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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:19 a.m., Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Hawaii man charged in unsolved California murder

Associated Press

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Hawaii man was charged Tuesday in one of Orange County's most famous unsolved killings — the execution-style shooting of topless bar owner Jimmy Casino.

Richard C. Morris Jr., 54, was extradited to Orange County following his arrest last week in Honolulu for investigation in the 1987 shooting death of Casino.

Superior Court Commissioner Vickie L. Hix on Tuesday postponed Morris' arraignment to July 13 and ordered him held without bail.

Morris was also charged with two special circumstance allegations: murder for financial gain and murder during the commission of a robbery, making him eligible for the death penalty.

Casino's death was the first in a series of mob-style executions linked to the lucrative Mustang Topless Theater. One of the club's financial backers was blinded after being shot in the head and a bouncer was killed execution-style in an Irvine parking lot in 1988.

Prosecutors did not reveal what led them to Morris.