Pellicano to Be Sentenced Today
Anthony Pellicano will be sentenced today.
An AP story reminds us of the impact Pellicano had on his victims:
Victims of former Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano say they have never been able to free themselves from the emotional and financial fallout caused by crimes he committed while wiretapping the rich and famous.
A former reporter says she has nightmares about being hunted and raped. A mother says her daughter is mocked by other kids and their parents. An actress who once appeared in a popular television series says she has found little work since.
The AP says that the Government is asking for nearly 16 years for Pellicano. His lawyers are asking for almost no additional time: 70 months with credit for time served since November 2003 — nearly 61 months ago. Read their memorandum here.
Quite remarkably, the Pellicano defense is invoking Mark Rossini’s light sentence. (He’s the boyfriend of Linda Fiorentino that I told you about here, who has pled guilty to illegally accessing documents that were later used in Pellicano’s defense.) Here’s what Pellicano’s brief says about Rossini:
As to the charges relating to access of police data bases, here too the government’s position seems extreme. For instance, on December 8, 2008, the government announced a guilty plea and plea agreement for Mark T. Rossini, a former Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI who “made over 40 searches of the FBI’s Automated Case Support System (ACS) which contains confidential, law-enforcement sensitive information that relates to historic and on-going criminal investigations initiated by, and supported by, the FBI.” The plea agreement for Mr. Rossini was for five misdemeanors and, as described by the Department of Justice, the likely sentence was from zero to six months.
(Emphasis in original.)
Given that Rossini is yet another cog in Pellicano’s conspiracy to misuse law enforcement, this argument takes a real set of [insert your favorite synonym for testicles here].
Stay tuned tonight; I expect to be able to provide some coverage of the sentencing that you won’t find anywhere else. If it turns out as planned, it will be very interesting — and will have a special emphasis on the coverage of the case by the L.A. Times.
UPDATE 12-23-08: When I speak of “Pellicano’s conspiracy to misuse law enforcement” I am clearly speaking of Pellicano and not his lawyers. More here.
16 years, even counting time served, seems a bit harsh, but only in comparison to short sentences for violent crimes. But, time served doesn’t seem like justice either. I expect he’ll get something along the lines of 3 to 5 more years.
Ropelight (5b609a) — 12/15/2008 @ 10:43 am16 years actually seems VERY MILD compared to the contless victims this man has created. Pellicano lied, robbed, deceived, cheated and stole his way through life without regards to human suffering! And, he created much suffering. His cohorts like Paul Barresi are still out there causing great pain and many live in fear! Knowing that at least Pellicano is behind bars for a minimum of 16 solid years will give peace and healing to those in severe pain! Sadly too, most of these victims were not given an opportunity to testify!
Sister Makemore (5a516f) — 12/15/2008 @ 11:56 am#1- Ropelight:
Ignorance is bliss, it seems.
Have you ever been wiretapped? Had your phones and computer bugged? Have you ever truly, actually, for REAL, had your life threatened? Just for doing your job? Have you ever lived in fear of harm coming to you, your kids, or friends, or colleagues or extended family at any time?
Have you ever had your daily life shattered, your career smashed like a pane of glass; your savings drained; your privacy invaded; so deeply violated, penetrated and brutalized that it is as close to being physically raped as you’ll ever get? Have you??
Have you ever lost your ability to sleep for months? Had your health decline to ruin and your core beliefs in the sanctity of your home destroyed? Or seen the betrayal of the public trust by a bad cop? Or lost trust in simply talking on a telephone with a friend, or your sense of normalcy at going to the grocery store without fear of your car exploding with the turning of the ignition key? Of being threatened in a public place? Any one of these acts is traumatic in itself. And many of the victims of Pellicano’s ‘services’ suffered one or all of these trauma— and more.
All because of a clique of wealthy Hollywood sociopaths, driven to settle petty scores over ego and money, who hired a thuggish P.I. to do the dirty work for them?
Every Pellicano victim over the years of this absurdly long case– and many of them are average citizens– will carry the scars for life. Even the convicted themselves. And for what? Money– and not very much at that in the grand scheme of things.
16 years for Pellicano, a dim bulb who disgraced himself, his profession and his family, a low watt intellect too stupid to finger the SOBs who hired him to save his own ass, isn’t nearly long enough.
