Former LA Times Reporter Calls Upon LAT to Investigate All Previous Reportage on Convicted Thug-to-the-Stars Anthony Pellicano

The reporter who acted as Pellicano's attack dog, attacking the government's case against him, just happens to have written most of the stories about Pellicano. And, oh yeah, seems to have a friendly relationship with him.

It gets weirder.

A day after [Busch, the former reporter who is now calling for an investigation] found the package, records show, a man with a criminal record called her out of the blue with information about the threat. A private investigator had hired someone else to blow up her car, he told her. As Ms. Busch and her colleagues met with F.B.I. and police officials to consider their next moves, the newspaper’s lawyer, Karlene Goller, spoke up with a suggestion.

Maybe Anthony Pellicano would know something about this, Ms. Goller said, according to two Times employees.

Ms. Busch insists that Ms. Goller talked of “bringing aboard” Mr. Pellicano.

Ms. Goller declined to comment, citing lawyer-client confidentiality. But Paul Lieberman, a reporter who heard the suggestion, said he saw nothing untoward in it. “He was someone that knew” the criminal element,” Mr. Lieberman said.

A reporter who had long experience with Mr. Pellicano as a news source, Chuck Philips, said he had tried to reach him at Ms. Goller’s urging and did not get through. But, he added, it was “preposterous” to think Ms. Goller would have proposed hiring him.

At this time, Mr. Pellicano was not suspected in the threat against Ms. Busch. But wrongly or rightly, the discussions left her convinced that the paper was too cozy with him.

Bear in mind, it was Anthony Pellicano ultimately convicted of making that threat. But the genius LAT considered hiring him to check into it.

Yeah, I'm sure the LAT will get right on that internal investigation.

posted by Ace at 02:49 PM

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