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What does famed movie director and convicted pedophile Roman Polanski have in common with scandalous former Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi?
No, Renzi’s never been accused of having sex with a 13-year-old at Jack Nicholson’s house.
What the two have in common is that when they’ve faced intense legal heat, they’ve turned to the same attorney: Washington D.C.’s Reid Weingarten, whom Polanski added to his legal team this week.
When the Swiss government wanted to extradite Polanski to the United States on a 31-year-old fugitive warrant, he decided Weingarten was his man. Just as Renzi had when he got indicted on 35 federal charges in that land-swap deal.
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Polanski directed classics like Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown and won an Academy Award for The Pianist a few years ago.
He was arrested in the Zurich airport last week and faces extradition to the States for committing unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 (he pleaded guilty to the charge and fled to Europe as he awiting sentencing).
That is, unless new politically plugged-in super attorney Weingarten can get the dogs called off. He’s reportedly close friends with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who may have something to say about whether Polanski’s brought back.
Hiring Weingarten seemed to work for Renzi. The ex-congressman’s yet to stand trial.
