Fmr. O.J. Simpson Attorney Skeptical Over Knife Discovery

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The L.A.P.D. is testing a knife reportedly found buried on the perimeter of O.J. Simpson's former estate.

O.J.'s former attorney based in Miami says he is skeptical of the discovery.

"I've heard stories like this through the years. I think it's very coincidental that FX is showing a miniseries about O.J. and news like this pops up this morning," said attorney Yale Galanter.

But the L.A.P.D. said Friday a construction worker reportedly found the knife years ago.

The worker is said to have taken it to a cop who was off-duty and working in the traffic division at the time.

"The actual item was described as a knife," said Andrew Neiman with the L.A.P.D.

The officer reportedly took the knife and kept it for years until late January of this year. Neiman said they do not know if the officer was retired at the time he received the knife but they do know he retired sometime in the late 90s.

That's when he allegedly contacted a friend who worked in the L.A.P.D's homicide division saying he had the knife.

His friend allegedly told the top brass about it who ordered him to give up the knife.

"According to him, he thought the case was closed, since the case was no longer being prosecuted," Neiman said. "(He) did not realize the legalities that a case like this remains open until there is a conviction."

The knife is now being tested for hair and fingerprints and later it will be tested for DNA and other biological evidence.

The L.A.P.D. says no administrative action will be taken against the retired officer who had the knife but robbery and homicide detectives are looking into possible criminal charges. They are not releasing his name at this time.

As for the construction worker, the L.A.P.D says they are still looking for that person.

Back in 1995, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty in the murder case of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. This means he cannot be prosecuted again since it would be double jeopardy.

Galanter agrees.

"O.J. Simpson will never face additional charges for the murder of Nicole and Ron," he said.

Meantime, Simpson is in prison in Nevada.  As for what's up next for him, Galanter said, Simpson is up for parole in 2017 and  they expect him to be released.

CBS4's Eliott Rodriguez asked him, "Do you think that this sentence that he is serving now in Nevada is in any way law enforcement retaliating against him for his acquittal?"

Galanter responded, "I wouldn't say that its law enforcement but I definitely think it's payback for the California murders and the acquittal. I think that the jury in Nevada is just disgusted with his past behavior so they weren't willing to give him a pass on what he did in terms of getting his own family memorabilia back.  I think people are just disgusted with what he's done and how he's behaved in his lifetime."

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