Legal battles sap Spector’s fortune

As a Californian jury continues to consider whether Phil Spector is guilty of the murder of actress Lana Clarkson - the 12 jurors began their deliberations on March 27 and have yet to return - questions have been raised over how much money the legendary music producer has blown on his six-year battle to clear his name, and how little he may have left.
 
The eccentric 69-year-old – who invented the Sixties 'wall of sound' production technique – had amassed a $50 million fortune from hits down the years including the Righteous Brothers' You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling  and Ike and Tina Turner's River Deep Mountain High.

But Spector's vast wealth is thought to have been severely depleted after facing two criminal trials. He has spared no expense, hiring 11 defence lawyers (including one who charged $1 million for a year of representation), four private investigators, five para-legals, a jury consultant and a host of expert witnesses. Last year he also donated thousands of dollars to Barack Obama's presidential campaign (which the Democrats plan to return).
 
"I doubt there is one-tenth of one per cent of people in this country who can afford what Mr Spector has had to put together so far for his defence," his current lawyer, Doron Weinberg, told the Los Angeles Times.
 
Clarkson, a former B-movie star, was found shot dead in Spector's home in 2003. In his first murder trial in 2007 the jury reached a deadlock of 10-2 in favour of conviction. But as a unanimous verdict is required under Californian law, the music producer was forced to defend his innocence a second time.
 
Spector, who still arrives in court each day in a chaffeur-driven car, has discussed raising money by selling the publishing rights to some of his songs, court files show.
 
His financial woes will not be over after the jury returns its verdict. Even if he wins his retrial - and can recoup some of his legal costs - he still faces an OJ Simpson-style civil suit from Lana Clarkson's mother, Donna. ·