More news on the police wiretaps on Scott Peterson's phone.

The police intercepted 3,858 phone calls on Peterson's home and cell phones in the three week period between January 10 and February 4. 69 of the calls were between him and his lawyer. One was between Peterson and his private investigator. That leaves approximately 3,700 calls to other people. Peterson was a fertilizer salesman by occupation. His wife was gone, so he wasn't talking to her. He was likely not working much after her disappearance. Who else was he talking to? Amber, several dozen times maybe. His family, maybe 100 times. But that still leaves 3,500 calls. Could there have been that many calls from the media seeking interviews?

The latest news is that one of the investigators involved with the court-ordered wiretapping says he was just advised by the software company that designed the wiretap system of an additional 176 calls. The prosecutor says these calls are news to them and have asked the Judge to screen them to see if law enforcement can listen to them.

Mark Geragos, Peterson's lawyer, is seeking to toss the wiretaps, or recuse the prosecutors who listened to the privileged calls. A hearing is set for June 26. Geragos has subpoenaed the Judge who issued the wiretap order to the hearing because he did not have a court reporter present during his conferences with the prosecutors, as is required by California law.

We're sure it will be an interesting hearing, but still, our main question is who has 4,000 telephone conversations in three weeks and who was Peterson talking to?

I got a call at 8:00 a.m. (MT) this morning from Fox News saying Andrew Luster had been arrested in Mexico, and the bounty hunter who had arrested him was also in jail. They were letting me know because I was scheduled to do a segment at 11:00 am (MT) on the Scott Peterson case, and they are adding Luster to the segment.

I took the news kind of personally, because Duane Chapman, or Dog the Bounty Hunter as he's usually called, is a bondsman I have used in the past and like a lot. After a few years of not being in touch (he moved to Hawaii and mostly lives there, although he still has his business in Denver) we hooked up again by coincidence a few weeks ago. As soon as I heard the news from Fox, I called his wife Beth in Hawaii who, understandably, was quite distraught. Not only did they arrest Dog, but they arrested her stepson, brother in law, a movie actor (who recently was in the film Italian Job), the camera man and the sound man.

Some things to know about Dog: He never carries a gun. Mace, sometimes, no guns. He has a really interesting life story, which you can read here.

As to the Luster capture, here's what Beth said (she had not yet spoken with Dog, but with one of the persons present):

Newsweek is reporting that the taped conversations between Amber Frey and Scott Peterson don't show much. And <a href=" Fox40 KTXL reports:

Police wiretap recordings allegedly show Peterson was cool and charming, told Amber he loved her, and then got down to business, asking if she would hand over potentially damaging photos of the two taken at a Fresno-area Christmas party before they became public.

But according to people who have heard the intercepts, they reveal little more than Peterson's obsession with the potentially embarrassing photos.

And defense attorney Jeralyn Merritt says she doubts calling Amber to the witness stand will help much either.

Jeralyn Merritt says, "Even if there was love chat where he says to her I was going to leave my wife and marry you, it's a far cry from murder and an even further cry from murdering his unborn child."

Gloria Allred says, "I think that if the prosecution chooses to call her, that means they think she has something to contribute to the case and they'll decide how it is relevant and what it bears upon."

Actually, we liked another of our comments on that show better. When asked if Amber was important to convicting Scott, we said, "If this were a menu, Amber would be a side dish."

As much as Amber and her lawyer would like to portray her as a victim of this crime she is not. She may have been victimized by Scott Peterson, but she is not a victim of the murder of Laci Peterson.

CNN's Late Edition yesterday included a discussion of the Sam Waksal sentencing and Martha Stewart Indictment. Joe DiGenova, the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, now in private practice, had this to say about Waksal:

But he got exactly what he deserved. And remember, he pleaded guilty in order to spare his father and his daughter from criminal charges.

By the way, unbeknownst to us until very recently, according to published reports, he is cooperating with prosecutors, which means he may be providing evidence against Martha Stewart or helping in that case somehow, which means that he could possibly get his seven-year sentence reduced by cooperating.

We've done a Lexis check and cannot find any published reports that Sam Waksal is now cooperating with prosecutors. If any readers do, please post them in the comments.

The way we see it, the only way Sam Waksal testifies against Martha is if it is against his will. If the Government subpoenas Waksal, he will assert his Fifth Amendment privilege as he has not been charged with wrongdoing with respect to Martha and could have some liability there. The Government will respond by granting him immunity from prosecution for any activities involving Martha (or Bacnovic). Once immunized, Waksal will no longer have a 5th Amendment claim. If Waksal refuses to testify at that point, he would be held in contempt of court and sentenced. The contempt sentence would run consecutive to the 7 years he is serving now. That could make him change his mind and decide to cooperate.

We don't think the Government will go that route just for Martha for the very simple reason that the Government doesn't allege Sam told Martha to dump the ImClone stock. Sam allegedly told Bacnovic who told his assistant who told Martha. The assistant is the one who cooperated. If Sam didn't talk to Martha directly, what evidence can he provide as to why Martha sold her stock?

But the Government might immunize Waksal to get his testimony against Bacnovic. This would make it critical for Martha to get a severance (separate trial) from Bacnovic. Severances are pretty tough to come by in federal court.

