JUDGE REJECTS MISTRIAL PLEA IN PELLICANO CASE
A U.S. federal judge has refused to dismiss the case of disgraced Hollywood private eye ANTHONY PELLICANO - rejecting a defence motion asking the court to declare it a mistrial.
Pellicano is accused of wiretapping, racketeering and other crimes and is currently standing trial in California’s Federal Court along with four other co-defendants.
The trial has been linked to a number of A-list stars including Tom Cruise, Steven Segal, Farrah Fawcett and Chris Rock - who testified in court earlier this month (Apr08) - all of whom allegedly employed Pellicano’s services.
However, Judge Dale Fischer was called upon to declare a mistrial, after defence lawyers accused prosecutors of inappropriately questioning one of the accused - Mark Arneson - during his testimony.
The former Los Angeles police sergeant is accused of taking over $180,000 (£90,000) in bribes from Pellicano, to run names through criminal databases in a scheme to help the private eye amass evidence against his subjects.
And defence attorney Chad Hummel, who represents Arneson, claimed prosecutors improperly referred to statements made by his client during a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) internal affairs investigation in 1999.
But Judge Fischer rejected the motion on Tuesday (15Apr08), ruling that prosecuting lawyers didn’t attempt to reveal to the jury that Arneson has been previously investigated by the department.
All five defendants have pleaded not guilty to a variety of charges.
The case continues.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
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