Legal Commentary

Pellicano and Codefendants Convicted in Wiretapping Trial

By Jeralyn

"Private Eye to the Stars" Anthony Pellicano and his co-defendants, including a former LAPD officer, were convicted of multiple counts of racketeering and other crimes related to illegal wiretapping today. (Background on the charges is here.)

The trial lasted 9 weeks. The jury began deliberating May 1. Pellicano, who had recently finished serving time on explosives charges when this case began, represented himself. He refused to provide information about his clients:

Pellicano told the jury he was just a P.I. trying to get information. But he never revealed his secrets.

After publicly toying with testifying, he told the judge he would never discuss his clients. "It's not going to happen ever, no matter what the consequence," he said.

Back in 2003, when the probe started, he said: [More...]

"[My clients] did nothing wrong," Pellicano said, referring to his clients and employers. "The government should leave them alone. And me, I'm going to take this punishment like a man. I will not participate in any way, shape or form with this investigation."

You can read about his closing argument here. It must have been difficult for Pellicano to watch his clients come into court with grants of immunity and testify against him. Here's how the case started.

Pellicano is 64 years old. His sentence won't be light. Hopefully, he'll accept a court-appointed lawyer for his appeal.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 15, 2008 (boomark / email).