Prosecutors attempted to "follow the money" in the insurance
fraud trial of boxing promoter Don King. A "tour of King's
books" conducted in court yesterday by Richard Hummers, former
VP/ Finance for Don King Productions, raised a "potentially
damaging question: 'Where's the money?'" Specifically, Hummers
noted that a $270,000 portion of the insurance settlement King
received for non-refundable training expenses paid to Julio Cesar
Chavez was missing. According to Hummers, King refused to credit
that amount against a list of debts owned by Chavez to Don King
Productions, saying he wanted to use the money to pay another
legal debt Chavez owed. But King waited more than two years to
pay $375,000 in legal fees to Sidley & Austin, which provide
counsel for Don King Productions, "and it wasn't clear the
payment was to settle Chavez's debt" (Greg Logan, NEWSDAY,
10/27). ESPN's Jimmy Roberts: "He was an eagerly awaited
witness, testifying under a brand of government immunity, and
thought to be in possession of perhaps explosive knowledge.
Instead ... Hummers turned out to be a dud at least as far as the
government was concerned" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 10/26).
