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Pellicano Wiretap Indictment

Feds: Private eye bugged Stallone, illegally targeted other stars

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Pellicano Wiretap Indictment

FEBRUARY 3--An illegal wiretapping and information gathering network run by disgraced Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano allegedly recorded Sylvester Stallone's telephone calls and accessed confidential law enforcement records pertaining to other entertainment industry figures, including actors Garry Shandling, Kevin Nealon, and Keith Carradine, journalists Anita Busch and Bernard Weinraub, and powerful agents Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane. Pellicano and six associates were named in a 110-count federal racketeering indictment unsealed today in Los Angeles. A copy of the 60-page indictment can be found below. According to prosecutors, Pellicano, 61, used contacts in the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police departments and at the phone company to illegally wiretap phones as well as to gain access to the confidential National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. The indictment does not specify what Pellicano did with information improperly culled from the NCIC records, which contain detailed individual criminal histories and other law enforcement information. Pellicano, the indictment alleges, 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.' While the Pellicano group's 'investigative targets' would often include 'opponents or witnesses in criminal or civil litigation,' the indictment does not name any lawyers as being part of the illegal scheme. Charged along with Pellicano is Mark Arneson, a former LAPD officer, who allegedly was paid to tap into the NCIC system, and Rayford Earl Turner, a retired phone company worker who helped facilitate the bugging operation. Kevin Kachikian, a software engineer, was indicted for allegedly designing a computer program (dubbed 'Telesleuth') which Pellicano used to wiretap conversations of Stallone, Carradine, and dozens of others mentioned in the indictment. Also named in the indictment is ex-cop Craig Stevens, who allegedly took money from Pellicano in exchange for tapping into Beverly Hills Police Department computers. Last week, Stevens pleaded guilty to six felony counts in connection with the Pellicano scheme. A former phone company manager, Teresa Wright, is identified in the indictment as a Pellicano source for toll records, phone numbers, and home addresses. On January 9, Wright pleaded guilty to a single felony count of unauthorized access of protected computer information, a felony. Both she and Stevens are believed to be cooperating with federal officials. (60 pages)