Cavallo in a previous booking photo.
Official Booking Information on the felony arrest of attorney Joseph Cavallo obtained by HMG-CN via the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
UPDATE: Tuesday, July 15, 2014: The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office released the following information to members of the media regarding the arrest of Cavallo and others in this case that was EXCLUSIVELY REPORTED by HEWS MEDIA GROUP-COMMUNITY NEWS last week. Since then the story has been reported around the world.
German National, Two Attorneys Charged with Trying to Extort a Saudi Sheik’s Son
A woman who falsely claimed she was sexually assaulted and tortured by a Saudi sheik’s son along with the woman’s two attorneys were charged today with conspiracy to extort one of the wealthiest men in Saudi Arabia, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Leyla Ors (dob 2/24/81), Joseph Gerard Cavallo (dob 8/18/55), and Emanuel Karl Hudson (dob 1/08/56) are charged in case BA427039 with attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to receive a bribe and conspiracy to obstruct justice. In addition, Ors is charged with one count of offering to receive a bribe by a witness. Deputy District Attorneys Deborah Delport and Stephanie Sparagna with the Justice System Integrity
Division are prosecuting the case.
Ors, a German national, is scheduled to be arraigned today at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in
Department 30. Prosecutors will ask that her bail be set at $35,000. Cavallo is scheduled to be
arraigned sometime Tuesday. Hudson is due in court July 31 for arraignment.
Ors told police in March that she had been raped and tortured by Thamer Albalwi, the 23-year-old son
of one of the wealthiest men in Saudi Arabia, Sheikh (CK) Monsur Albalwi. Based on her allegations, a
physical exam and visible injuries, Albalwi was charged March 13 with four counts of sexual assault.
But in June, Hudson spoke by phone with Albalwi’s father and told him that for $15 million, Ors would not testify against the son and “the case would be over.” On the same day, Cavallo spoke by phone to Sheikh Albalwi and said the demand was $20 million and Hudson would set up an account in Lucerne
(Switzerland), according to the overt acts in the complaint. The three were arrested Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery/Homicide Division. Ors remains in custody. Cavallo and Hudson bonded out.
EXCLUSIVE UPDATE- 9:21 p.m. on Friday, July 11:
Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper has been told that a second suspect has been arrested involving this extortion case. The adult female suspect was taken into custody on Friday and is currently being booked and processed at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood. HMG-CN will continue to update this situation during the next several days.
UPDATE- 10:15 a.m. on Friday, July 11
HMG-CN was told by a source that the target of the conspiracy to commit extortion was Thamer Mansour Albalwi, the son of Sheikh Mansour Albalwi of Jeddah, Saudi. Thamer Albalwi is not a royal Saudi prince.
UPDATE: 11:20 p.m.: Attorney Joseph Cavallo has been released from a Los Angeles Police Department Jail stationed in Downtown Los Angeles on Thursday evening after posting a $50,000 bond. More details to follow.
By Brian Hews and Brian Hews
Powerhouse Attorney Joseph Gerard Cavallo was arrested on Thursday in a case involving a Saudi Royal Prince in Los Angeles, Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper has learned exclusively.
Cavallo is being charged with conspiracy to commit extortion in the case, HMG-CN has learned.
Cavallo pleaded guilty to three felonies stemming from a kickback scheme in which bail agents steered business his way back in 2009.
Cavallo is expected to post a $50,000 bond sometime Thursday night.
Cavallo is the attorney who testified against former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona in his federal trial. He represented Don Haidl’s son in a high profile rape case and Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo.
HMG-CN is working on specific details about the Cavallo arrest and will have additional updates throughout the night.
The identification of the woman who was arrested with Cavallo has not been identified.