Dealer Thomas Riccio told FBI agents Aug. 21 that Simpson wanted to televise the operation as he confronted a collector who was peddling thousands of pieces of Simpson's memorabilia.

But Riccio was not clear how the operation would unfold, and there was no mention in the report of guns that were allegedly drawn as Simpson and five other men stormed a Las Vegas hotel room.

Riccio was advised to contact a lawyer before taking any action and was told that alerting the FBI would not absolve him of any potential crime, agent Linda Kline wrote of the meeting, which occurred in Los Angeles.

"I went along with O.J.'s plan," Riccio told the AP on Friday. "It was a self-organized sting operation. Except for the final result, with him bringing people who had guns. I knew nothing about that."

Simpson, 60, and five other men were arrested after they allegedly stormed into a Las Vegas hotel room Sept. 13 to seize items that were believed to include family photos and the suit Simpson wore the day he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.

Las Vegas Police Detective Andy Caldwell, the investigator handling the case, said Friday the FBI did not alert his department before the confrontation between Simpson and collectors Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong in a room at a Las Vegas casino hotel.

"They contacted us afterward and provided us with the documentation," Caldwell told the AP.

He said he had no information about any FBI investigation into the incident and said he has no idea about the nature of the contact between federal agents and Riccio "or why they were talking with him."

FBI spokesman Laura Eimiller declined to comment on the interview.

Riccio told the AP on Friday that he called Los Angeles police and the FBI and "no one seemed to be concerned about it. They didn't seem all that interested."

Simpson, 60, is charged with an assortment of felonies including armed robbery and kidnapping. Three of his co-defendants have since pleaded guilty to lesser charges and said they would testify against Simpson. A preliminary hearing is scheduled next week in Las Vegas.

The FBI reports, written Aug. 21 and Sept. 19, said Riccio told agents he had been approached by Beardsley, who wanted to sell thousands of Simpson items.

The documents said Riccio described Beardsley as a fanatic and said Riccio contacted Simpson about the items. Simpson said his belongings were stolen from his Florida house by his former agent, Mike Gilbert, and others who had worked for him.

"Riccio and Simpson want to do a television broadcast confronting Beardsley regarding the items that were stolen," one report said. "Simpson wanted Riccio's assistance in setting up the operation and helping obtain interviews for Simpson through various media outlets after the fact."

Beardsley told police he had been robbed by Simpson and a group of men wielding guns. Simpson has denied there were any guns involved. He said Riccio set up the meeting and he planned to surprise Beardsley and retrieve his property.

Simpson told the AP he went to the hotel room after being alerted by Riccio that Beardsley and another collectibles dealer, Fromong, were trying to sell his possessions. Simpson knew both dealers.

Simpson, who was in Las Vegas for a friend's wedding, said he arranged to meet Riccio at the Palace Station hotel. He said Riccio had set up a meeting with collectors under the guise that he had a private collector interested in buying Simpson's items.

He said he was accompanied by several men he met at a wedding cocktail party, and they took the collectibles.

"We walked into the room," Simpson said. "I'm the last one to go in and when they see me, it's all 'Oh God.'"

"There was no armed robbery here," Simpson said then. "It wasn't a robbery. They said 'Take your stuff and go.'"

Riccio has said the plan to take Simpson's property unraveled because he brought other men with him. He has subsequently released a tape recording he made of the incident and been granted immunity by prosecutors.

Many of his sports collectibles, including his Heisman Trophy, were seized under court order and auctioned to pay some of the $33.5 million awarded in a wrongful death lawsuit to the estate of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and the family of her friend Ronald Goldman.