Anyway, we still wonder what published reports Joe DiGenova read that say Waksal is cooperating now in exchange for a sentence reduction. We don't buy it.

John Muhammed, the older of the two suspects in the 'Sniper Case' has filed a motion to waive the jury and have his guilt or innocence decided by the judge.

Muhammed's lawyers say there is no fair place in Virginia he can get a fair jury. In addition, a made for tv movie is in the works, as well as two books. Potential jurors everywhere will be subjected to the prejudicial publicity.

One last note....Muhammed and Malvo's lawyers are raising an issue we brought out months ago that we haven't heard others mention:

Scott Peterson's attorney has filed a motion to rescind the gag order issued earlier this week by the Judge in the Laci Peterson murder case. He also filed a motion seeking to have Gloria Allred, attorney for Peterson's former girlfriend, Amber Frey, held in contempt of court for violating the order.

Allred says she is not covered by the gag order. The order covers witnesses for the proseuction, of which her client undeniably is one, but it does not specifcially include lawyers representing such witnesses.

We're scheduled to debate the issue of the gag order with Gloria tomorrow on Fox News at 2:35 pm EST. If you're in the Denver area today, and have an AM radio nearby, we'll be discussing the role of the media in high-profile cases on KNRC radio with host Jean-Jacques de Mesterton from 2 to 3 pm--1150 am on the dial.

William Safire provides an insightful explanation in today's New York Times why Martha should fight the charges against her.

I hope she beats the rap because I don't like the idea of a prosecutor — eager to deter others from doing wrong — twisting the law to make an example out of a celebrity. In doing justice, righteous ends don't justify unscrupulous means.

The U.S. attorney has not accused her of the crime of insider trading. After a yearlong investigation, that central matter is nowhere in his indictment. Why not? Because he decided that would be too difficult a charge to persuade a jury to believe.

....Rather than drop the weak case and his chance at national fame, the prosecutor James Comey handed off the insider-trading charge to the S.E.C., which seeks civil damages, not criminal penalties, and must meet a much lower standard of proof. Instead of focusing on what the case is about, Comey told a rapt press conference: "This case is about lying" — to investigators and to investors. "Lying" is a harsh word....But "perjury" is a much harsher word, meaning "lying under oath." Martha Stewart has not been accused of perjury.

The Judge in the trial of John Lee Malvo, the younger defendant in the "sniper case," has been scouting out alternative venues for the trial.

Roush and her staff traveled to Virginia Beach on Tuesday and are planning to visit adjacent Chesapeake soon, sources familiar with the trips said. Both cities have relatively new courthouses and may be considered far enough away from Washington and Richmond to have avoided the voluminous media attention paid to the sniper cases.

Mark J. Petrovich, one of Malvo's attorneys, welcomed the news that Roush was looking at other locations. "We're sure that in either of those two places, we'll be able to find well-intentioned, well-reasoned, intelligent jurors to hear the case," he said.

We think it's a no-brainer that the trial has to be moved.

No blue wall of silence here. Mark Aguirre is the former police captain on trial for official oppression in last year's debacle in Houston which 278 people were arrested for trespassing at a KMart. The charges were later dropped.

Assistant Police Chief Charles McClelland Jr. testified yesterday that the raid was supposed to target illegal street racers, and had he known that Aguirre planned to change it to targeting trespassers, he would have disavowed the plan.
bq. McClelland told the jury in state District Judge Carol G. Davies' court he signed off on a plan Aug. 1 that specifically dictated "those believed to be spectators should be directed toward the exit of the parking lot."

If Aguirre had notified McClelland of the change in the plan, McClelland said, he would have called off the operation. "I fully expected spectators to be released if they hadn't done anything or weren't wanted (on warrants)," McClelland said.

....Defense attorney Terry Yates argued that a supervisor at the scene can change a plan. McClelland said the plan could only be changed for an extreme situation or "to protect someone's life."

[thanks to Ed at Votelaw for the link]

Scott Peterson's lawyers have subpoenaed Judge Wray Ladine to get information about wiretaps in the case. It seems that the Judge met with a prosecutor and investigator without having a court reporter present to take down what transpired at the conference.

Lead defense attorney Mark Geragos is alleging that the Stanislaus County district attorney's office engaged in "grave prosecutorial misconduct" after authorities intercepted 71 calls between Peterson and McAllister or his investigator.

The defense might seek to have the district attorney's office removed from the case over the wiretap issue, according to documents they filed in court.

The AP is reporting that Martha Stewart "slipped into" the New York FBI office yesterday to have her fingerprints and mug shot taken. She was released "without bail" last week on charges contained in the now famous Indictment against her.

It is very ordinary in our experience to surrender clients before a formal arrest when we know in advance a federal Indictment has been returned against them. We bring them to the U.S. Marshal's Office either right before or after their first court appearance. We don't think Martha got special favors here. Her lawyers have been in contact with prosecutors for over a year--they couldn't reach a deal, hence, the Indictment.

"It's something we have done in the past. It's not unusual," a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office said of the discreet way Stewart was processed. The spokesman said similar arrangements have been made before in high-profile cases where officials see little risk of flight. Stewart may travel freely within America and can also make trips overseas if she gives officials 72 hours notice.

ImClone's Sam Waksal was sentenced today to seven years in prison.