Hollywood PI Gets 15 Years

Posted on: December 16, 2008 at 9:09 a.m.

Anthony Pellicano, the private investigator (PI) to the stars, was sentenced in FederalCourt to 15 years in prison in a celebrity wire tapping scandal. Pellicano was also ordered to pay $2 million in damages.

In May, after a two month Federaltrial, Pellicano was convicted of 76 counts of racketeering, wire fraud, identity theft and wire tapping. Pellicano and high-powered attorney Terry Christiansen were convicted in August of conspiring to wiretap Kirk Kerkorian's former wife.

Pellicano did not use a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney for these Federal trials, instead choosing to represent himself during the trial that included studio executives and high-profile celebrities.

Federal investigators raided Pellicano's offices on Sunset Boulevard as part of their investigation into the threats against Bush and exposed his wiretapping enterprise. The case captured Hollywood's attention as A-listers and insiders speculated on who would be caught up the scandal. Sylvester Stallone and Keith Carradine were wiretapped; Shandling was subjected to an illegal criminal background check. The names of other stars, including Chris Rock and Courtney Love, came up in testimony during the trials.

Federal crimes are violations of laws that are passed by the United States Congress. A federal crime is also any crime that takes place on federal property. Federal property includes courthouses, airports, designated parks, and government owned buildings. All federal crimes are investigated by federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Once a person is charged with a federal crime, he/she will be prosecuted by a US Attorney.

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Hollywood PI Gets 15 Years

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