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Anthony Pellicano, Six Others Charged in 110 Count Indictment

Hollywood's once premier private investigator to the stars got out of jail on Friday. Today, he and six others were charged in a 110 count federal indictment (text here, pdf) alleging RICO (racketeering) and other violations over alleged wiretapping and privacy breaches by Pelicano.

At one time, Pellicano's roster of clients stretched from Michael Jackson to Elizabeth Taylor and Sylvester Stallone. He was the go-to detective for information needed by lawyers and agents representing entertainment A-listers.

Pellicano, 61, is charged with organizing and masterminding a corrupt enterprise that allegedly wiretapped phones, entered private computers without authorization, committed wire fraud, bribery, identity theft and obstruction of justice.

The others charged with Pellicano include:

Rayford Earl Turner, 49, of Van Nuys, a former field technician for SBC and Pacific Bell. Pellicano and Turner were accused in the wiretapping conspiracy. Kevin Kachikian, 41, of Fountain Valley, was accused of developing a wiretapping software program called "Telesleuth" for Pellicano. He was arrested this morning by the FBI. Robert Pfeifer, 50, of Hollywood, once president of Disney-owned Hollywood Records, allegedly hired Pellicano to investigate a former girlfriend. Pfeifer was arrested Friday. Abner Nicherie, 42, of Las Vegas was arrested this morning. According to authorities, he was involved in a business dispute with a man who was wiretapped. Also charged was Daniel Nicherie, 45, of Las Vegas, Abner's brother, who was in federal custody on charges of defrauding the man whom Pellicano allegedly wiretapped.

Some details:

Pellicano and his associates, including former LAPD Officer Mark Arneson, 52, allegedly tapped Stallone and accessed confidential police records to learn about prominent people, including comedians Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon, New York Times reporter Bernard Weinraub and former Los Angeles Times reporter Anita Busch, according to the 60-page indictment.

"Defendant Pellicano was responsible for securing clients who were willing and able to pay large sums for the purpose of obtaining personal information of a confidential, embarrassing, or incriminating nature regarding other individuals, including opponents or witnesses in criminal or civil litigation who became the enterprise's investigative charges," the indictment alleged.

...Not charged in the indictment was former Beverly Hills police Officer Craig Stevens, who has already pleaded guilty. Arneson and Stevens are alleged to have provided Pellicano with confidential DMV and criminal history information.

This is the culmination of a three year investigation. It is not a surprise. More background is available here. Pellicano has not cooperated to date. I doubt if he will.

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    Re: Anthony Pellicano, Six Others Charged in 110 C (none / 0) (#1)
    by Che's Lounge on Mon Feb 06, 2006 at 05:56:06 PM EST
    Pellicano, 61, is charged with organizing and masterminding a corrupt enterprise that allegedly wiretapped phones, entered private computers without authorization, committed wire fraud, bribery, identity theft and obstruction of justice. He should run for Cunningham's seat.