Paris Hilton’s legal pickle becomes a public relations disaster

It all started when Paris Hilton’s black Cadillac Escalade was stopped by a motorcycle cop due to what the cop said was a strong marijuana smell.

The driver of the car was Paris Hilton's (now ex-)boyfriend Cy Waits. Paris left the scene (not a smart move), leaving behind a Chanel purse that held cocaine, turning it into a felony possession and fled to the Wynn Resort where she was arrested.

When the heiress was waiting in the Wynn Hotel security holding room for a female officer to arrive to take her to the bathroom, she said that she needed to put some lip balm on.

The officer handed her the purse from the table. As she began to open it, the officer saw a small bundle of what he believed to be cocaine in a clear baggy begin to fall from the purse and into his hand. The officer then took the purse away from Hilton and waited for backup to arrive before searching it with another officer as a witness.

After discovering the cocaine, the officer placed Hilton under arrest. Following her arrest, the officer claimed Hilton told him the purse was not hers and "she had borrowed it from a friend."
But our Paris had posted a picture of the very similar bag on Twitter, happily tweeting, "Love My New Chanel Purse I Got Today :)." Oops!

Furthermore, when asked about the cocaine, Party Barbie told LVMPD finest in a sublime dumb blond moment, that she thought the cocaine that they had found was "gum."

The Wynn was not amused and has distanced itself from the clueless heiress. Wynn spokeswoman Jennifer Dunne told the Associated Press that Hilton (handbag included) and her boyfriends are banned from entering or staying at the Wynn Resort Hotels in Las Vegas. Paris' then-boyfriend, Cy Waits has been "separated" (nice word for being fired on the spot) from his job as managing partner of the Tryst Nightclub at Wynn and XS The Nightclub at Encore.

Quite correctly so - Waits worked as a nightclub executive and Nevada gaming license requirements are very strict on the presence of drugs with casino honchos.

Party girl Paris will always have a roof over her hair weaved-head in Sin City - Las Vegas Hilton spokesman Ken Ciancimino told People: "She has been a guest here many, many times and we would always welcome her back. The history between Paris and this property is long, indeed... we here at the Hilton certainly wish Paris the best and hope that she gets through any and all of her difficult times."

She could face up to four years in a Nevada prison if convicted of the felony charge of possessing 0.8 grams of "powder cocaine", providing prosecutors can prove that it was Hilton's purse and that the marijuana smell came from her vehicle. If not, she would be sentenced to a diversion program.

No matter how it will work out for Ms. H, her pay-to-party days in Las Vegas are over. In Nevada, liquor licenses are closely watched by gambling regulators. Recently, the Gaming Control Board shut down a Las Vegas nightclub because of several infractions, including drugs allegedly being used on the premises.

In the case of P.H., what happens in Las Vegas, stays in cyberspace….

(image courtesy of lastreetsblog)