Newport Beach bash may bestow Worm birthday fines

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Officials may give Dennis Rodman criminal charges as

a belated gift for his 40th birthday.

Some Newport Beach police officers threw on riot gear Saturday

afternoon in preparation for bringing the former NBA star’s big birthday

bash to a halt. Though no one was arrested or cited Saturday, that may

change soon.

Newport Beach Police has decided it will file a complaint with the

Orange County District Attorney’s office alleging Rodman “disturbed the

peace” with his party, said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.

Rodman, who has gained notoriety as a host of wild and loud parties at

his West Newport Beach home, made a grand entrance Saturday in a

helicopter that landed illegally on the public beach behind his home,

located in the 4800 block of Seashore Drive.

“That could have been really dangerous to the public,” Shulman said.

“A helicopter can kick up quite a bit of sand and you can’t really tell

if there are people on the beach. He had not got any kind of permission

to land there.”

He said the department will also send a report to the Federal Aviation

Administration stating Rodman violated the law by landing a helicopter on

public property without authorization, which endangers lives.

The party, police said, had about 300 guests. According to reports,

several live bands including LIVE, 311 and former members of Led Zeppelin

blasted away. After negotiations with the officers, Rodman moved the

party to Josh Slocums, a restaurant he co-owns on East Coast Highway.

The gala affair was broken up by 20 police officers, half of whom were

called when they were off duty, Shulman said. That translates to overtime

pay.

“Some of them could have had their day off, others were scheduled to

work later that day,” he said.

The department is also looking into the possibility of billing Rodman

for the day’s police expenses, he said. Shulman said the department is in

the process of coming up with the exact price tag.

Deputy District Attorney Mike Fell, who will prosecute the case, said

he is waiting for the police to complete their investigation.

“I will then review that information and decide if criminal charges

can be filed [against Rodman],” he said. Fell added that Rodman does not

seem to have any criminal filings in the past with his office.

“I’ll review this case independently,” he said.

Saturday’s incident was by no means Rodman’s first brush with the law.

He has paid $8,500 in fines between May 3, 1999 and Aug. 28, 2000,

Shulman said. Rodman moved into the Seashore Drive home in July 1998.

Police records show that 14 disturbance cards have been filed against

him since then. Over the last year, police have been to his home at least

50 times in response to noise complaints.

Officers also approached Rodman as recently as Friday to ask him to

remove a chain-link fence that he had put up on the beach behind in home.

He complied and had that removed Saturday, Shulman said.

But the problem is that money is never an issue for Rodman. The former

basketball superstar who shocked, amused and entertained fans with his

colorful coiffure, tattoos and earrings, is no stranger to paying fines.

He has paid anywhere from a few hundred bucks to $200,000 for a range

of violations during games: head butting a referee, kicking a cameraman,

swearing at Mormons, not showing up for practice or showing up drunk and

screaming at his coach.

So officials say the fines aren’t making a dent in his local behavior.

He pays all his dues to the city of Newport Beach and then goes right

back to making a ruckus.

“He has never cooperated with us,” Shulman said. “His actions

demonstrate he just doesn’t care.”

FYI:

50: Number of times police officers have been to Rodman’s home since

June 2000 responding to noise complaints.

$8,500: Amount he paid the city in fines between May 3, 1999 and Aug.

28, 2000.

14: Number of disturbance advisory cards that have been filed against

Rodman.

1: Time he was arrested last July for driving under the influence of

alcohol and without a driver’s license. Rodman pleaded guilty to the

charge and was handed a $2,050 fine and three years of informal

probation.