The continuing saga of Roman Polanski … justice derailed?

Photo of Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski, taken by David Bailey in 1969. The photo will be auctioned off at Christie's photograph sale on December 7.

Sharon was murdered shortly after this photo was taken. Eight years later Roman raped a 13-year old girl.

It’s been awhile since we’ve talked about Roman Polanski. You know, the acclaimed Academy award-winning director who agreed to plea guilty to engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, but he really did a lot more than that. He accepted a plea deal and should have been grateful for the opportunity.

Instead, he underwent his court-ordered psychological evaluation, charmed the socks off of the prison shrinks and staff, was released after only 45 days, and then decided the judge was going to be mean to him and give him more jail time.

Adios, Roman. Instead of serving whatever time and then being deported, he skipped the serving time part and self-deported.

Or rather, he ran. He didn’t show up for his sentencing. He didn’t show up for the civil suit, initiated by his victim Samantha, in 1988.

It’s also a fact that Samantha wants the whole rape thing dropped.

Polanski has been cooling his jets in a Swiss jail since the end of September. The Swiss authorities were letting the wheels of justice turn, albeit slowly, and did not release Polanski (despite those Internet petitions) nor was bail something being discussed. The Swiss authorities considered Polanski a flight risk.

So Polanski spent his days in that Swiss jail receiving preferential treatment, access to the phone, charming the guards, losing 30 pounds because “he’s depressed.”

The Los Angeles County authorities were working on their extradition case even though Swiss authorities would not guarantee they’d turn Polanski over.

Stalemate. Until politicians got involved again.

In late November, French President Nicholas Sarkozy intervened with the Swiss authorities and managed to get them to agree to let Polanski put up bail of $4.5 million and move into his alpine chalet. He’ll be wearing a bracelet that will allow police to monitor Polanski in the home, but it does not include a GPS device that will allow him to be tracked should he bolt.

A commercial security service team is wiring Polanski’s chalet in preparation of his release.

Yeah that’s going to work. All he’s got to do is walk quickly out the door and get his rear end back to France. Switzerland will then be able to put that $4.5 million to good use, and France will have her favorite son back home.

It’s been theorized that Sarkozy’s ex-wife Carla Bruni pressured the president into butting in, as she and Sarkozy and Polanski and his wife Emmanuelle Seigner were BFFs back in the day.

In the meantime, Polanski’s U.S.-based attorneys will pop up in court yet again on December 10 and try to get the whole thing thrown out for good.

Okay, for argument’s sake let’s say that gets dropped. We still have a man who has made an unlawful flight from justice, who has ignored subpoenas and basically flipped the bird at the American justice system. Oh it was all well and good when Vincent Bugliosi put his wife and son’s murderers away. But now that same justice system is picking on an old man (note sarcasm).

The only good thing, if there is anything good about this whole bail thing, is Swiss law requires all of the bail be put up—no bonding out by paying a percentage of the bail. The entire $4.5 million will be handed over before Polanski walks.

It is expected that Polanski will cough up the cash on Friday, December 4. Home for the holidays. How nice.

Time for Roman Polanski to man up and face the music. Time to stop hiding behind Carli Bruni’s skirts (and other Hollywood types) and face the consequences for poor choices. He certainly is willing to take Americans’ hard-earned money when they paid to see his movies. He took those American dollars, lived the life of an international man of mystery, denying responsibility for any wrongdoing. He should be willing to face American justice, too. What’s the worst that can happen? A year in jail, he’ll do a day for a day, and probably charm the correctional officers. Then he'll get deported, but he'll self-pay for a nice first-class ticket back to his motherland.

Message to Roman: Upon finally returning to the U.S. to put an end to this whole ugly episode in your life that would have been totally resolved and forgotten about over a half-century ago had you done the right thing, perhaps you could talk the police into swinging by Sharon and Paul Richard’s grave at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City to pay your respects before they take you to jail. Once you are done with that, I think OJ's celebrity cell is probably being held just for you.

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