2ND UPDATE: Pellicano Juror Reveals Inner Workings...
UPDATE: Here is LA Weekly's account...
The federal trial of infamous Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano ended today with a jury verdict finding him guilty of all but one of the racketeering and conspiracy criminal counts against him. Reports from inside the courtroom say he sat expressionless while the verdicts for himself and his co-defendants were read. Pellicano had been charged with 77 counts of racketeering, wire fraud, computer fraud, identity theft and wiretapping.
I need to take another personal day...
No surprise. He who represents himself has a fool for a client. Question now is whether he wants to make a deal and name names or stay in prison for the rest of his life.
Comment by Richard — May 15, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
Can we never hear about this case on here again, please?
Much obliged.
Comment by ZzzzzZZZzzzzZZzzz — May 15, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
Now is when the fun and wheeling and dealing should really start! Pellicano and his coconspirators each face many life sentences. But they are hardly the top of this particular dung heap. The prosecutors would likely be more than happy to trade vastly reduced sentences for hard data on bigger fish - starting with Terry Christensen, whose own trial was severed from the main Pellicano show can now proceed. Will the prospect of, say, 1,000 years in the slammer concentrate the minds of the newly convicted enough for them to produce evidence implicating, say, Bert Fileds or Kirk Kirkorian? Who knows! Wheeeee!
Comment by Terry Hughes — May 15, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
Those who think privacy is dead are waking up to a whole new reality.
Comment by V — May 15, 2008 @ 3:36 pm
Next up Wasser?
Comment by Bonnie — May 15, 2008 @ 3:44 pm
Interesting ideas about prosecutors playing footsie in exchange for valuable info.
I was leaning toward a plot twist where The Governator™ issues a pardon. This would keep tongues from getting loose, and fuel conspiracy theories for many years to come.
Comment by Captain Obvious — May 16, 2008 @ 1:25 am
Wonder if Meyer has signed up for anymore Slammer Visits yet…
Comment by Anonymous — May 16, 2008 @ 8:47 am
The government did a good thing. Cheers to the FBI and the Federal prosecutors who got put through total Hell on this. And to the jury, thank you for making invasion of privacy matter to you.
Wiretapping scum on the periphery of this case will be looking over their shoulders for years to come and the lawyers who would hire them will think twice in a future where the FBI has endured criticism for not going after the demand side of wiretapping.
To the victims who faced this down and spoke up, thank you.
Comment by BenFranklin — May 16, 2008 @ 1:49 pm
Ditto to “BenFranklin”
Those who facilitated the criminal activity and violated public trust, i.e. the cops and the phone guy, are worse than anyone because it never could’ve happened without them.
Cops breach databases all the time, running private records for friends, money etc. Phone guys place wiretaps for the right price, on much smaller scales than this case.
The message must be sent you will go to prison. This should not be an isolated verdict, but the beginning of an ongoing aggressive campaign by the Feds.
Comment by privacy matters — May 16, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
We have only begun to “Speak Up!” — STAY TUNED!
Comment by Anonymous — May 16, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
I find it odd that all the Hollywood crowd did not know
how Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano seemed to find out all that dirt on people.
Comment by Sally — May 20, 2008 @ 6:04 pm