Pellicano trial slowly winding down
CAA toppers mark uneventful day in court
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That's how long the government thinks it'll need in its case against Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano and four co-defendants charged with illegal wiretapping and racketeering.
After a grueling three weeks of testimony, wrapping things up couldn't come at a better time: Eyes nearly glazed over (some jurors and co-defendants even fell asleep) in the courtroom Wednesday as former FBI computer expert Jeffrey Edwards was cross-examined on the minutiae of the workings of the Telesleuth software that computer programmer Kevin Kachikian allegedly created for Pellicano to record phone calls.
Excitement over the planned appearance of Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane ended with a whimper, as the CAA toppers appeared for just 30 minutes on the witness stand verifying their names on DMV and criminal history records found in Pellicano's computers during an FBI raid in 2002.
DMV information on Lourd and Huvane included their business addresses, because they never use their home addresses on licenses for "security" reasons, they testified.
The files were put on display to link former LAPD officer Mark Arneson to Pellicano. Arneson's name appears on the printouts given to Pellicano in 2001 after the officer allegedly conducted database searches on the agents during a dispute between CAA and former founder Michael Ovitz, who had just formed rival management firm AMG. Ovitz is said to have hired Pellicano during that time.
The agents made it to the stand after waiting several hours in a coffee shop in the downtown courthouse and provided the jury with a much-needed reprieve from Pellicano's cross-examination of Edwards and his software testimony.
Earlier in the morning, assistant U.S. attorney Dan Saunders began the day backtracking on the previous day's surprising announcement that showbiz litigator Bert Fields would invoke the Fifth Amendment and not testify. Fields, who hired Pellicano on numerous occasions, is on the prosecution's witness list.
Fields made every effort on Tuesday to deny that he would take the Fifth.
"We since have been informed by Mr. Fields' firm's general counsel that he will not invoke the Fifth," Saunders said. "We have not decided if we will or will not call Mr. Fields. It will depend on the testimony of a couple of witnesses next week."
