Suspended Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted today of federal bribery and conspiracy charges, along with mail and wire fraud, stemming from his time serving on the county Board of Supervisors and accommodations provided to his son by a then-USC dean.
Related Story Kevin de León, In Contentious CNN Interview, Defends Decision To Stay On Los Angeles City Council Related Story Los Angeles Remains World's Soundstage Leader, But Other Locales Are Catching Up: FilmLA Report Related Story Lausd Strike: Campus Workers Reach Tentative Deal With District, Must Still Be Voted On By Union's Members – Updated
Despite his vehement denials of wrongdoing, the local political giant was found guilty on single counts of bribery and conspiracy, along with one count of honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud. Jurors, who reached their verdict on Day 5 of deliberations, acquitted him on 12 other fraud counts.
Related Story Kevin de León, In Contentious CNN Interview, Defends Decision To Stay On Los Angeles City Council Related Story Los Angeles Remains World's Soundstage Leader, But Other Locales Are Catching Up: FilmLA Report Related Story Lausd Strike: Campus Workers Reach Tentative Deal With District, Must Still Be Voted On By Union's Members – Updated
Despite his vehement denials of wrongdoing, the local political giant was found guilty on single counts of bribery and conspiracy, along with one count of honest services mail fraud and four counts of honest services wire fraud. Jurors, who reached their verdict on Day 5 of deliberations, acquitted him on 12 other fraud counts.
- 3/30/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
A judge upheld the 15-year prison sentence for former Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano on Monday. According to the Los Angeles Times, U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer ruled that the sentence was “reasonable and sufficient” despite a technical error in the 2008 trial which resulted in two of Pellicano’s charges being vacated by an appeals court in 2015. Pellicano, who was charged with illegal wiretapping and running a criminal enterprise, is expected to be released in March 2019 and faces three years of supervision following his release. Also Read: Former La Times Reporter Anita Busch's Suit Against Hollywood Pi Gets June Trial Date In.
- 8/1/2017
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
Los Angeles -- Ticketmaster has agreed to settle claims for up to $23 million over a lawsuit affecting more than a million people who, after buying a ticket online, were enrolled in a rewards program that cost $9 a month but never gave them any benefits.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles approved the settlement last week.
Plaintiffs' attorney Adam Gutride said affected customers will be sent an email Friday with a link to a website where they can file a claim. Each customer can get up to $30.
About 1.12 million people are eligible to file a claim. They signed up for the rewards program after buying a ticket at Ticketmaster.com between September 2004 and June 2009. The plaintiffs argued that they didn't know about the fees, which were charged to the credit or debit card used to buy the ticket.
Gutride said this kind of aggressive marketing was common on the Internet around that time.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles approved the settlement last week.
Plaintiffs' attorney Adam Gutride said affected customers will be sent an email Friday with a link to a website where they can file a claim. Each customer can get up to $30.
About 1.12 million people are eligible to file a claim. They signed up for the rewards program after buying a ticket at Ticketmaster.com between September 2004 and June 2009. The plaintiffs argued that they didn't know about the fees, which were charged to the credit or debit card used to buy the ticket.
Gutride said this kind of aggressive marketing was common on the Internet around that time.
- 5/17/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Los Angeles (AP) — Ticketmaster has agreed to settle claims for up to $23 million over a lawsuit affecting more than a million people who, after buying a ticket online, were enrolled in a rewards program that cost $9 a month but never gave them any benefits.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles approved the settlement last week.
Plaintiffs' attorney Adam Gutride said affected customers will be sent an email Friday with a link to a website where they can file a claim. Each customer can get up to $30.
About 1.12 million people are eligible to file a claim. They signed up for the rewards program after buying a ticket at Ticketmaster.com between September 2004 and June 2009. The plaintiffs argued that they didn't know about the fees, which were charged to the credit or debit card used to buy the ticket.
Gutride said this kind of aggressive marketing was common on the Internet around that time.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles approved the settlement last week.
Plaintiffs' attorney Adam Gutride said affected customers will be sent an email Friday with a link to a website where they can file a claim. Each customer can get up to $30.
About 1.12 million people are eligible to file a claim. They signed up for the rewards program after buying a ticket at Ticketmaster.com between September 2004 and June 2009. The plaintiffs argued that they didn't know about the fees, which were charged to the credit or debit card used to buy the ticket.
Gutride said this kind of aggressive marketing was common on the Internet around that time.
- 5/16/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
An unauthorized sequel to Sam Raimi’s blood soaked, gore-filled The Evil Dead trilogy has been buried in a court-nailed coffin.
A California federal court judge has awarded Raimi’s Renaissance Pictures — which he formed in 1979 with actor-producer Robert Tapert and co-producer Bruce Campbell to make 1981 horror classic The Evil Dead, starring Campbell — a default judgment prohibiting another company, Awards Pictures, from making an Evil Dead sequel.
Renaissance Pictures sued Awards Pictures in May, claiming Awards Pictures’ in-production film Evil Dead 4: Consequences conflicted with Renaissance’s own plans to create a sequel. Award Pictures, plus the company’s president Glenn MacCrae,...
A California federal court judge has awarded Raimi’s Renaissance Pictures — which he formed in 1979 with actor-producer Robert Tapert and co-producer Bruce Campbell to make 1981 horror classic The Evil Dead, starring Campbell — a default judgment prohibiting another company, Awards Pictures, from making an Evil Dead sequel.
