Polanski 'Running Out Of Options'

Director Roman Polanski was "running out of options" to fight extradition to Los Angeles, a prosecutor said, after his bid to unseal transcripts he hoped would bolster he case against prying him from house arrest at his Swiss chalet was rejected by an L.A. judge Monday.

Polanski's legal team had hoped that the testimony of Roger Gunson, a retired prosecutor who worked on the director's sex-with-minor case for 25 years, would shed doubt on the information the District Attorney's office has handed over to Swiss authorities in its extradition request.

" ... The defendant, lacking both case law and facts in support of his position, and obviously running out of options to avoid extradition, makes completely baseless and reckless allegations apparently orchestrated as part of a public relations campaign, rather than being premised on any legal or factual foundation,' Deputy District Attorney David Walgren wrote in response to Polanski's request to unseal the record.

Gunson had bolstered Polanski's argument that the court hadn't been on the level with the director during his proceedings over the years. Failure to disclose this to Swiss, his attorneys argued, amounted to "false statements" issued in order to get him to L.A.

But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza noted that similar requests from Polanski's team have been denied repeatedly, that the Swiss haven't indicated they need the transcript, and that if they wanted the transcript they could get it.

Polanski was convicted in 1977 of having sex with a 13-year-old in Los Angeles. After serving 42 days of "psychiatric evaluation" he believed he had done his time in accordance with a plea agreement. But when the judge in the case indicated more time would be in store for the director, he fled to France. He was nabbed in September after he traveled to Switzerland. He's being held there pending extradition.

-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us.