‘Reprehensible’ Hollywood private eye jailed

HOLLYWOOD private investigator Anthony Pellicano once boasted he could bend the law to help his rich and famous clients get out of trouble.

But now a federal judge said the 64-year-old private eye went too far and broke it, sentencing him to 15 years in prison for heading a criminal enterprise that wiretapped the phones of such stars as Sylvester Stallone.

The former sleuth, who worked for lawyers representing Tom Cruise, Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson, was convicted of 76 charges in May after a two-month trial that exposed the seamy side of the movie industry.

US District Judge Dale Fischer said Pellicano engaged in “reprehensible behaviour”, ruining the lives of many of his clients’ adversaries by digging up dirt on them to use in legal and other disputes.

“He did this eagerly, sometimes maliciously and with extreme pride,” the judge said.

Pellicano showed no emotion when the sentence was read. “I have taken full and complete responsibility for all my actions,” he said.

The private eye was convicted of charges which included wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud, in two separate trials earlier this year.

Prosecutors said Pellicano also bribed police officers to run the names of comedians such as Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon through law enforcement databases to gain information.

Pellicano must serve 85% of his sentence, making him eligible for release when he is about to turn 77, the prosecutor said.

Defence attorney Steve Gruel said authorities tried to get Pellicano to co-operate three years ago with the investigation and were now taking it out on him by recommending a hefty prison sentence.

In all, 14 people have been charged in the case. Seven, including film director John McTiernan and former Hollywood Records president Robert Pfeifer, have pleaded guilty to charges including perjury and conspiracy.

Authorities investigated Pellicano’s activities for three years and were led to him after former Los Angeles Times reporter Anita Busch found a dead fish with a rose in its mouth on her car along with a sign reading “stop” in 2002.

The discovery came after she wrote a series of unflattering articles about one-time super-agent Michael Ovitz, a Pellicano client.