Kelly Soo Park Doesn't Get Her Hard Drive Returned. DA Calls The Information On It A Warehouse.
By Lonce LaMon - March 1, 2011
It was a nippy and briskly cold morning, by Los Angeles standards, outside of Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown L.A. yesterday, Monday, February 28th.
As Kelly Soo Park and her family and friends entered the Court Room in Department 109 just a little after 9 AM, they commented on the cold plus the Academy Awards ceremony from the previous night. Kelly sat down right next to me on my left, a mere three feet away, seemingly undaunted by me but aware of my presence.
She looked like a beautiful dark angel. She wore thick black eyeliner. She wore a yellowish tan jacket that looked like kid leather. Her leather purse was almost exactly the same color. She wore her trademark black pants, black stockings, and black high heeled pumps. A multi-colored wool scarf warmed her neck.
She is accused of murder. She is reputedly Dr. Munir Uwaydah's former right hand woman and henchwoman. It is speculated Munir Uwaydah, M.D., put her up to murdering one of his girlfriends: Juliana Redding. It is speculated he had Juliana Redding murdered because she wanted to put a damp rag on his fraud game. Her father, Greg Redding, an experienced pharmacist, wanted nothing to do with Uwaydah's fraud machine.
Juliana Redding was found strangled in her Santa Monica apartment on March 16th 2008. She was a young, aspiring model and actress.
Court opened when the Judge, Kathleen Kennedy, took her seat at the bench and said good morning. One quick proceeding on another case was heard before The Honorable Judge Kennedy called Kelly Soo Park second. Kelly sat down at the defendant's table to the left of her attorney, Kay Rackauckas.
Deputy District Attorney, Eric Harmon, spoke first explaining these pre-trial proceedings are now on the issue of Kelly's computer hard drive. Her hard drive was confiscated by law enforcement as evidence. Now, Kelly wants her hard drive returned as she has to prepare her tax documents. Her accounting information and software is all on her hard drive, she claims. Kay Rackauckas responded to Eric Harmon.
Kay Rackauckas: Ms. Park needs to issue W-4s to employees. She's already missed the date for W-4s.
Judge Kennedy: Is this something that can be done? Can information related to employees be separated?
Kay Rackauckas: They are in a Quickbooks folder.
I think Kay Rackauckas means W-2 forms. She keeps stating W-4 forms. She said W-4 forms during the last court proceedings. But I feel that as a veteran criminal lawyer she simply is not versed that W-4s are the forms an employee uses to declare deductions at the beginning of an employment, or during employment if that employee's deductions change. Anyone can pull a blank W-4 form off the Internet. So I'm confident she means to say W-2 forms, which are the forms an employer issues just after the end of any calendar year declaring employees' wages and tax deductions for that prior calendar year.
Judge Kennedy: Can't we get this resolved in some way?
Eric Harmon explained that he expected to receive a Motion for return of seized property, but did not get what he expected from the Defense. He stated that returning the hard drive will interrupt a criminal investigation. He emphasized that this case is not just about a murder, but it's about fraud, as well. And that several agencies are investigating this case and want to review the hard drive.
Judge Kennedy: Has anyone reviewed this hard drive?
Eric Harmon: Not as thoroughly as we intend to...
Then the judge discussed further the review of the hard drive, and Eric Harmon changed slightly what he said.
Eric Harmon: I don't believe they've (the files on the hard drive) been reviewed. They are voluminous. It's like looking through a warehouse.
But Kay Rackauckas went on again about how Ms. Park needs the hard drive in order to issue her W-4s. And again I thought that she totally means to say W-2s, because she does not know about tax forms.
Judge Kennedy then told Eric Harmon that it seems to her that someone within his department, law inforcement, or the investigations agencies, can resolve those files. Some IT person can get the defense the Quickbooks files and program.
Eric Harmon: We're talking about a hard drive I have never seen.
Harmon opened up even more about how he had not seen the hard drive, had not reviewed the hard drive, but that one investigator he knows of is supposed to review the hard drive but is not available until after March 15th 2011. He then asked the judge if she would go on camera with this investigator, and she agreed to go on camera with someone. However, she emphasized she did not want her time wasted and she wanted real steps made to resolve this issue.
It is clear the investigative agencies are not willing to give up the hard drive yet because of their extensive fraud investigations. Eric Harmon's description of the files on the drive being like a warehouse was revealing. The workers' compensation fraud issue and investigation of this case has tripped it up from being any kind of usual and customary murder case. It's not a murder case involving some crime of passion, such as a man murdering his former mistress out of jealousy. It's steeped in workers' compensation fraud.
Court will resume on March 24th.
lonce@adjustercom.com
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