POP STAR'S WIFE WANTS NEW TRIAL.

Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer

Following her April conviction for slapping a Moorpark restaurant owner, the wife of singer Frankie Valli plans to ask a judge today for a new trial.

Attorney Louis Samonsky said his controversial handling of an unrelated high-profile murder defendant prejudiced at least two jurors against Randi Valli, who Samonsky represented in the misdemeanor battery trial.

``Jurors may have been affected by my handling of another case,'' said Samonsky. He said two jurors in Valli's trial have signed sworn statements concerning possible juror misconduct.

Samonsky became the center of controversy earlier this year when he asked the District Attorney's Office not to seek the death penalty for murder suspect David Alvarez in exchange for information on the whereabouts of a 14-year-old victim's body.

Prosecutors refused to negotiate and Alvarez eventually led investigators to a remote culvert north of Ojai, where they found the body of Kali Manley. The community had been searching for the teen for days.

Samonsky's handling of the case sparked a firestorm of controversy, angry letters and a few veiled threats.

Alvarez, 22, of Ojai remains in jail pending trial.

Last month, Valli was convicted in the case in which she was accused of slapping the Moorpark restaurant owner following a dispute at the upscale eatery where the Vallis had been dining with Frankie Avalon and his wife.