State High Court Agrees to Consider Reinstating Gionis Conviction

The state Supreme Court agreed Thursday to consider reinstating Dr. Thomas Gionis’ conviction on charges that he hired thugs to assault his estranged wife, the daughter of the late actor John Wayne, during a child custody battle.

Gionis’ 1992 conviction and five-year prison sentence were overturned in February by the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, which said the prosecutor made an improper verbal attack on Gionis’ lawyer during the trial, and found the trial judge had improperly allowed testimony by an attorney whom Gionis had consulted.

The ruling would have entitled Gionis to a new trial. But the state’s high court, which has the power to reinstate the conviction, said Thursday it had granted a prosecution request for a hearing in the case.

“I’m not very surprised,” said Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans. “I’m just pleased that the justices felt there were reviewable issues, as we did.”

Gionis and his attorney, William J. Kopeny, could not be reached for comment. Wayne also could not be reached.

A first trial for Gionis ended in a mistrial. During a second trial in 1992, he was convicted of four felony counts stemming from the attack on Aissa Wayne and her boyfriend, Roger Luby, outside Luby’s Newport Beach estate in October, 1988. The attack allegedly was prompted by the couple’s custody dispute over daughter Anastasia.

Wayne was tied up and thrown face first onto a garage floor, which caused head injuries. The two attackers pistol-whipped Luby and slashed his Achilles’ tendons before fleeing.

The appellate court criticized former prosecutor Jeoffrey L. Robinson for his “vitriolic rebuttal and personal attacks” on Gionis’ defense attorney, Bruce Cutler, who is known for his flamboyant style and his defense of New York mobster John Gotti.

The appellate court also found that the trial judge improperly allowed jurors to hear incriminating testimony from a family law attorney who once represented Gionis.

State attorneys argued that the evidence of guilt was overwhelming and said the appellate court abused its proper function by undermining the independence of the trial judge, and said a review was necessary. But Kopeny has argued in court records that his client did not get a fair trial, and the appellate court’s findings were accurate.

Gionis remains free on bail.

Three other men have been convicted of their roles in the attack. Private investigator Oded Daniel Gal was sentenced to four years in prison for hiring the two men who carried out the attack on Wayne and Luby. Jeffrey Bouey pleaded guilty of assault and conspiracy, testified for the prosecution and was sentenced to nine months in jail.

Bouey said he held the gun to Wayne’s head while his partner, Jerrel Hintergardt, carried out the attack. Hintergardt was sentenced to eight years in prison.