Delay Planned in Turning Over Evidence

A federal attorney says he fears the information about the Pellicano wiretap case would be leaked to the media if given to defense lawyers.

By Andrew Blankstein
Times Staff Writer

May 2, 2006

A federal prosecutor said Monday that he would delay release to defense attorneys of additional evidence in the wiretapping case against Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano because he was concerned the information would be leaked to the media.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Daniel Saunders told U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer of his plans at a status conference days after the Justice Department launched an investigation into who provided the New York Times with reports from the FBI.

Citing the possibility that materials would "end up on the front page of the newspaper," Saunders said he planned to withhold grand jury testimony and other privileged materials from lawyers representing Pellicano and six other defendants.

They were indicted in February on charges of conspiring to wiretap, blackmail and intimidate dozens of celebrities and business executives on behalf of clients, many of whom were attorneys looking for information that would give an advantage in civil and criminal litigation.

Several defense attorneys, including Pellicano's lawyer Steven Gruel, denied responsibility for the leaks. Gruel said his client, who is being housed at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center, had not received any of 10,000 pages of discovery in the case or compact discs containing recorded conservations, other audio files and documents.

"This did not come from the Pellicano camp, nor Pellicano," Gruel said. "He didn't have the stuff" that has been leaked.

From the bench, Fischer said prosecutors were under no particular timetable for turning over grand jury testimony and other evidence, including prior statements by witnesses.

Fischer said she would consider acting only on written requests to look into any violations of her protective order in which both sides agreed not to divulge materials related to the government's investigation.

Attorney Terree Bowers, who is representing indicted lawyer Terry Christenson, said counsel for various defendants agreed to a protective order only because of a quid pro quo in which the government agreed to hand over grand jury materials in discovery.

Christensen was indicted on charges of hiring Pellicano to conduct illegal wiretaps of the ex-wife of billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian. Christensen was representing Kerkorian in a child-custody case.

Bowers also complained that "a whole universe of potential discovery" would not quickly be turned over to defense teams under Saunders' plan. Bowers said he and other defense attorneys needed as much time as possible to study the evidence, particularly because there are still audio files seized from Pellicano's office that have not been decoded and may be hard to authenticate or are possibly damaged.

Federal authorities, in the meantime, delayed plans to unseal three of six searches conducted by FBI agents at Pellicano's Sunset Boulevard offices and one of the private investigator's storage lockers. Attorney Carmen Trutanich asked Fischer to keep search warrant affidavits sealed on behalf of two clients he described in court only as "John Does."

Law enforcement sources who asked not to be named, citing the ongoing investigation, said Trutanich is representing John Rottger and actor Steven Seagal.

The Pellicano probe began in 2002 after the investigator allegedly hired a former convict to put a dead fish and a note that said "Stop" on the windshield of then-Los Angeles Times reporter Anita Busch. The FBI believed that Pellicano had hired Alexander Proctor to scare Busch off a story about Seagal's problems with organized crime. But the FBI has since found no convincing evidence that Seagal was involved.

Trutanich, who did not explain his request, did not return repeated calls for comment.