. could continue to prosecute. "Look, a little bit closer and the kid would have lost his eye," Sgt. Thomas Kilroy of Homicide explains. "This is not only a crime against an individual, but the People, the State."
Smith is being represented by Ira Meibach, Patti Smith's manager and lawyer.
Brave New Girl
Although it might seem that women would proceed with trepidation, many young females welcomed the arrival on the scene of a "single, bachelor Vicious."
Others who have enjoyed Vicious' company since Nancy Spungen's demise are: Judy Nylon, formerly of the punk rock group Snatch; Connie Ramone, ex-girlfriend of Dee Dee Ramone; Danielle Boothe, a blonde actress, who briefly captured the fancy of Johnny Rotten; and Michele Robison, a brunette, who, according to Rockets Redglare, is "Mrs. Beverly's favorite." Robison visited Vicious at Rikers and attended court yesterday flanked by Mrs. Beverly and Peter Kodick.