Here it comes, the Dominick and Mark Show, joined by, maybe--now and then for added drama--Orenthal! Mr. Dunne, who has in latter years dedicated himself to solving every single so-called "celebrity" murder and to announcing his verdicts even before the jury is chosen--and Mr. Furhman, who by committing perjury about his racist remarks, did more to derail the case against Orenthal Simpson (although Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden contributed mightily) have apparently, like, bonded; although in fairness to Mr. Furhman, it should be noted that Mr. Dunne seems much more committed to the relationship (praising the cop repeatedly in Vanity Fair), but then, Mr. Furhman doesn't strike one as being one of your more passionate or emotional cops, whereas Mr. Dunne quivers with emotion, always. 

     In Los Angeles recently to promote his new nonfiction book (and, from a good table at Spago, to observe Los Angeles for his regular "in depth" reports about the horrors of our city, horrors that caused him to flee to the peaceful, clean, and unviolent City of New York with its sweetly bucolic air), Mr. Dunne announced he intends to get to the truth about the reasons for the murders of Kitty and Jose Menendez by their two sons. How? How else! By asking Lyle himself--he's in prison for life. "I bet they let me come, I bet Lyle does," he predicted, with his usual self-confident passion.

     Never mind that Mr. Dunne doubted that there had been any molestation whatsoever in the Menendez case, although some of us who may be knowledgeable in the area heard the unmistakable ring of truth in the testimony of the two young men about molestation by their father (whatever else they may have lied about), details that could be reported only by those who may have experienced something of the sort--including the horror that may lie behind a closed door that threatens to open at any moment, when, on the other side, there is someone--in this case Father Menendez--who may rush out to terrorize…..

     Now about Mr. Dunne's buddy, Mr. Fuhrman: He has a radio show--no, he's not a disc jockey yet--in Spokane. He, too, goes about delving into "the truth," although he wasn't able to tell it during the Simpson trial.... To round out accounts: Orenthal Simpson--still assiduously searching every golf hole for the murderer of his ex-wife and her friend, Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman--bragged in a recent New Yorker Magazine article about all the women he can easily get. Dunne, Furhman & Simpson! Take it on the road, dudes, like Timothy Leary and Gordon Liddy did, a barrel of laughs, those two. Think about what those three could do: Call it "Crimes of the Rich and Famous," a phrase Mr. Dunne inspired during his recent Los Angeles visit, when he went on to proclaim verdicts on Representative Gary Condit and the disappearance of Chandra Levy, and to announce his participation in reporting on the case of publicist Lizzy Grubman, who gunned down patrons in a Hamptons nightclub in a snit over being asked to remove her father's Mercedes SUV from a no-parking lane. With a bunnyish, slightly naughty smile, Mr. Dunne congratulated himself: "As you can see, I'm not attracted to street crime, I like rich people crime."

     Oh, too bad. He might do some good if he investigated the death of homeless woman Margaret Mitchell (what an ironic name, that of the small, frail woman killed by a cop because he thought she was about to menace him with a screwdriver--and the nervous cop isn't even being prosecuted). Please, Mr. Dunne, just consider putting your ample resources and sleuthing expertise, and the access your celebrity gives you to the media--please consider investigating the injustice of Margaret Mitchell's killing. Then, Mr. Dunne, please go out on "the streets" now and then and tell your readers what's happening every day to the unrich and the unfamous out there.

John Rechy
Los Angeles, California
August 2001

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Original material by John Rechy appears frequently on these pages.