The Max Factor heir who was recaptured in Mexico last week after fleeing a 124-year rape sentence justified his crimes in a journal he kept while on the run. He also wrote a "payback" list which included the prosecutor in his case and two of his victims.
Andrew Luster, who is in jail in California after being caught by a bounty hunter in the seaside resort of Puerto Vallarta, kept a journal during his five months on the run. He even wrote down "beard dye/hair dye" on his list of things to do.
The journal was left in the hotel room where he had been staying and details were published on Sunday in the Ventura County Star, Luster's local paper. Luster had fled the US in January midway through his trial in which he was alleged to have drugged and videotaped his victims. He was convicted in his absence.
"They were trying to do him in for having sex with two of his past girlfriends," wrote Luster, using the third person for himself, "lock him up forever for being with two girls he had slept with 100 times each. Yes, they were in an extreme state of inebriation and a vid. But this as any actively sexual person knows is not outside the grounds of ethical play."
The names of the three women he was convicted of raping were listed on a page headed "payback." He also listed the detectives and police officers who interviewed him and the district attorneys who prosecuted him.
He described them as "government robots" who had been trying to advance their careers and complained: "to want to take a good man's life and destroy his family ... was nothing short of ruthless and much more to the point of unforgivable."
The journal included the names of topless bars in the area and Luster noted a number of pick-up lines in Spanish.
The journal also listed some of the business deals he was trying to initiate and named people with whom he appeared to be having financial dealings. He was angry with some of his associates and wrote down complaints about delays in getting money to him.
Luster, 39, the great-grandson of the founder of the Max Factor cosmetics firm, also jotted down his more mundane concerns, such as the need to buy lime and ice and where he could get his surfboard fixed.
The bounty hunters who tracked him to Puerto Vallarta will discover today what their legal fate will be. They were arrested along with Luster last week during the street brawl that took place Puerto Vallarta. The three bounty hunters, including their leader, Duane "Dog" Chapman, and two members of a camera crew were released on US$300 bail at the weekend but have to appear in court today. The judge could either release them without charge or they could face trial for attempted kidnap.
The FBI has not offered any assistance to Chapman, saying that they were on Luster's trail and would soon have caught up with him.
Chapman was hoping to be paid US$150,000 for the capture but the FBI indicated last week that he may only be entitled to a share of a US$10,000 reward.
Luster is in jail near Bakersfield in California where he will start his sentence. His lawyers have indicated that they will seek to appeal against his conviction.
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