LOS ANGELES -- O.J. Simpson's scuttled book about the hypothetical murder of his ex-wife appeared for sale on the Internet on Wednesday, attracting bids of $1,500 within the first two hours.

The controversial book and a two-part television interview were dropped by media conglomerate News Corp. on Monday after a public outcry from advertisers, booksellers and relatives of the dead.

News Corp had said it was recalling and would destroy all copies of the book, "If I Did It," that were shipped to retailers in advance of publication on Nov 30.

But a copy of the book, touted as an imaginary account of how Simpson would have killed ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994, was being offered on eBay on Wednesday from a seller in Texas.

"Up for auction is the authentic "IF I DID IT" book by OJ Simpson," the seller said in an eBay posting.

"Whether you think he is guilty or not a jury of his peers found him innocent, so who are we to judge. Anyway I received a true copy of this book, did not read it, do not want to read it, but want to sell it," the posting added.

Two hours after being posted, the book had received 40 bids, the highest at $1,500.

The book appeared on eBay two days after another posting on the site by someone eager to track down a copy, and a posting by someone trying to sell the e-mail address OJ.IDidit@gmail.com. The seller described it as an e-mail "to profit from the resurrected OJ craze."

The former football star and TV pitchman has always maintained his innocence and was acquitted in 1995 of charges he committed the bloody June 1994 murders.

But a civil court jury in 1997 found him liable for the deaths and awarded the victims' families $33.5 million in damages, which Simpson has vowed never to pay voluntarily. Little of the judgment has ever been collected.

The taped interview, also ditched this week by News Corp, was expected to find its way in some form to the Internet. Popular video site YouTube on Wednesday had several spoof and satirical amateur videos on the topic but no authentic tape.

(Washington Post)
A hot ass mess! This just proves to me that bootleggers don't fuck around. If they want your shit, the streets WILL be seeing it, whether or not the publisher/label/production company wants you to or not.