Businessman Had Attorney, Ex-Employee Killed After Court Losses: LA County DA

LOS ANGELES, CA — A former businessman accused of orchestrating the execution-style killings of a prominent South Bay attorney and a former employee has been charged with two counts of murder more than a decade after the slayings, prosecutors announced Monday.

Richard Wall Sr., 72, is accused of arranging the killings of attorney Jeffrey Tidus in 2009 and former employee Juan Mendez in 2011 after both men prevailed in legal disputes connected to Wall and his business interests, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

"When Richard Wall Sr. lost lawsuits, instead of appealing the verdicts, he allegedly decided to kill those who opposed him in court," District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.

Prosecutors charged Wall with two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. The criminal complaint also includes special circumstance allegations of multiple murders, lying in wait and murder for financial gain.

Tidus, 53, was gunned down outside his Rolling Hills Estates home on Dec. 7, 2009. Wall arranged the killing after Tidus secured a $1.7 million settlement in 2007 against a friend of Wall's. Wall hired a co-conspirator who carried out the shooting and later informed him the killing had been completed, prosecutors claim.

Authorities also accused Wall of arranging the 2011 killing of Mendez, a former employee of Wall's company, Welded Fixtures.

Mendez, 35, had sued Wall, claiming he was denied overtime pay. After Mendez won a judgment worth roughly $300,000 in January 2011, prosecutors claim Wall hired a co-conspirator to kill him before the judgment became final.

The gunman went to Mendez's Whittier apartment on Feb. 26, 2011, knocked on the door and shot him in front of his children. Mendez attempted to flee after being wounded but was killed. The co-conspirator later notified Wall that the killing had been carried out, prosecutors claim.

The lawsuit was dismissed days later, on March 7, 2011, before the judgment was finalized.

Hochman said the victims' families have spent more than 15 years waiting for justice.

"These were vicious and callous murders that we believe came at the behest of Mr. Wall, who thought killing two people would end his legal problems," Hochman said.

Wall was extradited from Montenegro, where authorities claim he had been living after fleeing during the investigation.

He made an initial court appearance Monday, but his arraignment was postponed until July 1 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.

If convicted, Wall faces a potential sentence of life in prison.

The investigation remains ongoing. Prosecutors noted Wall is also considered a suspect in a separate homicide in Las Vegas.