Trial under way in alleged extortion of Dion’s husband

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 | 11:17 a.m.

In opening arguments Tuesday, a prosecutor said a man accused of demanding millions of dollars from Celine Dion's husband to silence a rape allegation had pledged to "be a thorn in his side forever" if the money wasn't paid.

Ae Ho Kwon is charged with extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and being a participant witness in the solicitation of a bribe. Kwon allegedly trying to blackmail Dion's husband, Rene Angelil.

On Oct. 28 a Clark County jury found Kwon's wife, Yun Kyeong Sung, guilty of the same charges. District Judge Jackie Glass sentenced Sung to a year in jail and 16 months to 5 years in prison.

O'Neale said although Sung and Kwon had already received $2 million from Angelil to drop a fondling allegation made by Sung in 2000, they allegedly renewed demands for more money in 2002, this time claiming Angelil raped her.

The prosecutor said Kwon and Sung hired new attorneys, who filed a civil lawsuit and a criminal complaint against Angeli. After Kwon and Sung failed to promptly give police a red jacket that the couple claimed contained evidence supporting their allegations, police closed their investigation.

O'Neale said even with the criminal case closed Kwon and Sung's attorneys continued to represent to Angelil's attorneys that it was ongoing and would only be stopped if Angelil paid them roughly $20 million.

O'Neale said as time went on the amount would later be reduced to $13.5 million.

He said Angelil's lawyer believed Angelil was being extorted and reported the activity to Metro Police. A detective acting under the guise of Angelil's business manager arranged a meeting where Kwon's attorney allegedly spelled out the extortion.

O'Neale said Kwon's lawyer told the undercover detective, "You give us the money we demand or it doesn't matter if you win legally. We are going to try and ruin Angelil's career. We will be a thorn in his side forever."

The prosecutor said although Kwon would say his attorneys were not acting on his behalf, they were simply conveying what he had asked them to convey.

Kwon's attorney, Lisa Rasmussen, said although the jury would hear many of the things O'Neale discussed, "you're not going to hear any of those things spoken or written by my client."

"The evidence is going to show my client (Kwon) never uttered any of this as it was uttered by other people," Rasmussen said.

She said this case was really about Angelil's goal "to make sure that no one would ever believe my client and his wife.