Rachelle Spector arrived for lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel with one French-manicured hand gripping a hot pink BlackBerry. “I never know when he is going to be allowed to call," she said as she laid the mobile device carefully on a velvety banquette. “Whenever he calls, I answer."
Ten miles east of the swank restaurant's cloth napkins and chopped salad, her husband, Phil Spector, the record producer and, as of six weeks ago, convicted murderer, was in L.A. County Jail, the first leg of a 19-years-to-life sentence.
“He's locked in a 5-by-9 cell, 23 1/2 hours a day," Rachelle Spector said. “They treat people worse than animals. I want that known."
During Spector's criminal trials, his 28-year-old wife was a constant and colorful presence, striding the courthouse halls in stiletto heels and engaging in a series of public spats with perceived enemies, including the trial judge. But a gag order barred her from speaking to the media and she remained a mystery, her unwavering attendance at the proceedings raising the daily question: Why would a pretty young woman tie her fate to a much older man accused of murder?
With Spector's sentencing last week, the gag order vanished and Rachelle Spector stepped forward to talk about her marriage and her new roles as a spokeswoman for his cause, coordinator of his appeals and chief financial officer of his multimillion-dollar music businesses.
