"OK, show of hands, who wasn't tapped?"

Judge Limits Defendants In Civil Wiretapping Suits
Ruling Breaks Logjam In Case Against Private Eye Who Spied On Stars

LOS ANGELES - A judge has moved to break a legal logjam in the Hollywood wiretapping case by ruling that no new defendants can be added to the 13 civil lawsuits already filed against private eye Anthony Pellicano and others. ...

Prosecutors contend in a 111-count criminal indictment that Pellicano illegally wiretapped the phones of Hollywood stars such as Sylvester Stallone and bribed police officers to run the names of more than 60 people, including comedians Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon, through government databases. (more)

Hollywood Wiretapper Gets 15-Years

CA - Hollywood's disgraced private investigator to the stars shuffled in shackles into a federal courtroom Monday and was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a celebrity wiretapping scandal.

The sentence was close to the 16 years sought by federal prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer ordered Pellicano to forfeit $2 million. The judge did not give the former sleuth credit for time served, meaning he will serve nearly all of the sentence.

Dressed in a green jailhouse jumpsuit, Anthony Pellicano, 65, blew a kiss to family members as he was led into court. (more)

The Original Hollywood Wiretapper

By Will Vaus
The trial of private detective Anthony Pellicano, who is charged with 110 counts of racketeering, wiretapping, conspiracy and other federal charges, has been capturing headlines for quite some time. No wonder. Its connections to the mob, eavesdropping on Hollywood conversations and the revolving door of movie industry personalities make for a good read. However, for me and my family, it is déjà vu.

Why? Because my father, "Big Jim" Vaus, was the original Hollywood wiretapper. He launched the practice of listening in on the stars in the 1940s and gained the same sort of notoriety then that surrounds Pellicano now. He was written up in the L.A. papers, and his story has been featured in Time, Life, Reader's Digest and in a 1955 movie, "Wiretapper." (more)

Will Vaus, author of My Father Was a Gangster: The Jim Vaus Story

Recordings of Jim Vaus talking about his life.
More stories about Jim Vaus...
The Hollywood Vice Queen (1948)
Wiretapping in Hollywood (1955)
Why Jim Vaus Quit Wiretapping (1946)

...and then John McClane told me to say..."

"Lie Die Hard" director John McTiernan was granted bail and released on a $50,000 bond Monday, pending an appeal of his guilty plea for allegedly lying to the FBI about his knowledge of celebrity PI Anthony Pellicano's alleged illegal wiretapping operation.

Tiernan, 56, pleaded guilty in April 2006 to making a false statement to federal investigators. He later recanted his guilty plea, claiming he was jet-lagged and under the influence of alcohol and prescription medications when he made the statements to the FBI.

He also said he was given bad advice by his then-attorney. (more)

"Talk is over-rated as a means of settling disputes."

Tom Cruise is being sued for allegedly hiring a private investigator to illegally wiretap a magazine editor's phone, according to documents obtained by TMZ.com.

Michael Davis Sapir claims the movie star, along with attorney Bert Fields and jailed private investigator Anthony Pellicano, conspired to spy on him. (more) (more)

Offer of a Murder Surfaces at Wiretap Trial

A hedge fund manager and art collector from New York testified under immunity Tuesday that Anthony Pellicano, the Hollywood private detective accused of wiretapping and racketeering, had once offered to have a movie producer killed for him. (more)

Surprise Twist in Hollywood Wiretapping Case

Anthony Pellicano Set To Remarry Former Wife...
Ceremony will be held in courtroom where he is being tried for wiretapping. (more)

Hollywood Wiretap - Is The Pellicano Case New?

Two-bit snoops are a dime a dozen, but Hollywood wiretappers rate a four-bit litereary, literally!
Enough with the alliteration.
Blow 50 cents (not literally) and tap into some deja vu by Brad Lewis. Download Hollywood Wiretap– instantly – from Amazon.com, now.

