Attorney Malcolm LaVergne: 'No doubt' OJ Simpson goes to Florida after prison

O.J. Simpson will live in Florida after he is released on parole from a Nevada prison where he has been held for the past nine years for a robbery conviction, his lawyer said Friday.

FILE - In this July 20, 2017, file photo, former NFL football star O.J. Simpson enters for his parole hearing at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nev. (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, Pool, File)

Attorney Malcolm LaVergne didn't specify where the former sports and movie star would live, although Tom Scotto, a close friend who lives in Naples, Florida, has offered his home. Scotto didn't respond to messages seeking comment.

"He's going to Florida," LaVergne said. "There's no doubt he's going to Florida."

However, the state attorney general doesn't want Simpson to come back. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter Friday to the Florida Department of Corrections, urging it to tell Nevada officials that Florida objects to Simpson serving his parole in the southern state.

FILE - In this July 20, 2017 file photo, former NFL football star O.J. Simpson reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nev.  (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, Pool, File)

"Floridians are well aware of Mr. Simpson's background, his wanton disregard for the lives of others, and of his scofflaw attitude with respect to the heinous acts for which he has been found civilly liable," Bondi said in the letter. "Our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal."

Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. But he was found liable for their deaths in a civil case in 1997 and ordered to pay the victims' families $33.5 million.

Florida corrections officials have said in the past that they must accept the transfer if Nevada's request meets the established criteria. A Florida corrections spokeswoman, Ashley Cook, said her agency has not received a transfer request or documents about Simpson.

FILE - This Oct. 1, 2008 file photo Tom Scotto testifies during O.J. Simpson's trial at the Clark County Regional Justice Center, in Las Vegas. O.J. Simpson will live in Florida following his parole from a Nevada state prison where the former football star and celebrity criminal defendant has been held for the last nine years.(Jessica Ebelhar/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool,File)

He becomes eligible for release Sunday, but LaVergne said he doesn't know where or when it will happen. He expects to learn more when Simpson notifies him that he is being moved from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada.

Release plans are in motion but need to be finalized for Simpson to be freed, perhaps as early as Monday in Las Vegas, Nevada prisons official Brooke Keast said. Citing safety concerns, she said the plans were not being made public.

Simpson's attorney said he will begin pressing for answers if his client is not free by Oct. 8. LaVergne said he spoke with Simpson by telephone Thursday and that he is excited about his pending freedom.

FILE - This May 16, 2013 file photo Malcolm LaVergne, O.J. Simpson's attorney on appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court, testifies during an evidentiary hearing testimony for Simpson in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. LaVergne said Friday, Sept. 29, 2017.(Jeff Scheid, /Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool,File)

"He's really looking forward to the simple pleasures," LaVergne said. "Seeing his family on the outside, spending time with them, eating food that's not packaged."

Simpson wants to eat steak and seafood and get a new iPhone, LaVergne told ABC's "Good Morning America."

Simpson won parole in July after serving nine years of a possible 33-year sentence for his 2008 conviction on armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges.

KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — Nearly 15 years after his first Soldier Ride, Bill Hansen joined dozens of other wounded veterans on Friday as they cycled along the Overseas Highway, including the Seven Mile Bridge, for the annual Florida Keys event.

A total of 45 men and women, as well as their supporters, are participating in the cycling event organized by the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I wake up in pain every single day. I’ve gotten used to a level of pain,” Hansen said. “And so doing physical fitness, things like this, I know I’m gonna be in a little bit of pain, but it’s worth it for my mental health and for just my comradery with other vets.”

Hansen, who served more than two decades in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army National Guard, participated in his first Soldier Ride in Phoenix in 2012. He said he had suffered a serious neck and back injury and become addicted to pain medication before connecting with the Wounded Warrior Project. Hansen was able to make friends with other injured veterans and form a support system that remains in place.

“One of my bucket list events is to ride a bike over the Seven Mile Bridge,” Hansen said. “I mean, what an iconic thing to do, and it’s part of America, part of our heritage. And so this is gonna be fun for me, because I get to do this. Plus, I’m gonna be able to help other vets.”

The ride through the Keys started Friday and runs through the weekend. While some riders are missing one or more limbs after combat injuries, the veterans are using bicycles fitted with special adaptive equipment. Other injuries, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, are not so visible.

“The path to healing always starts with movement,” Wounded Warrior Project CEO Walter Piatt said. “This is about getting them outside, getting them reconnected with people they serve with, and people are going through the same thing they are.”

The group started their day with a 17-mile (27-kilometer) ride from a Key Largo VFW post to the Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. Following lunch at the Marathon fire station, riders traveled another 10 miles (16 miles), including over the Seven Mile Bridge, and stopped for the day in Big Pine Key.

A large crowd of Coral Shores High School students cheered on the warriors during a break in Tavernier, but smaller groups of residents lined the route as riders made their way through the island chain.

“I want them to see that we appreciate what they do,” Keys resident Carol Dieck said.

The Wounded Warrior Project's cross-country and Keys bicycle trips provide inspiration and rehabilitative opportunities for injured soldiers, while raising money for others recovering in American military hospitals. The funds generated help foster veterans’ independence, develop peer-mentoring programs and arrange transport between home and hospital when needed.

The Florida Keys Soldier Ride continues Saturday through Key West, with an additional community ride where the public can cycle with the warriors. And finally they will spend Sunday morning swimming with dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon.

U.S. Army veteran Sabrina Bradley, left, takes a group photo at the Veterans Memorial Park after riding in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Little Duck Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

U.S. Navy veteran Jerry Padgett, right, is wheeled into the ocean at the Veterans Memorial Park after riding in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Little Duck Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Wounded veterans ride over the Seven Mile Bridge in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Marathon, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

People line the street as wounded veterans ride in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Marathon, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Wounded veterans ride in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Marathon, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

U. S. Force veteran Spencer Charron rides in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Marathon, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Wounded Warriors Project CEO Walt Piatt, left, signs an American flag for students outside of the Coral Shores High School as wounded veterans ride in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Islamorada, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

U.S. Army and Marine veteran William Hansen high-five students as wounded veterans ride in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Islamorada, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Students from an elementary school hold signs in support as wounded veterans ride past in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Islamorada, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Students from the Coral Shores High School wave as wounded veterans ride past in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Islamorada, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Wounded veterans ride past a crowd gathered at Coral Shores High School in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Islamorada, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Matthew Hannon adjusts his helmet before riding in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Key Largo, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Wounded veterans prepare to start their ride in the annual Florida Keys Soldier Ride organized by the Wounded Warrior Project, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Key Largo, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)