“Bling Ring” Lawyer Indicted for Bribery
Authorities say an attorney who represents a Calabasas suspect in the “bling ring” celebrity burglary case has been indicted in a separate case for dissuading and bribing a witness.
The L.A. Times reported that Sean G. Erenstoft, 42, pleaded not guilty after prosecutors say that while representing a defendant in a stalking case, he filed a civil case against the victim to dissuade her from testifying against the defendant.
Prosecutors in the grand jury indictment also say that Erenstoft offered to drop the civil case in exchange for favorable testimony at his client’s sentencing. That’s a no-no.
Erenstoft represents Nicholas Prugo, 18, who is accused of burglarizing the homes of Lindsay Lohan and Audrina Partridge.
Police say Prugo say stole more than $170,000 worth of jewelry and designer clothes from the two Hollywood Hills homes. He was arrested in September and released after posting $100,000 bail. He could be sentenced up to six years, which means that he would serve about two, if convicted of all counts.
Prugo, said to be part of a group including two women, who burglarized and ransacked Lohan’s home. Videotape shows a pretty clear picture of him at the crime scenes. The “teen gang” were friends from Indian Hills continuation school in Calabasas.
He is also said to be socially acquainted with at least one of the victims.
