Mel Gibson
Photo: Reuters
Prosecutor in Gibson case removed
Ralph Shapiro, the Jewish Deputy in Charge that arrested Gibson, is reportedly off the case
Ralph Shapiro, the prosecutor who filed DUI charges against Mel Gibson has been removed from the case, reported the showbiz website TMZ.com.
According to the report, Shapiro, Deputy in Charge at the Malibu branch of the D.A.'s office, has been taken off the case. The new deputy D.A. is Gina Satriano, who in the past prosecuted Courtney Love for assault.
TMZ.com contacted D.A. Spokesperson Sandy Gibbons, who said the switch "was not the least bit unusual." Gibbons added that supervisors routinely file cases and then are replaced by trial deputies.
Shapiro, who is Jewish, could not be reached for comment. As TMZ first reported, Gibson hurled several anti-Semitic comments at the arresting deputy, though the comments are not the basis of the prosecution's case.
Meanwhile, Contactmusic.com reported that Comedy Central announced over the weekend that it will rerun a South Park episode that was aimed at Mel Gibson on Wednesday night.
The episode, which aired in 2004, is called "The Passion of the Jew," a take-off on Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and at one point implies that Gibson is an anti-Semite.
