Les Jones

True Crime > Does Anthony Pellicano Have Incriminating Tapes of Michael Jackson?

Fox News is reporting that LA prosecutors may have incriminating tapes of Michael Jackson.

Frankly, the story is a little sketchy, but the interesting angle is Anthony Pellicano, a character I wasn't familiar with. He's variously described as a private investigator to the stars, an audiotape expert, an intimidator, and a Hollywood thug for hire. This profile by Luke Ford makes for good background material.

When Jackson was facing a molestation lawsuit in 1993, he hired Hollywood attorney to the stars Bert Fields. Fields in turn hired his favorite private investigator, Anthony Pellicano.

CNN reporter Diane Dimond covered the Jackson molestation case. She has said that her phone was bugged, and documents relating to the Jackson investigation were stolen from her car.

Wiretapping and audiotaping were Pellicano's specialty. Among the notable accomplishments in his ersatz career is his research into the investigation of JFK's assassination. He analyzed the Dictabelt tapes of the open mike on the police motorcade, and concluded that they were from well after the shooting, and did not provide evidence of a conspiracy or multiple shooters.

During Sylvester Stallone's lawsuit against his former manager Kenneth Starr, Starr hired Bert Fields, who in turn hired Pellicano. The FBI has questioned Fields about Pellicano's alleged wiretapping in that case.

Things started going bad for Pellicano when he worked for actor Steven Seagal. LA Times reporter Anita Busch was investigating Seagal's mob ties. Someone left a fish, a rose, and a note with the word "Stop" on Busch's car. His alleged accomplice has fingered Pellicano for hiring him to do the job.

Pellicano was arrested following a Federal raid on his offices that uncovered illegal weapons, including hand grenades and plastic explosive. He subsequently plead guilty and is currently serving a 30 month sentence. He has publicly stated that he refused to cooperate with authorities in exchange for leniency.

Which brings us back to Michael Jackson. Police raided Neverland Ranch two days after Pellicano began his jail sentence. Given Pellicano's penchant for tapping phones and recording audio, did he tape Jackson? And if he did, what's in the tapes.

It's all speculation at this point, which is why I think Pellicano is more important than this one facet of the story. If Pellicano did tape his client in this case, how many other clients did he tape? The American Thinker is giddy over the idea that Pellicano may one day trade information from his most powerful client, Bill Clinton. Clinton reportedly hired Pellicano to discredit audio tapes of conversations between Clinton and Geniffer Flowers.