Time served and the rest of his days in prison is just the down payment on an Eternity in Hell. And the Tinseltown garbage –individuals and corporate both- the ‘clients’ who hired, fawned, fussed over and funded him; used him to play their expensive, high-school-with-money-games, will be there with him in the end. They’ve been exposed.
Throw the book at ’em.
DCSCA (d8da01) — 12/15/2008 @ 1:53 pmInteresting timing on the green-lighting of the Pellicano reality show. Sure hope that isn’t misconstrued as a payoff to keep quiet.
Kip (a1288e) — 12/15/2008 @ 2:13 pm#4– Kip:
If they televised two guppies in a breeding tank for 13 weeks it would find an audience in America.
Suggest you revisit Chayefsky’s (sp?) “Network” and see how prescient a 1976 film was about televison ended up being in the 21st Century.
DCSCA (d8da01) — 12/15/2008 @ 2:21 pm#4, I think I may have been bugged, but I really don’t know, it’s hard to say for sure. In any event, nothing ever came of it.
As for having my life threatened, does having a straight razor at your throat for about 25 minutes count as REAL enough? It sure seemed real, but since I didn’t actually get my throat slit, maybe that doesn’t count either, although I did lose a little blood.
I was shot once, that was pretty darn real, or at least it seemed so at the time. But, initially I was in shock and I didn’t fully grasp the nature and consequences of what had happened till several hours later. But, as much fun as it is to walk down memory lane, this really is irrelevant.
My comment above was an estimation of the time I thought Pellicano would get. What he deserves is another matter, and even a pompous ninny, like you, is entitled to an opinion.
Ropelight (5b609a) — 12/15/2008 @ 3:37 pmForgive me #4, it was #3 I wanted to reference. Sorry.
Ropelight (5b609a) — 12/15/2008 @ 3:38 pm#7, that’s okay, but you should know I’m with #3’s opinion that witness intimidation is a horrific experience that ruins lives and puts people through total hell. If you can’t see how corrosive and damaging what he did was, then to me that is sad. It’s like people who say, “well if you have nothing to hide, then what’s the problem” with getting wiretapped or searched… and that is a perfect attitude, but only for a slave. If someone is wiretapping you it should freak you out to no end how abusive that is.
15 years is the right sentence.
Kip (a1288e) — 12/15/2008 @ 4:37 pm#6- Ropelight:
A knife at your throat and taking a slug? Assuming it’s true, apparently ignorance isn’t just bliss, it’s a way of life with you. Plane crash and ship wreck await. Audition for the next “Survivor.”
The Pelican got 15 years in the ‘Big House’ late this afternoon in Los Angeles. It’s not enough. But then again, it never is for crime victims and taxpayers who’ll carry the load for years to come.
DCSCA (d8da01) — 12/15/2008 @ 4:44 pm#8 Kip- agreed. Pellicano doesnt give a damn about the damage he inflicted on others. He bragged about it. That damage- mental, social, physical and financial will stay with many of those souls for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, the Pelican get three meals, clean sheets, a roof, free medical and cable TV on taxpapers and his family gets a TV deal.
Freedom didnt mean much to him in the first place.
DCSCA (d8da01) — 12/15/2008 @ 4:50 pmLife is like a box of chocolates… So, Pellicano got more time than I expected. I guess that makes me subject to the charge of failing to estimate correctly. Guilty, guilty, guilty.
Ropelight (5b609a) — 12/15/2008 @ 5:15 pm11- Ropelight–
Peace. Savor the rain.
DCSCA (d8da01) — 12/15/2008 @ 5:18 pmJustice was done. It’s all good.
Kip (a1288e) — 12/15/2008 @ 5:33 pmWhat I hear about Barresi is, if you don’t betray him, he is a good friend to have.
John (d43acc) — 12/16/2008 @ 2:44 pmJohn, Early on, all the papers reported that Barresi cooperated with the FEDS. There have been some reports he works for the Gambino family lawyers. What a life he’s got. By all accounts Pellicano was a b.s. artist. Barresi is the real deal.
Ledsoe (d43acc) — 12/16/2008 @ 2:50 pmI don’t care how many people Barresi roughs up. He is one good looking man.
Roberta (d43acc) — 12/16/2008 @ 2:53 pmComment by Roberta — 12/16/2008 @ 2:53 pm
They’re drawn to the “bad boys” like a moth to a flame.
Another Drew (64fe9d) — 12/16/2008 @ 2:59 pm