Attorney Malcolm LaVergne: 'No doubt' OJ Simpson goes to Florida after prison

O.J. Simpson will live in Florida after he is released on parole from a Nevada prison where he has been held for the past nine years for a robbery conviction, his lawyer said Friday.

FILE - In this July 20, 2017, file photo, former NFL football star O.J. Simpson enters for his parole hearing at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nev. (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, Pool, File)

Attorney Malcolm LaVergne didn't specify where the former sports and movie star would live, although Tom Scotto, a close friend who lives in Naples, Florida, has offered his home. Scotto didn't respond to messages seeking comment.

"He's going to Florida," LaVergne said. "There's no doubt he's going to Florida."

However, the state attorney general doesn't want Simpson to come back. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter Friday to the Florida Department of Corrections, urging it to tell Nevada officials that Florida objects to Simpson serving his parole in the southern state.

FILE - In this July 20, 2017 file photo, former NFL football star O.J. Simpson reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nev.  (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, Pool, File)

"Floridians are well aware of Mr. Simpson's background, his wanton disregard for the lives of others, and of his scofflaw attitude with respect to the heinous acts for which he has been found civilly liable," Bondi said in the letter. "Our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal."

Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. But he was found liable for their deaths in a civil case in 1997 and ordered to pay the victims' families $33.5 million.

Florida corrections officials have said in the past that they must accept the transfer if Nevada's request meets the established criteria. A Florida corrections spokeswoman, Ashley Cook, said her agency has not received a transfer request or documents about Simpson.

FILE - This Oct. 1, 2008 file photo Tom Scotto testifies during O.J. Simpson's trial at the Clark County Regional Justice Center, in Las Vegas. O.J. Simpson will live in Florida following his parole from a Nevada state prison where the former football star and celebrity criminal defendant has been held for the last nine years.(Jessica Ebelhar/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool,File)

He becomes eligible for release Sunday, but LaVergne said he doesn't know where or when it will happen. He expects to learn more when Simpson notifies him that he is being moved from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada.

Release plans are in motion but need to be finalized for Simpson to be freed, perhaps as early as Monday in Las Vegas, Nevada prisons official Brooke Keast said. Citing safety concerns, she said the plans were not being made public.

Simpson's attorney said he will begin pressing for answers if his client is not free by Oct. 8. LaVergne said he spoke with Simpson by telephone Thursday and that he is excited about his pending freedom.

FILE - This May 16, 2013 file photo Malcolm LaVergne, O.J. Simpson's attorney on appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court, testifies during an evidentiary hearing testimony for Simpson in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. LaVergne said Friday, Sept. 29, 2017.(Jeff Scheid, /Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool,File)

"He's really looking forward to the simple pleasures," LaVergne said. "Seeing his family on the outside, spending time with them, eating food that's not packaged."

Simpson wants to eat steak and seafood and get a new iPhone, LaVergne told ABC's "Good Morning America."

Simpson won parole in July after serving nine years of a possible 33-year sentence for his 2008 conviction on armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers often show up to work in suits. Until further notice, they're wearing robes.

Let's explain: The Stanley Cup champion Panthers got personalized bathrobes for their two-game trip to Finland last week, a gift from the team. They showed up for the two games there wearing the robes. They won both games.

And since hockey streaks are never messed with, the robes are still in style. Every Panthers player showed up at the arena Thursday wearing their robes — which remain unbeaten. Florida beat Nashville 6-2.

“I think we're just going to ride it out until our luck runs out,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said.

So, the robes will be worn again when the Panthers return to the ice Saturday?

“There's a very good chance,” Tkachuk said.

It was a spur-of-the-moment idea by the Panthers to wear the robes — a nod to Finland's sauna culture — to the games in Tampere last week. The defending Stanley Cup champions decided at their morning skate Thursday to keep the new tradition alive, with captain Aleksander Barkov sending a message to the team group chat saying to wear the robes to work.

“You've got to be some kind of superstitious at some point, right?" Barkov said. "While it’s working for us, we'll keep going with that.”

Evidently, some were skeptical and thinking they were getting pranked. Aaron Ekblad was only convinced after Tkachuk snapped a photo of himself wearing his robe in his car on the way to the arena.

“Everybody thought there was a prank being played on them,” Tkachuk said. “I tell you what, it's the most comfortable thing ever. It's nice and we're having fun with it. We're a very professional team when it comes to work. We come to the rink and we work. But it's such a long year. You've got to have fun.”

Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito said the robe idea actually started with Lucy Tallas, the wife of Florida goaltending coach Robb Tallas.

“We have to give the true credit — it was Lucy's idea," Zito said earlier this week.

Florida coach Paul Maurice loves anything that brings a team closer together, and the robe-wearing era for the Panthers seems to be something they're all enjoying.

“Those are the best that have nothing to do with anything but the players,” Maurice said. “Those are the best things that happen. It took some courage to walk into an NHL rink in a robe and I think it got them to start on time.”

Maurice got a robe in Finland as well. But he will arrive for work on Saturday in a suit, just as he did Thursday.

“Nobody — nobody — needs to see that,” Maurice said. “These fine people pay way too much money to be subjected to those nightmares.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice, center top, looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Florida Panthers left wing Tomas Nosek, left, celebrates with left wing A.J. Greer, right, after scoring a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)