04.25.06
Of Chris Rock, Pellicano and Lost Innocence
After reading endless articles today about Chris Rock hiring Anthony Pellicano to dig up dirt on a former model who was slapping him with a paternity suit in 1999, I just wanted to nominate Defamer for kudos after having my favorite comment on the feigned innocence of Pellicano’s clients about his illegal tactics.
[They all have] got a good point–after you meet in that dark corner of the parking garage to hand over the brown paper bag full of unmarked bills in small denominations, you expect the private dick to put on his dark glasses and trench coat, scale a tree with a pair of comically oversized binoculars, and show up two days later with a manila envelope marked “incriminating evidence–for your eyes only.” You have no reason to think he’s going to pay off some cops to run illegal background checks or tap their phones.
Trying to be fair and balanced here, perhaps Defamer is being a tad harsh on Pellicano’s former employers back in the day knowing of his criminal activities. They were all very important A-list types, who probably were just too busy with their very important work to read the newspaper, go on the Internet or watch television much.
As early on as 1973, when Pellicano was still based out of Chicago, an electronic eavesdropping device discovered attached to a telephone in the Chicago office of the Secretary of State, Michael J. Hewlett, was strangely attached to the now disenfranchised gumshoe at the time. Pellicano always did have a cozy relationship with law enforcement that he’s nurtured since his origins in the windy city. In 1977, when the investigation into the peculiar disappearance and reappearance of Mike Todd’s remains could go no further unless Pellicano divulged his informant, the state’s attorney refused to subpoena Pellicano and the investigation was closed. Gee, must be really nice to enjoy special immunity when you’re not even a member of the media or the government.
In the 1980’s, the federal prosecutor in the DeLorean cocaine case accused Pellicano of purposely destroying part of the FBI’s evidence. Then there was the fortunate disappearance of Monica Harmon, the secretary at Paramount who had threatened the ascendancy of the Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer team.
Since the 1990’s, Pellicano’s exploits had become legendary in Tinseltown. In 1990, when Pellicano was acting as chief goon for the National Enquirer, Rod Lurie, a writer from Los Angeles Magazine who had embarked upon his own tabloid investigation had an unfortunate accident on his bicycle. On March 11, Rod Lurie was riding his bicycle near his home in Pasadena. An unmarked car (no plates) drove up behind him, suddenly sped up, and whacked Lurie fifty feet into space. The bicycle was instant scrap, and Lurie wound up in the hospital with two broken ribs and a busted back. Lurie was resolute: “It was no accident,” he said hoarsely. “That car hit me on purpose. There’s absolutely no doubt about it … I saw the guy veer over and go right for me….The tabloids warned me if I didn’t back off I’d be sorry. I think they just made good on their threat.” Pellicano had threatened Lurie prior to his accident that his life was going to be disrupted in ways that he couldn’t even “begin to imagine.” Pellicano had begun a nonstop campaign to hound all the journalists involved in the tabloid expose. Another reporter working on a story about the Enquirer, Stuart Goldman was sent hush money by Pellicano. When Goldman changed his private telephone number — which he did frequently — Pellicano would call soon after just to let Goldman know he’d made the new number already. So as early as 16 years ago the Pelican enjoyed a rep as an expert bug and wire man.
In 1993, Maureen Orth, writing for Vanity Fair about the Michael Jackson sexual abuse allegations, said that, “Anthony Pellicano’s greatest strength lay in getting people not to talk…Cabell Bruce, a producer for Hard Copy, told of going up to the front porch of a woman who worked at Neverland and trying to talk to her. “She literally started shaking, her eyes filled with tears, and all she could say was ‘Call Mr. Pellicano.’” Diane Dimond of Hard Copy complained that every time she found a source who had been close to Michael Jackson the response is “Mr. Pellicano has asked us not to say anything.” Diane Dimond, who along with local KNBC had broken more new developments in the case than anyone else, said that she had received messages via other reporters from Pellicano: “Tell Diane Dimond I’m watching her.” “Tell her I hope her health is good.” Dimond was unabashed about telling everybody that she thought her phone was actively being tapped by Pellicano during that time.
Back in 1994, John Connolly writing for Los Angeles Magazine noted that Anthony Pellicano had become quite renown by then as “the Neutralizer,” “the Intimidator” and “Thug to the Stars.”
This tawdry saga grows more sordid moving forward in time, but perhaps there’s enough information already here to decide that the Defamer was not being too harsh in their snarky quip about the pristine innocence of Pellicano’s clients to the man’s methods. Get more snarky please and quickly.
