06.12.06
Posted in anthony pellicano, crimes, los angeles times, pellicano at 4:03 am by Administrator
Oh my, there’s not much to say about Chuck Philips unmonitored jailhouse interview with Anthony Pellicano except, “Oh my!” How did the Men’s Detention Center (MDC) in Downtown Los Angeles ever allow an unmonitored telephone call with one of their incarcerated wards, on a no-bail status no less, with anyone other than their attorney? In Mr. Pellicano’s case that would have been Steven Gruel.
According to a source in law enforcement some folks are none too pleased:
DMC does NOT allow third party calls from an inmate to his lawyer to a third party. Was the call legal? Did Gruel break the rules for Pelllicano? Did someone at MDC look the other way as a favor or for a payoff? I cannot believe that MDC or the prosecutors would allow Pelicano an unmonitored call? If so, he could very well have ordered a hit along with his chat with his pal Phillips.
Well, big “Oops” on someone’s part. Perhaps Mr. Gruel thinks this is one of those Grade B movies where he’s worked as an extra and he’s gotten a bit over involved with fuzzy boundaries there.
In terms of any other comments about Mr. Philips ethically challenged pseudo-journalistic writing, some readers of this blog said it best in their emails today. There were the visceral reactions:
Wow. The Phillips article is really a piece! A mouthpiece for Pellicano!
Felt as though I was reading some sort of poorly encrypted message from Antonio to Hollywood with Love. LOL. With Phillips amplifying the point: “Pellicano’s vow of silence is not lost on…future indictments depend on…”
When did Pellicano become a juvenille deliquent jailhouse counselor in addition to his other heroic feats for society? …What a MAN! And his advice to the downtrodden youth that everyone has to “pay for their mistakes… .” It’s eerie. Chuck Doll, brrrrrr.
Ummn, “vow of silence” makes one wonder is there really something else here that we don’t know about that is keeping Pellicano from talking? Unfortunately, Mr. Philips never quite brings up this salient point. As another reader succintly noted:
Good Grief! Philips is at it again.
As for a literary critique there was the statement:
I’m still reeling over the Philips article. It’s so transparent to professional writers or anyone who knows the real story but to the Average Joe it may be oblique.
And then there was the philosophical commentary:
This will all sort itself out.
Nuff said for sure and by many others, especially Nikki Finke in her terse review with special attention to our favorite incarcerated private dick wanting out of the slammer to chase Osama for good old George W. .
Anthony Pellicano indicated that the feds should stop investigating him and go after Al Queda. “Chasing terrorists is what the FBI is supposed to be doing. I’ve got to tell you, if instead of keeping me behind bars here, they gave me the job of finding Osama bin Laden, I guarantee you I would find him.”
Permalink
06.11.06
Posted in anthony pellicano, crimes, mass media, pellicano at 12:11 am by Administrator
Hollywood has become the City of Slander and Character Assassination, and it’ll stay that way until someone has the courage to place integrity and decency before self-interest. Anthony Pellicano, the Man in Question, has not only revealed his true nature, he’s shown the true face of the entire movie industry. Why wouldn’t we use this as a teaching moment?
Why? Because Our Favorite Private Dick in the Slammer isn’t an exception – he’s the norm. There are dozens of movie industry producers, directors, actors and lawyers who are every bit as hateful and as vile as Mr. Pellicano. Dirty if not disgusting “tricks” has become the industry’s norm, and it’s time to put it to a stop.
Media scribes may be getting frustrated that they’re not yet selling so many books because of the scandal, but I can live with that. The people who’ll eventually buy those books will never be Pellicano’s victims, anyway. There’ll assuredly be some rich and famous Tinseltown celebs and their attorneys though lining up to buy the books first to see if they have to file hasty lawsuits to get the shelves filled back up with the usual trash. And I have no problem seeing these great men of Los Angeles fork over their spare pocket change in this case. They’re performing a great public service and helping to employ Americans locally where otherwise their industry is outsourcing projects to Eastern Europe and Canada with only one or two American actors at the helm.
And mind you, this piece isn’t about our hometown mass media as truth seekers. It’s about the startling relevance of the social hypocrisy in this city of ubiqitous pseudo-liberalism. The diameter of said pseudo-liberals’ joie de vivre is, needless to say, less than the diameter of George W. Bush’s “compassionate conservatism.”
Of course, our glitzy intelligensia will be kissing Tony and holding his hand all along during his trial. Bert Fields may even come to the show and administer a warm spongedown – without a sponge – to keep Tony from opening his mouth (which could endanger the wallets of our movie industry tycoons — Oh the horror!). Wouldn’t this be a good time to remind the world about that, too? Ummn, perhaps make a movie or simply issue some press releases about how the evil federal prosecutor on the case, Daniel Saunders, initially came here to be an actor but failed.
And I think the worm is turning for these vile creatures. At least, I believe it could, if us normal people in Tinseltown (and yes there are normal people in this City of Broken Dreams but we do tend to keep in at night and blog on the Internet) stay on the case. But don’t worry, Brad, Ron, Bert, Marty, Jerry, et al.. Let the all mighty dollar have the last word – because as long as a producer somewhere can still make box office gold, there’s somebody somewhere who’ll tidy up your little indiscretions and indecencies. I promise. Now would I lie to you?…
Permalink
06.10.06
Posted in anthony pellicano, crimes, los angeles times, pellicano at 2:47 am by Administrator
Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Damn, wish I’d written that. But Justice Louis Brandeis was the orator of that brilliant gem and not I. And look how true it is in the Anthony Pellicano/Tinseltown scandal. I say, keep the story on the front page no matter how tedious it appears to be getting. I don’t ever want Tony spreading his bile in secret again in this town. I want it out in the open where we can all get a good look. This kook did us all a favor with having too many cajones to count. Not because he showed us what he thinks about in private — who really cares what he thinks about? No, he showed us what the Hollywood power elite who paid through the nose for his “proprietary” services think about in the seclusion of their Bel Air estates and Malibu enclaves. He gave us the barest glimpse into the dark, damp room where persons like himself sit and dream up new ways to hurt people to remain at the top of their heap.
Bravo. I mean it. That kind of acidic waste should be seen and heard apart from poorly written made-for-television movies.
This is a real story ripped from the headlines about one pasty-faced, delusional, middle-aged private dick and the avaricious wealthy nerds in Tinseltown who employed him. Tony never would have been able to have all those Los Angeles policemen on his payroll if there weren’t an eager line of high rolling takers for his very exclusive information. It wasn’t just juicy tidbits that he’d sell either, he could also make irritating situations go away by hook or by crook for upwards of $100,000. Was there a business dispute? Drug overdose? Murder? Rumor of gay sex? Nagging ex-lover? Divorcing spouse? Rape victim? Child molestation? No problem! Presto-chango and it vanished along with some of your cash. Simple, clean and good fun.
And we were and remain collectively in denial and minimizing the extent of things. Ahh, the power of the sun — shines a light and brings the heat.
Honorarium: I would like to thank both the Los Angeles Times and Variety for the inspiration that they have provided me with in writing this post through their continued lack of coverage of the Anthony Pellicano debacle.
Permalink
