A fake prince, secret recordings and overturned convictions: Justice for California art dealer Cliff Lambert's death has been served — 17 years later

The legal saga surrounding the killing of a California art dealer nearly 17 years ago finally came to a close this year, when two men convicted in an elaborate grift and murder plot were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole

The legal saga surrounding the killing of a California art dealer nearly 17 years ago finally came to a close this year, when two men convicted in an elaborate grift and murder plot were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

The case was derailed for years by allegations of bias — allegations that emerged after a judge was secretly recorded making derogatory comments about two defendants described by prosecutors as the con artists who orchestrated the plot to take Cliff Lambert’s money, identity and life.

All six people charged in Lambert’s 2008 killing in Palm Springs, the desert city in California’s Coachella Valley, were either convicted or pleaded guilty more than a decade ago. But the secret recordings — which were made illegally by one of the defendants during his 2012 trial — prompted a series of overturned convictions and new trials for four of the accused.

DATELINE SNEAK PEEK: The Prince, The Whiz Kid & The Millionaire01:59One of those defendants was fatally assaulted awaiting retrial. The three others were convicted again after a new round of trials that ended two years ago. All are appealing their convictions.

Even after those verdicts, sentencing for two of the defendants stalled for months — and in one case, more than two years — amid claims of ineffective lawyering and health problems. In April and July, Daniel Garcia, 43, and David Replogle, 76, finally received their punishment.