SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The trial of three men accused of trying to extort money from Russell Crowe was postponed Monday because of media coverage of the case.
Philip Antony Cropper, 36, and Malcolm Brian Mercer, 37, are accused of trying to blackmail the Oscar-winning "Gladiator" star. They also are charged, along with Mark James Potts, 42, with perverting the course of justice.
They face a maximum sentence of 14 years if convicted.
The trio is accused of trying to extort a large sum of money from Crowe in exchange for destroying a security video which allegedly shows him involved in a fight outside a night club in 1999 in Coffs Harbor, the east coast Australian
town where the actor owns a ranch.
In a pretrial hearing at the Coffs Harbor District Court, Judge David Freeman agreed to postpone the trial because of concerns about weekend media reports.
Freeman said he didn't intend to muzzle the press. "I am simply asking that you exercise good judgment," he told reporters.
Crowe was not in court for the hearing. The case is expected back before the court in June but no date was set.
Philip Antony Cropper, 36, and Malcolm Brian Mercer, 37, are accused of trying to blackmail the Oscar-winning "Gladiator" star. They also are charged, along with Mark James Potts, 42, with perverting the course of justice.
They face a maximum sentence of 14 years if convicted.
The trio is accused of trying to extort a large sum of money from Crowe in exchange for destroying a security video which allegedly shows him involved in a fight outside a night club in 1999 in Coffs Harbor, the east coast Australian
town where the actor owns a ranch.
In a pretrial hearing at the Coffs Harbor District Court, Judge David Freeman agreed to postpone the trial because of concerns about weekend media reports.
Freeman said he didn't intend to muzzle the press. "I am simply asking that you exercise good judgment," he told reporters.
Crowe was not in court for the hearing. The case is expected back before the court in June but no date was set.
