Fereidoun “Prince Fred” Khalilian, the former Florida nightclub owner and business partner of Paris Hilton who was charged in a murder-for-hire plot against the filmmaker J. Esco, has had the case against him dropped, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Just before closing arguments in his trial were set to begin, Judge Dale S. Fischer dismissed the charge on “venue” grounds as Khalilian was in France when he allegedly ordered the hit on Esco. “Whether another indictment will be returned against him in Los Angeles or elsewhere is to be determined,” a spokesperson for the L.A. U.S. Attorney’s Office told The Daily Beast. Khalilian will however remain in jail after being charged with witness tampering. Prosecutors say he allegedly used intermediaries to bribe a witness who was due to testify against him.