Murder charges dropped against ex-LA businessman accused of two contract killings

Murder counts against Richard Wall Sr., extradited from Montenegro, have been dismissed due to restrictions in the extradition agreement. He still faces two conspiracy charges.

Murder charges dropped against ex-LA businessman in contract killing case

Murder charges against former Los Angeles businessman Richard Wall Sr. have been dismissed, nbclosangeles.com reports, after prosecutors found that the terms of his extradition from Montenegro made it impossible to proceed on those counts.

Wall Sr. was extradited from Montenegro earlier this year and stood accused of orchestrating two murders-for-hire carried out more than a decade ago. The LA County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday that the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice had refused to extradite him on murder charges due to concerns over the applicable penalties.

"We respectfully note that this limitation arises from the extradition decision of the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice in connection with the defendant's extradition, specifically the refusal to extradite on murder charges due to penalty concerns," Deputy District Attorney Hilary Williams told the court.

Wall Sr. continues to face two conspiracy charges linked to the same killings. He is being held without bail and is due back in court later this month to enter pleas.

According to the DA's office, Wall hired a hitman to kill attorney Jeffrey Tidus outside his Rolling Hills Estates home in 2009. Tidus had won a $1.7 million settlement in a civil case brought against a friend of Wall's, and that friend allegedly wanted him dead.

Two years later, in 2011, Wall allegedly arranged the killing of former employee Juan Mendez in Whittier. Mendez had previously secured a $300,000 judgement against Wall for unpaid overtime.

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)