F. Lee Bailey Drops Florida Fight for Stock
F. Lee Bailey, who went to jail for 43 days while refusing to return $16 million in disputed stock, on Friday dropped a Florida court fight to reclaim the holdings.
“In this particular action, the government has prevailed,” said Bailey attorney Roger Zuckerman. But he indicated that Bailey would pursue the stock or its equivalent in a District of Columbia court.
U.S. District Judge Maurice Paul, who had locked Bailey up on the contempt charge earlier this year, dismissed Bailey’s claim for the shares. Bailey didn’t appear.
Bailey, 62, has defended O.J. Simpson, the Boston Strangler, Patty Hearst and Dr. Sam Sheppard in his legal career.
The stock in Biochem Pharma, a Canadian company, was among assets forfeited by Claude Duboc, a former Bailey client awaiting sentencing on drug charges.
Bailey claimed the government transferred the stock to him with no restrictions on fees and expenses. Prosecutors said the stock was entrusted to him only to manage some Duboc property in France and had to be returned.
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