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Spy-to-the-Stars Is Guilty
by Fred Schruers
May 15 2008
May 15 2008
Updated: Federal jury convicts Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano of spying on and harassing celebrities.
A federal jury convicted a Hollywood private investigator of conspiracy and other crimes for having wiretapped and otherwise harassed a string of celebrities who ran afoul of his wealthy, privileged, and powerful clients.
Anthony Pellicano represented himself at the trial in U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer's courtroom in Los Angeles. After being convicted on all but one of 77 counts, the 64-year-old private eye faces eight to 10 years in prison.
The verdict followed nine weeks of testimony and two weeks of jury deliberation. The jury also convicted four other men, including a former Los Angeles police sergeant and a former telephone company employee, of helping Pellicano.
A federal grand jury indicted Pellicano and seven codefendants in 2006 on 110 counts, including racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud, identity theft, bribery, and wiretapping. (An amended complaint, reducing the counts to 78, was filed in January. Three of the defendants pleaded guilty; the rest went to trial.)
Pellicano's alleged victims included comedians Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon, actors Sylvester Stallone and Keith Carradine, and real estate developer Robert Maguire.
The verdict was a relatively unsurprising judgment that the government's voluminous and aggressive case had indeed proved that Pellicano had been a remorseless and avid operative who crossed into illegality on a regular basis.
The jury convicted Pellicano on one count each of racketeering, conspiracy, wiretapping conspiracy, and possession of a wiretapping device. It also found him guilty of multiple counts of wire fraud, unauthorized computer access, identity theft, computer fraud, and wiretapping.
Retired Los Angeles Police Department Sergeant Mark Arneson, repeatedly branded by a lead government prosecutor as "a dirty cop," was convicted on all 46 of the counts against him, including racketeering and conspiracy.
Painted by the prosecution as a crucial link to state and federal databases containing information on Pellicano's investigative targets, Arneson was fortunate in having courtroom-savvy attorney Chad Hummel on his side.
Hummel's determined but always controlled cross-examinations of key witnesses did as much as possible to undercut the work of the F.B.I. in compiling evidence and testimony against his client. At one stage, a failure by the government to disclose some pertinent data almost won Arneson a mistrial.
But today's verdict from the jury showed that Arneson ultimately didn't quite seem credible.
Rayford Turner, the phone company technician who emerged in the trial as a devoted ladies' man in a tool belt, was convicted on 16 of 21 counts.
Kevin Kachikian, a computer expert who testified that he was just a tech wonk working with his head down amid the wider conspiracy, was convicted on two of 11 counts.
Abner Nicherie, a shadowy businessman whom the government said served as a translator (of Hebrew conversations) for Pellicano, slept through many portions of the trial and was found guilty of one count of aiding and abetting a wiretap.
Studio chief Brad Grey and other Hollywood figures who had hired Pellicano to spy on and sometimes to harass their business and personal enemies were thought to be in some jeopardy during the government investigation. In the end, however, they went largely unscathed during the trial.
Former super-agent Mike Ovitz, who was uncharged but was linked in testimony to the terrorizing of reporter Anita Busch, testified coolly about his professional battles with former C.A.A. colleagues Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane, who also testified for the government.
And über-lawyer Bert Fields, also never charged although his name came up incessantly in the press as a key Pellicano client, was never called to the stand.
Pellicano is already serving time on a separate weapons and explosives charge, yet today's verdict will not end his troubles with the Feds. He and lawyer Terry Christensen also face criminal charges in a separate case based on Pellicano's investigation of Kirk Kerkorian's former wife Lisa Bonder Kerkorian.
Pellicano, who was largely emotionless and seemingly bored during much of the trial, represented himself anemically. Only during his cross-examination of a teary and obviously still emotionally damaged Busch did he show the feral instincts the government often alluded to.
And just as he was damaged by his refusal, based on his supposed Sicilian code of honor, to mount a defense by testifying against his clients, his casually cruel cross-examination of Busch seemed to damage his credibility as much as did the many tapes of incriminating phone calls with his clients.
