Phil Spector’s legal dream team has lost its star.
On the final day of testimony in the music producer’s sensational slay trial, his celebrity lawyer, Bruce Cutler, yesterday announced he was leaving the case over “a difference of opinion between Mr. Spector and me on strategy.”
Cutler, the New York legal eagle best known for defending “Dapper Don” mob boss John Gotti, had been Spector’s lead lawyer but was largely a no-show in court in Los Angeles, spending most of his time appearing on the syndicated TV show “Jury Duty.”
It was not clear whether Cutler quit or was fired.
Spector later told reporters that Cutler “shouldn’t do the closing argument because it wouldn’t be in my best interest.
“I thought he would be a target with the judge and prosecutors and that he wouldn’t be taken as seriously as he should. With his television show, he wasn’t here as much as he should have been,” Spector said.