Santa Ana : Gionis Wins Access to Piece of Evidence

Pomona surgeon Dr. Thomas A. Gionis, who is accused of masterminding an attack on ex-wife Aissa Wayne, won access Friday to the original tape of a police interview with one of his chief accusers. Gionis claims the tape contains a suspicious 90-second “gap.”

Attorneys for Gionis persuaded Superior Court Judge Myron S. Brown in Santa Ana to let them inspect the tape to ensure the “integrity” of the recording of the police interview June 10 with O. Daniel Gal, a Beverly Hills detective whom Gionis allegedly hired to attack his ex-wife.

Neither Gionis nor his attorney would discuss the matter in detail. “We just want to have that tape analyzed ourselves. It should be interesting,” Gionis said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher Evans vigorously opposed the request before Brown.

“Nothing irregular of any kind occured in that interview” with Gal, Evans said later, “and now we’re going to have to spend taxpayer money for security and supervision to arrange” for Gionis and his attorneys to review the tapes.” Gal agreed to cooperate with investigators after being extradited from Switzerland this summer in connection with the Oct. 3, 1988, assault on Wayne, who is the daughter of movie legend John Wayne, and financier Roger Luby at Luby’s Newport Beach estate. Gal is expected to be a key witness at Gionis’ forthcoming trial, in which prosecutors will try to show that Gionis ordered the attack on Wayne as a warning in their continuing dispute over custody of their daughter.