May 15, 2006 -- IT'S no secret crime-show czar Dick Wolf is eyeing the exploits of slimy investigator-to-the-stars Anthony Pellicano as an inspiration for "Power," the new TV series he's developing about young hotshot prosecutors going after corrupt Hollywood honchos.
What wasn't known until now is that the red-hot "Law & Order" creator has brought on board two consultants guaranteed to make sure Pellicano's dirty tricks are portrayed with dead-on accuracy - namely, reporters Anita Busch and John Connolly, both hapless victims of The Pelican's heavy-handed tactics.
Busch, you'll recall, is the tenacious Los Angeles Times scribe who in 2002 was working on a story about the soured partnership between Pellicano client Steven Seagal and Staten Island pharmaceutical purveyor Julius Nasso. As she dug away, a hired Pellicano thug allegedly fired through her car windshield and placed a dead fish with a rose in its mouth and a sign reading "Stop" on the hood. Busch was also allegedly wiretapped by Pellicano. He's now accused of trying to order a hit on the thug, Alexander Proctor, to keep him from squawking.
Vanity Fair writer Connolly, who's penned numerous pieces on Pellicano and is doing a biography of him, "The Sin Eater," has also felt the shamed private eye's heat. He's reportedly been told by the feds that Pellicano threatened his life from jail.
Pellicano, whose clients included some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, is doing 30 months in a federal pen for possessing illegal hand grenades and explosives found in a search of his office related to the probe of the Busch threats. He's also pleaded not guilty to wiretapping such celebrities as Sylvester Stallone to gain legal advantage for his clients.
"The Pellicano story is the hottest story on both coasts. So it makes perfect sense that Dick go for it with his famous ripped-from-the-headlines approach with absolute accuracy," a source close to the producer told Page Six's Bill Hoffmann.
Wolf's camp wouldn't confirm or deny our story, but Connolly told us: "Dick and I had a nice lunch, and he said, 'I want to bring you on board.' They want to pick my brains. I just signed the contract."
Sources said Wolf is also approaching other journalists for advice. He told Variety that "Power" will be told completely from the point of view of law enforcement.