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Pellicano Trial Update: Closing Arguments

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Wednesday April 30, 2008 @ 11:14am PDTTags: Agents, Courts, Hollywood, LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson, Law, Ovitz, Pellicano, Scandal

So the trial that would not end is finally ending with closing arguments. Not much of a Hollywood angle to report, except for the lawyer for LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson, who is accused of doing all those illegal law enforcement database investigations.  I’ve been reading the coverage – anxiously awaiting the verdict on this end! ”It makes no sense that Mr. Ovitz a pillar of the Hollywood community would hire Mr. Pellicano to put a fish on a car of a reporter. If he had a problem with The New York Times, he would just call the editor.”

Meanwhile, jailed Hollywood P.I. Anthony Pellicano, who is defending himself, spoke for a mere 16 minutes — and mostly rambled.

About Pellicano’s closing argument, DHD/LA Weekly trial correspondent Steven Mikulan wrote: “Pellicano had told Judge Dale Fischer that he needed somewhere between an hour to an hour and a half to complete his speech to the jury, but he gave himself the hook after only 16 minutes. Appearing relaxed, affable and confident, Pellicano nevertheless gave a rambling dissertation on the roles of the jury and prosecutor. Jurors stared at him alertly but with opaque expressions.

“Pellicano has made much of how he detests snitches and ‘rats’, and certainly the government’s dance card was packed with witnesses who were either cooperating with prosecutors for lesser sentences in cases related to Pellicano’s, or who had completely dodged indictments in exchange for their testimony about Pellicano’s alleged wiretapping activities.

“‘ ‘I could stand up here and take up more of your time and try to sway you,” Pellicano instead told jurors. ‘But Mr. Pellicano has instructed me not to do so.’ ”

The jury is expected to get the case tomorrow.

In the government’s closing argument in the RICO trial of Pellicano and four co-defendants (including Arneson) who are facing nearly 80 counts involving wire fraud, conspiracy, identity theft and bribery, Mikulan praises prosecutor Daniel Saunders for getting to the point:

trial-logo-smaller.jpg“The problem facing Saunders was that he had to remind the jurors of each and every count – not only matching the alleged crimes to the names of victims, but also to whom, exactly, among the defendants, the counts pertained. Saunders also had to give a brief summary of the charges, which ran his argument to almost an hour past the trial’s normal 2 p.m. closing time.  Still, the jurors remained attentive throughout the long day and Saunders landed some jabs, describing Pellicano’s investigation business as “a thoroughly corrupt organization . . . operated by a very well-connected and highly paid thug.”

“As an orator Saunders maintained an even keel – appearing neither ingratiating nor demanding toward the jurors. He would not be rushed, yet he seemed mindful, in the afternoon, of just how long he was running. More important, Saunders displayed a formidable command of his material, speaking for long stretches of time without referring to notes. Yet the sheer Alexandrian inventory of charges precluded him from engaging in the kind of narrative-tweaking storytelling that might have brought the eight-week proceedings to more vivid life.”

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Pellicano Trial Update: No Mistrial

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Monday April 28, 2008 @ 10:20am PDTTags: Agents, Courts, Hollywood, LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson, Law, Pellicano, Pellicano Mistrial, Scandal

U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer nixed Pellicano co-defendant LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson’s motion for a mistrial. If only this trial would end… and it will soon. The case goes to the jury this week.

… Read More »

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Breaking Pellicano Bombshell: A Mistrial? Feds’ Witness Screws Up Trial Big-Time

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday April 25, 2008 @ 11:03am PDTTags: Agents, Courts, Hollywood, LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson, Law, Pellicano, Pellicano Mistrial, Scandal, U.S. Attorney Daniel Saunders

UPDATED: It all has to do with Asst U.S. Attorney Daniel Saunders oversealousness in calling to testify a woman who appears to have lied on the witness stand and to the feds about Pellicano co-defendant LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson. Here is the just posted story by LA Weekly‘s Steven Mikulan, my … Read More »

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Pellicano Trial Testimony: Ex-FBI Agent Believes Ovitz Behind Anita Busch Threat

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday April 18, 2008 @ 9:55pm PDTTags: Agents, Anita Busch, Bernie Weinraub, Courts, Hollywood, LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson, Law, Ovitz, Pellicano, Scandal

Today the retired FBI agent who led the Pellicano investigation testified that he believed Ovitz’s hiring of the Hollywood private-eye led to that June 2002 fish-rose-&-note warning left on Anita Busch’s Audi. But Stan Ornellas stopped short of saying Ovitz specifically ordered the June 2002 … Read More »

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Bert Fields Says He Won’t Have To Testify

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday April 17, 2008 @ 5:20pm PDTTags: Bert Fields, Courts, Hollywood, LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson, Law, Pellicano, Scandal

trial-logo-smaller.jpgThe entertainment uber-litigator just confirmed to me that he was formally notified today. The lawyer for Pellicano trial co-defendant LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson had intended to put Fields on the witness stand. So Bert spent two days down at the Roybal federal building … Read More »

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Bert Fields Arrives At Pellicano Trial (…But He Doesn’t Testify)

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday April 15, 2008 @ 10:04am PDTTags: Bert Fields, Courts, Hollywood, Indie, LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson, Law, Media, Pellicano, Scandal

The Pellicano trial’s court session today was cancelled even though Hollywood superlawyer Bert Fields showed up to take the witness stand after being called by the defense attorney for LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson. (See photo below by Jim Stevenson exclusively for DHD.) So while Bert cools his heels, the defense … Read More »

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Pellicano’s Cop Knew Right From Wrong When It Came To Hollywood Dirt Digging

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday April 11, 2008 @ 3:05pm PDTTags: Actors, Courts, Hollywood, LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson, Law, Media, Pellicano, Scandal

Bert Fields was not called to the witness stand today.

trial-logo-smaller.jpgHere’s the list of famous clients whom Pellicano co-defendant LAPD Sgt Mark Arneson testified today he “helped” as part of private security work paid by the Hollywood private-eye: Kelsey Grammer, Farrah Fawcett, … Read More »

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