Those calls showed an operative who swung between being avuncular and icily threatening, and painted a portrait of a greedy and often remorseless villain in a shiny tie.
Anthony Pellicano represented himself at the trial in U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer's courtroom in Los Angeles. After being convicted on all but one of 77 counts, the 64-year-old private eye faces eight to 10 years in prison.
The verdict followed nine weeks of testimony and two weeks of jury deliberation. The jury also convicted four other men, including a former Los Angeles police sergeant and a former telephone company employee, of helping Pellicano.
 Schruers on Pellicano Read Hollywood Deal blogger Fred Schruers' commentary on the Hollywood private eye and his trial. |
Pellicano's alleged victims included comedians Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon, actors Sylvester Stallone and Keith Carradine, and real estate developer Robert Maguire.
The verdict was a relatively unsurprising judgment that the government's voluminous and aggressive case had indeed proved that Pellicano had been a remorseless and avid operative who crossed into illegality on a regular basis.
The jury convicted Pellicano on one count each of racketeering, conspiracy, wiretapping conspiracy, and possession of a wiretapping device. It also found him guilty of multiple counts of wire fraud, unauthorized computer access, identity theft, computer fraud, and wiretapping.
Retired Los Angeles Police Department Sergeant Mark Arneson, repeatedly branded by a lead government prosecutor as "a dirty cop," was convicted on all 46 of the counts against him, including racketeering and conspiracy.
Painted by the prosecution as a crucial link to state and federal databases containing information on Pellicano's investigative targets, Arneson was fortunate in having courtroom-savvy attorney Chad Hummel on his side.
Hummel's determined but always controlled cross-examinations of key witnesses did as much as possible to undercut the work of the F.B.I. in compiling evidence and testimony against his client. At one stage, a failure by the government to disclose some pertinent data almost won Arneson a mistrial.
But today's verdict from the jury showed that Arneson ultimately didn't quite seem credible.
Rayford Turner, the phone company technician who emerged in the trial as a devoted ladies' man in a tool belt, was convicted on 16 of 21 counts.
Kevin Kachikian, a computer expert who testified that he was just a tech wonk working with his head down amid the wider conspiracy, was convicted on two of 11 counts.
Abner Nicherie, a shadowy businessman whom the government said served as a translator (of Hebrew conversations) for Pellicano, slept through many portions of the trial and was found guilty of one count of aiding and abetting a wiretap.
Studio chief Brad Grey and other Hollywood figures who had hired Pellicano to spy on and sometimes to harass their business and personal enemies were thought to be in some jeopardy during the government investigation. In the end, however, they went largely unscathed during the trial.
Former super-agent Mike Ovitz, who was uncharged but was linked in testimony to the terrorizing of reporter Anita Busch, testified coolly about his professional battles with former C.A.A. colleagues Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane, who also testified for the government.
And über-lawyer Bert Fields, also never charged although his name came up incessantly in the press as a key Pellicano client, was never called to the stand.
Pellicano is already serving time on a separate weapons and explosives charge, yet today's verdict will not end his troubles with the Feds. He and lawyer Terry Christensen also face criminal charges in a separate case based on Pellicano's investigation of Kirk Kerkorian's former wife Lisa Bonder Kerkorian.
Pellicano, who was largely emotionless and seemingly bored during much of the trial, represented himself anemically. Only during his cross-examination of a teary and obviously still emotionally damaged Busch did he show the feral instincts the government often alluded to.
And just as he was damaged by his refusal, based on his supposed Sicilian code of honor, to mount a defense by testifying against his clients, his casually cruel cross-examination of Busch seemed to damage his credibility as much as did the many tapes of incriminating phone calls with his clients.
Those calls showed an operative who swung between being avuncular and icily threatening, and painted a portrait of a greedy and often remorseless villain in a shiny tie.
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