Jackson secretly videotaped on private flight, claims lawyer

MICHAEL JACKSON’S lawyer has claimed that he and the pop superstar were secretly videotaped as the pair flew in a private jet to Santa Barbara last week for Jackson to surrender to police over child molestation allegations.

Mark Geragos angrily vowed to “land like a ton of bricks” on anyone who besmirched his client’s reputation and claimed that molestation allegations against the entertainer were motivated by money.

“If anybody doesn’t think, based upon what’s happened so far, that the true motivation of these charges and these allegations is anything but money and the seeking of money, then they’re living in their own Neverland,” Mr Geragos said.

Mr Geragos called the news conference following revelations that he and Jackson were filmed on the jet taking them from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara. Mr Geragos promised a vigorous defence.

“Michael Jackson is not going to be slammed,” he said.

Mr Geragos said he had filed a lawsuit against Santa Monica-based XtraJet, claiming that the charter company covertly installed two cameras in the cabin of the plane.

He won a temporary restraining order against XtraJet, barring any release of the tapes.

The cameras “were recording attorney-client conversations, and then somebody had the unmitigated gall to shop those tapes around to media outlets in order to sell them to the highest bidder”, he said.

Separately, FBI spokesman Matthew McLaughlin said agents went to the headquarters of XtraJet.

“We’re currently assessing if a federal violation has occurred,” Mr McLaughlin said.

The tapes’ existence came to light when representatives of XtraJet showed it to several news organisations, saying they had found two videotapes aboard one of their jets and wanted to know whether it was legal to distribute or sell them.

Mr Geragos said he contacted XtraJet and was referred to a lawyer who told him:

“We had a lottery ticket, and we thought we were going to do something with it.”

“This is not the lottery,” Mr Geragos said. “This is this man’s life. This is his family’s life. These are scurrilous accusations.”