Man Who Headed Nicole Simpson Fund Is Accused Wife-Beater

LOS ANGELES - It was intended to be a lasting memorial to Nicole Brown Simpson, a nonprofit organization committed to stamping out the domestic violence she allegedly suffered at the hands of her ex-husband and accused killer, O.J. Simpson.

Unveiled last December at New York's posh Rainbow Room, the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation quickly took in tens of thousands of dollars in donations - to be spent, her grieving family said, on a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about spousal abuse and fund the shelters that serve its victims.

But in the months that have followed, the Browns' philanthropic efforts have been blemished by a series of gaffes and misfires that have both embarrassed the family and undermined the foundation's credibility.

The founding president of the Nicole Brown Simpson fund, records show, is a convicted felon and accused spousal batterer, who was once named in a domestic restraining order for posing a "clear and present danger" to his estranged wife and two children.

Jeff C. Noebel, 40, a Dallas businessman, is awaiting sentencing in U.S. District Court for lying to federal authorities in a savings-and-loan investment scam, one of his many business ventures that have left a trail of bankruptcies and lawsuits from Texas to California.

"I guess you'd call us novices," said family patriarch Louis Brown, 71, who asked Noebel to step down in March after a tabloid reporter tipped the family to his checkered past. "I get bitter with myself for thinking how stupid we were."

The Browns also have accepted donations from a host of controversial sponsors, many of whom profit from scandal - prompting others in the fight against domestic violence to question the family's judgment.

According to tax records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, contributors to the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation have included: Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione ($10,000); Geraldo Rivera and his associated companies ($35,000); the National Enquirer's parent corporation ($5,000); No Excuses, the jeans maker that has hitched itself to some of America's most sensational liaisons ($50,000); and Dove Audio, publisher of Faye Resnick's sexually explicit book about Nicole, which Louis Brown denounced as "trash" ($10,000).

When asked about the funding, Brown said he saw no problem taking money from anyone willing to aid the fight against spousal abuse, regardless of their motivation.

But the leaders of several prominent domestic violence organizations, both on a national level and in Southern California, said they would never dream of taking funds from some of those sources, whom they accused of fueling the culture that demeans and exploits women in the first place.

So far, it is difficult to gauge precisely what the work of the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation entails.

Denise Brown, the organization's spokeswoman and chief executive officer, did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.

According to their 1994 tax statement, the only financial documents made public by the foundation, show that $153,888 was raised last December, the group's first month in operation. Of that, $5,525 was spent on legal fees, $314 on postage and $19 on supplies.

Each time a donation of at least $5 is received, the foundation offers its thanks with a small angel pin. Close to 10,000 of them have been handed out. But since incorporating on Nov. 30, 1994, the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation has yet to issue a grant.

Noebel, a financier who made his first million before his 30th birthday, had been introduced to both Nicole and Denise Brown several years ago by a mutual friend.

Noebel rekindled his acquaintance with Denise Brown shortly after the murders of her sister and her friend Ronald Goldman last June, presenting her with an outline of his vision for a charitable mission.

At the time, however, Noebel's life was complicated by a few other matters that seemed at odds with his charitable work.

Noebel was under federal indictment in Texas for a scam that allegedly bilked 14 investors out of $875,000.

Rather than face trial, Noebel agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in February to one count of making a false statement to U.S. banking regulators.

In exchange, prosecutors will request a reduction in what would have been a maximum two-year prison term when he is sentenced Aug. 11.

Even before his criminal conviction, records show, Noebel was enmeshed in a long history of legal and financial troubles. He has been scolded by a bankruptcy judge for using the court system to evade creditors. He has been sued by the City of Dallas and the Dallas Independent School District for not paying property taxes and has been slapped with a lien by the Internal Revenue Service for skirting $85,000 in income taxes.

Court documents also show that Noebel's estranged wife has accused him of a pattern of stalking and abuse that came to head in June 1994, just days after Nicole Brown Simpson was killed.

Testifying in their divorce proceedings, Leisa Marie Noebel, 37, said she came home from work to find Noebel in a rage.

Twice that day, Noebel's wife called police to the house, although she declined to press charges, according to Dallas Police Department records.

Noebel, who is the father of two young boys, dismisses his wife's charges as a ploy in their custody battle. "Abuse is the allegation de jour," he said, not exactly sounding like an advocate for battered women.