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December 22nd, 2008, 12:12 AM
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It was a case that rocked the social circles of the Las Vegas elite and now the so called Black Widow Murderer will go to trial once again. Margaret Rudin was convicted in 2001 of killing her millionaire husband. Friday she was granted a second trial after a heated three hour hearing.
The case goes back 14 years. For a decade and a half, Las Vegas has watched the rise and fall of Margaret Rudin. Now in her sixties, she was married to Ronald Rudin, a millionaire 11 times over.
A jury found her guilty of killing him and from almost the very beginning, even the defense called this a case in crisis. The 2001 trial was fraught with problems. Rudin's lawyer, Michael Amador asked for continuances and help on the case from the start.
Amador upset then-Judge Joe Bonaventure, Senior on many occasions for false statements and mistakes. The case cost taxpayers $179,000 and had theatric flourishes, like a bedroom murder scene re-enactment and what today's judge called nefarious characters.
Eventually, Rudin brought on Tom Pitaro and John Momot to help the defense. By then it was too late to win the case. Lawyers then and lawyers today say Amador's mistakes were too much to overcome.
Now seven years later, Pitaro and Momot testified in court on just how bad Amador had been. They brought up a lack of witness interviews, missing documents, empty defense binders, and case files with backward pages.
They essentially had to build the case as they went along, making up for Amador's lack of preparation. They said they essentially lost before they even began.
"You're running that race to try to catch up midstream, and I just don't think you can do it. You just can't do cases like this -- like that," said Momot.
While Prosecutor Christopher Owens disagrees, Momot said Amador's approach doomed the case.
"It's the hardest fought case I've ever been in, and to hear that the defendant didn't get a fair trial just seems ridiculous to me," said Owens.
Each side will meet again later this month to restart the case and decide if Rudin would be free until the new trial. The original trial cost taxpayers was $179,000. Owens expects that figure to jump considerably.
Amador did not answer calls for comment.
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9556551&nav=168XDWn7
It was a case that rocked the social circles of the Las Vegas elite and now the so called Black Widow Murderer will go to trial once again. Margaret Rudin was convicted in 2001 of killing her millionaire husband. Friday she was granted a second trial after a heated three hour hearing.
The case goes back 14 years. For a decade and a half, Las Vegas has watched the rise and fall of Margaret Rudin. Now in her sixties, she was married to Ronald Rudin, a millionaire 11 times over.
A jury found her guilty of killing him and from almost the very beginning, even the defense called this a case in crisis. The 2001 trial was fraught with problems. Rudin's lawyer, Michael Amador asked for continuances and help on the case from the start.
Amador upset then-Judge Joe Bonaventure, Senior on many occasions for false statements and mistakes. The case cost taxpayers $179,000 and had theatric flourishes, like a bedroom murder scene re-enactment and what today's judge called nefarious characters.
Eventually, Rudin brought on Tom Pitaro and John Momot to help the defense. By then it was too late to win the case. Lawyers then and lawyers today say Amador's mistakes were too much to overcome.
Now seven years later, Pitaro and Momot testified in court on just how bad Amador had been. They brought up a lack of witness interviews, missing documents, empty defense binders, and case files with backward pages.
They essentially had to build the case as they went along, making up for Amador's lack of preparation. They said they essentially lost before they even began.
"You're running that race to try to catch up midstream, and I just don't think you can do it. You just can't do cases like this -- like that," said Momot.
While Prosecutor Christopher Owens disagrees, Momot said Amador's approach doomed the case.
"It's the hardest fought case I've ever been in, and to hear that the defendant didn't get a fair trial just seems ridiculous to me," said Owens.
Each side will meet again later this month to restart the case and decide if Rudin would be free until the new trial. The original trial cost taxpayers was $179,000. Owens expects that figure to jump considerably.
Amador did not answer calls for comment.
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9556551&nav=168XDWn7