Kaplan Denied Bail Again

BetonSports (BoS) founder Gary Kaplan will stay in jail while he awaits trial.

U.S. District Court Judge Carol Jackson ruled in a St. Louis court today that Kaplan poses far too great a flight risk to be released on house arrest.

Jackson on Sept. 5 heard evidence as to how Kaplan would be reasonably secure at the $1.4 million home his wife had purchased in a St. Louis neighborhood. Kaplan's lawyer, Dick Deguerin, laid out elaborate plans for a private security detail that was to be financed by Kaplan. Testimony from Thomas Griffin, owner of the private security firm that would have kept watch over the Kaplan home, did little to reassure the prosecution--or Jackson.

Griffin conceded he had not had much time to prepare the plan and that it still needed work.

Moreover, since Kaplan was planning to finance the security detail, U.S. Marshals expressed their concern over the effectiveness of leaving the security of the defendant in the hands of those indebted to him.

Besides the flawed security proposal, Jackson ruled that, based on Kaplan's history and what he was in possession of at the time of his arrest, he remains a serious flight risk.

Kaplan was detained in March in the Dominican Republic with five passports from four countries, according to prosecutors. In addition to the passports, Kaplan was found with a handcuff key and a spiral notebook, which included the details of a plan to relocate to Nicaragua where he could "escape the 22," evidently referring to 22-count indictment.

"Kaplan has shown himself to be extremely resourceful in masking his true identity, and he has the financial wherewithal and the contacts to enable him to leave the jurisdiction or the country," court documents said. "This court, therefore, concludes that there is no condition or combination of conditions of release that would reasonable assure the defendant's appearance as required."

Click here to view a copy of the Memorandum and Order on Kaplan's Motion for Review of Detention Order.