Newsmaker

Gibson asks Jews for help in healing

(AP)
Updated: 2006-08-02 17:02

Gibson publicist Alan Nierob said the Yom Kippur invitation came from a Beverly Hills rabbi.

"The response has been overwhelmingly positive and generous since he issued his statement," Nierob said. But he added that it was too soon for Gibson to accept any speaking engagements.

Nierob adding that Gibson was seeking private meetings with Jewish leaders. "It's not a quick fix, that's not what my client is interested in. This is a recovery process," Nierob said.

Meanwhile, county prosecutors were reviewing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department report to decide what charges, if any, would be filed against Gibson.

The actor-director was originally stopped for speeding early Friday after authorities said he was driving 87 mph in a 45-mph zone on Pacific Coast Highway. Sheriff's officials said a bottle of tequila was found in his car and his blood-alcohol level was 0.12 percent, above California's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Witnesses said Gibson had been drinking at a Malibu beachfront restaurant called Moonshadows before his car was stopped. Widely distributed photos show him with his arms around several young women at the restaurant shortly before his arrest.

Authorities initially did not mention Gibson's remarks when giving an account of his arrest, with a Sheriff's Department spokesman saying the arrest was made "without incident."

A civilian watchdog attorney, investigating allegations of a cover-up, said a preliminary review found nothing wrong with the handling of Gibson's arrest. The department has denied any cover-up.