Celebrity cast in Hollywood wiretapping case

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Seven famous faces associated with Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano's racketeering case:

— Keith Carradine: The 58-year-old actor's ex-wife, Sandra Will Carradine, pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury in the case and admitted to having an affair with Pellicano. She said she paid Pellicano $25,000 in April 2001 for his work in a child custody dispute, explaining she wanted to know where her ex-husband was living and where he had been working.

— Tom Cruise: Cruise was never brought up in court papers, but several of the 45-year-old actor's associates used Pellicano's services, including entertainment attorney Bert Fields, divorce lawyer Dennis Wasser and Universal president Ron Meyer, who co-founded Creative Artists Agency, which rose to success while representing Cruise and other such A-list stars, such as Al Pacino and Warren Beatty.

— Kevin Nealon: The 54-year-old "Saturday Night Live" and "Weeds" actor's name was among the 60 names that prosecutors contended Pellicano provided to bribed police officers to run through government databases in order to help his clients in legal and other disputes. Nealon was never called to testify in the trial.

— Chris Rock: The 43-year-old actor-comedian testified during the trial, telling jurors he hired Pellicano in 1999 through his attorney but did not know about his tactics. Rock said he was the target of a shakedown by a model who claimed she became pregnant during a one-night stand at the Beverly Hills Hotel when Rock was separated from his wife.

— Steven Seagal: The 56-year-old action star blamed his slumping career on the negative publicity he said resulted from the FBI affidavit that accused him of hiring Pellicano to threaten a Los Angeles Times freelance reporter, who was working on a story about Seagal's possible ties to organized crime. That reporter testified during the trial it was Michael Ovitz, and not Seagal, she believed was behind threats made on her.

— Garry Shandling: The 58-year-old actor-comedian was another celebrity called to testify during the trial. Shandling was on the same list of 60 names as Nealon.

— Sylvester Stallone: The 61-year-old "Rocky" actor was one of several Hollywood stars who federal prosecutors said had their phones illegally wiretapped by Pellicano. Stallone's name appeared on the prosecution's witness list, but he was not called to testify.

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Wiretap victims grateful private eye is convicted

Associated Press

Thu May 15

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