Spector Still Wants His $1M Back

As the state of California cranks up a second murder trial for Phil Spector, the producer is suing his first attorney for the $1-million non-refundable retainer he paid after his 2003 arrest in the death of actress Lana Clarkson. Spector claims that Robert Shapiro conned him into handing over the cash soon after he left jail, when he was stressed and hadn't been able to take his psychiatric medication.

Spector’s new attorney says Shapiro abused his “position of trust with Mr. Spector, and decided to use Mr. Spector's arrest as an opportunity to make a financial windfall and garner publicity for himself.” Spector fired Shapiro, a member of the "dream team" that won OJ Simpson's acquittal, in 2004. He filed a similar lawsuit that year, and dropped it in 2005. The first trial ended in a hung jury;  a new trial is expected in the fall. (More Phil Spector stories.)