PARIS' TIP HELPS NAB INVADER
PARIS Hilton, crime fighter?
A Nancy Drew in a thong, Hilton proved crucial in the guilty plea yesterday by the man who was charged with burglarizing "Girls Gone Wild!" creator Joe Francis' home in 2004, and then hog-tying the video millionaire and videotaping him in sexually explicit positions.
L.A. cops busted Darnell Riley after Francis told them that Hilton had overheard in December 2004 that Riley and another man were responsible for the home-invasion attack at Francis's Bel Air mansion.
Riley also left his fingerprints on duct tape used to bind Francis. And raw "Girls Gone Wild" footage - stolen from Francis' home - was found in his possession.
Riley copped to one count of robbery and one count of attempted extortion in L.A. yesterday. He was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in state prison.
An elated-sounding Francis tells PAGE SIX's Fernando Gil, "I'm grateful to Paris for giving the police information that led them to Mr. Riley and ultimately led to his conviction. I'm happy with the outcome, obviously. Justice has been served."
Famous for his videos showing college girls exposing their breasts with spring break-style exuberance, Francis testified against Riley in a preliminary hearing in December and recounted the humiliating incidents of the burglary night as the video was played before a judge. Riley had threatened to air the very same video on the Internet if Francis didn't pay him $500,000.
Meanwhile, Hilton was ordered yesterday to stay away from an L.A. party planner who claimed she called him a "lazy Mexican" and made phone calls threatening his life.
The promoter, Brian Quintana - who claims to have introduced Paris to her current boyfriend, Stavros Niarchos - won a restraining order against her in L.A. Superior Court.
He claims that Hilton started a smear campaign against him after she started dating the Greek shipping heir. Quintana said she was angry at him for allegedly trying to get Niarchos to ditch her.
Hilton's spokesman, Elliot Mintz, told reporters, "I've known Paris . . . and the person described on the stand . . . doesn't resemble the woman that I know."