O. J. Simpson denies robbing sports memorabilia dealer

Washington, September 19 : Former American football star O.J. Simpson has denied that he robbed a sports memorabilia dealer at a hotel recently.

He pleaded his innocence, saying that the memorabilia in question was already stolen stuff.

"Everybody knows this is stolen stuff. Not only wasn't there a break-in, but Thomas Riccio (the auction house owner) escorted us up to the room. In any event, it's stolen stuff that's mine. Nobody was roughed up,” Contactmusic quoted him as saying.

"I'm O.J. Simpson. How am I going to rob somebody and get away with it? This is somebody going to get his private (belongings) back. That's it. That's not robbery. I don't hang out with gangsters; I hang out with golfers," he added.

The sportsman-turned-actor allegedly raided a suite at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas last Thursday, pretending to be part of a group interested in buying memorabilia items from collector Alfred Beardsley.

The articles included the suit that Simpson wore when he was acquitted of the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.

Simpson now faces charges including robbery with a deadly weapon, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. (With inputs from ANI)

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