Renaissance Pictures sued Awards Pictures in May, claiming Awards Pictures’ in-production film Evil Dead 4: Consequences conflicted with Renaissance’s own plans to create a sequel. Award Pictures, plus the company’s president Glenn MacCrae,...
- 8/28/2012
- by Solvej Schou
- EW - Inside Movies
Anthony Pellicano's attorney says his client will appeal a Monday decision that denies the ex-sleuth an early prison release. At the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer ruled that Pellicano still might represent a danger to society and a flight risk, refusing to grant bail as requested by the former Hollywood Pi's attorneys. Story: Anthony Pellicano Denied Release From Jail Now Steven Gruel tells The Hollywood Reporter that he expected "it was going to be uphill battle getting bond from" Judge Fischer. Gruel adds that once a written decision is issued, he'll be taking the case to
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- 8/13/2012
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A federal judge has denied bail to incarcerated former Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano. Lawyers for the imprisoned sleuth had argued that a medical condition and advancing age rendered Pellicano nonthreatening, and they noted several other figures convicted in the wiretapping scandal had been set free pending appeals. The hearing followed court papers filed in June. Photos: Top 10 Legal Disclaimers in Hollywood During the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Dale Fischer asked if there were any victims in the courtroom. Anita Busch, the former Los Angeles Times and Hollywood Reporter journalist whose reports of threats including
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- 8/13/2012
- by Alex Ben Block
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The judge overseeing the Anthony Pellicano case has postponed an expected July hearing on the imprisoned Hollywood private eye's request to be released from jail while his appeal winds its way through the courts. Photos: Crazy Cases! 18 of Hollywood's Outrageous Entertainment Lawsuits A stipulation to move the planned bail hearing from July 9 to Aug. 13, which is signed by Pellicano attorney Steven Gruel and U.S. District Attorney Kevin Lally, was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and approved by Judge Dale Fischer. Gruel cites a personal health issue as the reason for
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- 7/5/2012
- by Matthew Belloni
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Will the pelican finally fly free? Notorious Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano is currently serving time in a federal penitentiary in Texas for illegal possession of firearms and explosives, unlawful wiretapping and racketeering. But an attorney for Pellicano this week requested his client be granted bail and be released until his appeal can be heard in a filing to Judge Dale Fischer of the U.S. District Court. His request is expected to be a subject of discussion at a hearing July 9 in federal court in Los Angeles. Photos: Crazy Cases! 18 of Hollywood's Outrageous Entertainment Lawsuits "Mr. Pellicano
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- 6/13/2012
- by Alex Ben Block
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director sentenced to one year in jail for lying to FBI agents in wiretapping case breaks his silence to say he will fight conviction
Die Hard director John McTiernan has vowed to appeal after he was sentenced to one year in jail on Monday for lying to FBI agents over the infamous Anthony Pellicano wiretapping case.
McTiernan, 59, whose other films include The Hunt for Red October and The Thomas Crown Affair, declined the opportunity to address the court or speak to reporters outside the courtroom. However, he subsequently gave an interview to the Hollywood Reporter in which he said he would continue to fight the conviction for as long as he could.
"We don't stop," he said. "At a certain point, someone brings a fight to you, and you wind up in the middle of it. I don't know when to stop. I'm not sure in something like this you do.
Die Hard director John McTiernan has vowed to appeal after he was sentenced to one year in jail on Monday for lying to FBI agents over the infamous Anthony Pellicano wiretapping case.
McTiernan, 59, whose other films include The Hunt for Red October and The Thomas Crown Affair, declined the opportunity to address the court or speak to reporters outside the courtroom. However, he subsequently gave an interview to the Hollywood Reporter in which he said he would continue to fight the conviction for as long as he could.
"We don't stop," he said. "At a certain point, someone brings a fight to you, and you wind up in the middle of it. I don't know when to stop. I'm not sure in something like this you do.
- 10/7/2010
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
A U.S. federal judge has refused to dismiss the case of disgraced Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano[/link]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[/link]Tom Cruise, Steven Seagal[/link]Steven Segal, Farrah Fawcett[/link]Farrah Fawcett and Chris Rock[/link]Chris Rock - who testified in court earlier this month - all of whom allegedly employed Pellicano's services.
However, Judge Dale Wesley Fischer[/link]Dale Fischer was called upon to declare a mistrial, after defence lawyers accused prosecutors of inappropriately questioning one of the accused - Mark Arneson[/link]Mark Arneson - during his testimony.
The former Los Angeles police sergeant is accused of taking over $180,000 (GBP90,000) 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, 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.
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[/link]Tom Cruise, Steven Seagal[/link]Steven Segal, Farrah Fawcett[/link]Farrah Fawcett and Chris Rock[/link]Chris Rock - who testified in court earlier this month - all of whom allegedly employed Pellicano's services.
However, Judge Dale Wesley Fischer[/link]Dale Fischer was called upon to declare a mistrial, after defence lawyers accused prosecutors of inappropriately questioning one of the accused - Mark Arneson[/link]Mark Arneson - during his testimony.
The former Los Angeles police sergeant is accused of taking over $180,000 (GBP90,000) 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, 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.
- 4/16/2008
- WENN
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