Madonna... U.N. Plugged

"Gonna save two weeks, Gonna have a fine vacation.
Gonna take my problem to the U-nited Nations."
Summertime Blues ~Eddie Cochran

from the press release... "A human rights abuse complaint has been submitted to the United Nations in the legal case Aisha v. Madonna (case no. 06-1389). A copy of the United Nations complaint is available online at www.aishamusic.com/un.htm

The complaint alleges conduct reminiscent of the unlawful tactics employed by now incarcerated private investigator, Anthony Pellicano, who has done work on behalf of singer Madonna and her attorney Bert Fields.

The case was submitted recently under the following alleged human rights violations, pursuant to Rule 86 of the United Nations Rules of Procedure."

COMPLAINT RE: Illegal hidden camera placed in my home, illegal telephone wiretapping, illegal listening devices placed on the inside and outside of my property, theft of over $250,000, theft of my $450,000 home, theft of my multi-billion dollar valued Copyrighted Catalog, customized death threats sent to my web site, choking assault incident, separately an attempted vehicular assault on August 9, 2007 and my mother’s (redacted online until investigation completes), in attempts to spitefully bankrupt us. (more)

Read, and decide for yourself. As Chuck Berry used to sing... "Too much monkey business for me to be involved in."

Pellicano Wiretapping Case

The case is scheduled to resume March 5th. The Huffington Post claims they have the Witness List: "Chris Rock, Stallone, Bert Fields, Tom Cruise and hundreds more." The list of 244 people, however, has made the rounds and wound up here. Rambo says he is willing to testify, "Why not? I don't want to be left out." Stallone said he wasn't surprised to hear the allegations that such activity occurs in Hollywood. "In this town, nothing seems as it is," Stallone said. "There's so much skullduggery." (more)

Hollywood Movie Director Sentenced To Jail

CA - Film director John McTiernan has been sentenced to four months in prison on charges relating to the FBI and a private investigator. McTiernan is best known for films such as “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Die Hard” and “The Hunt for Red October.” McTiernan hired private investigator Anthony Pellicano to wiretap producer Charles Roven. (more)

Don't tell Mrs. Quaid. It will just upset her.

John McTiernan, director of the movie “Die Hard,” was sentenced to one year in prison for lying about his association with a private investigator, Anthony Pellicano, to illegally wiretap a movie producer. (more)

The Tap Dance Continues

CA - Days after persuading a judge to let him represent himself at trial, indicted private investigator Anthony Pellicano is again poised to use private lawyers in his defense against federal charges of racketeering and wiretapping. (more)

And... there are rumors that in addition to re-hiring the attorney's, he is re-marrying his wife! (more)

Panel Upholds Christensen’s Conviction on Eavesdropping Charges

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed former powerhouse Los Angeles lawyer Terry N. Christensen’s conviction on charges of illegal eavesdropping and conspiracy.

Christensen—who practiced law in Los Angeles for more than 40 years at the famed Wyman Bautzer firm and at the firm he co-founded, Christensen Miller—was convicted along with former private investigator Anthony Pellicano, well known for his work on behalf of rich and famous clients. U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer of the Central District of California sentenced Christensen to three years in prison in 2008, but he has been free on bail pending appeal.

He has been under interim suspension from the State Bar since his conviction. more

The Underestimated Power of Bugs and Wiretaps

2008 – A year of memorable bug and tap stories...
• New York, Governor Elliot Spitzer
• Illinois, Governor Rod Blagojevich
"If anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it. I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously. And those who feel like they wanna sneakily and wear taping devices, I would remind them that it kinda smells like Nixon and Watergate." Spoken the day before his arrest.
• Nevada, O.J. Simpson
• California, Hollywood Private Investigator, Anthony Pellicano

Each person failed to respect the power of electronic surveillance. Sheer arrogance.

In the private sector, electronic surveillance works just as well for "getting the goods." The difference is that business respects the havoc electronic surveillance can bring. Because they respect, they inspect. Frequent eavesdropping detection audits of sensitive offices, conference rooms, executive homes, off-site meetings, etc. are a standard practice.

I know. I help businesses keep their business from becoming front-page news, or worse. Need some help? Just let me know.
~ Kevin