Jackson Case Hits The Skids

APRIL 21--Just when you thought the Michael Jackson case couldn't possibly get any sleazier, things have now officially hit the slippery slope. Literally. In a legal motion released late yesterday, prosecutors disclosed that they are seeking to present jurors with testimony from a former employee that involves a jar of Vaseline, an "aroused" King of Pop, and a teenage boy in the singer's bedroom (you'll have to read the document, TSG is not going any further). Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon's bid to get Kassim Abdool, a former Neverland Ranch guard, on the stand is detailed in the below court filing. The D.A.'s motion is scheduled to be argued today before Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, who will rule on whether Abdool's 12-year-old tales will be admissible as evidence of Jackson's prior alleged abuse of young boys (in this instance, specifically Jordan Chandler, the California boy who eventually settled a lawsuit against Jackson for about $20 million). In opposition to Sneddon's motion, Jackson lawyer Robert Sanger wrote that Abdool's claims amount to "salacious innuendo" that likely would "confuse and inflame the jury." Testimony from the 49-year-old Abdool, who worked at Neverland for three years ending in 1994, would be used by prosecutors to corroborate aspects of recent testimony by Ralph Chacon, an ex-guard who Abdool supervised. Chacon, Abdool, and three other former Neverland workers sued Jackson in December 1994 for wrongful dismissal, but were routed in court by the performer, who was awarded legal fees totaling $1.4 million. That whopping judgment drove Abdool into bankruptcy in mid-1997. (5 pages)