LIFE IN THE ROUGH

By JAMES COLLINS

In public he may show off his old glibness and good cheer, but since the criminal trial ended, O.J. Simpson has not been doing well, say friends and associates. He is broke and largely isolated, gaining weight and receiving no offers that would provide an income. The Rockingham house, where he still lives, is surrounded by two fences and watched by a security guard. Simpson's mother Eunice, his sister Shirley Baker and her husband Benny are staying in the house, with Shirley doing the cooking. To save on expenses, Robert Blasier, one of Simpson's lawyers, is living in the guest room once occupied by Kato Kaelin.

Shirley urges Simpson to get out of the house to socialize and play golf. He is doing a little of both, but not much. The Riviera Country Club has informally told him he is not welcome there; he is occasionally seen at a public course. But he mostly spends his time brooding about his legal problems. Not only is there the civil trial, but also Nicole's parents are seeking custody of Simpson's children Sydney and Justin, who are living with the Browns. Simpson has often been seen near their home when he is not scheduled for a visit. One family member says they feel "stalked."

Simpson does not have a steady girlfriend at the moment but, according to a friend, he does occasionally go out with Gretchen Stockdale. Stockdale is the lingerie model and former cheerleader whom he had tried to call on the night of the murders. This source says Simpson and Stockdale went to several Halloween parties this year dressed as Frankenstein and the bride of Frankenstein. In early November USA Today reported that Simpson had "upset and frightened" an intern at the Santa Monica courthouse by "asking her out and sexually harassing her." Simpson denied this to TIME and said, "If I find a woman attractive, I'll just ask her out. I asked another woman out that I met here [at the courthouse], and we went out and had a good time."

The financial problems facing Simpson are daunting. "He's strapped. He's finished," says a former investigator for the criminal-defense team. The Rockingham house was refinanced during the first trial, with a bank providing a $3 million line of credit. Meanwhile, the IRS, which says Simpson owes back taxes, has a lien on the house for $685,248. At the time of the murders, Simpson had liquid assets amounting to about half a million dollars, but they were immediately used to pay lawyers. A member of the first defense team says Simpson's financial adviser, Skip Taft, looked at everything Simpson owned but found nothing significant aside from the Rockingham house and a condominium in Manhattan, which Simpson has since sold. He did raise about $1 million with his book I Want to Tell You, and the Star paid $450,000 for the rights to use pictures of his homecoming after his acquittal. Still, most of the original defense team has not been fully paid. One member who helped Simpson with his finances says there is nothing left.

Nevertheless, Simpson is managing to get by. Earlier this year his lead attorney in the civil case, Robert Baker, threatened to quit over money. Baker stayed on, which suggests Simpson found a way to pay him. In the meantime, Simpson also has bills from the custody battle. Where is he getting the resources to live day by day and defray at least some of his legal expenses? One knowledgeable source offers an intriguing theory. He says that like many celebrities, Simpson has lawsuit insurance and may have succeeded in making a deal with his insurance company whereby it pays Simpson's legal bills in the civil trial and provides him with spending money; in return Simpson releases the company from any liability. In other words, if Simpson loses, the insurer is off the hook. Faced with a big judgment, Simpson could simply declare bankruptcy.

That seems to be the direction Simpson is headed, no matter what happens in the civil trial, and it is hard to see how he can hold on to his house for very long under any circumstances. He may never regain the life of wealthy ease and adulation he once enjoyed--a fate for O.J. that may be as bad as prison.

--By James Collins. Reported by James Willwerth/Los Angeles

With reporting by James Willwerth/Los Angeles