With Anthony Pellicano indicted, will L.A. federal prosecutors cut a swath of indictments through the entertainment bar? Follow our complete coverage.
“It’s an effort to avoid providing info that may be critical in analyzing the search warrant,” Gruel said.
In its papers, the government suggested that Pellicano’s discovery requests are aimed at finding out whether Proctor is cooperating with the authorities and what, if anything, he may have told them.
The government also sought to refute Gruel’s contention that a key FBI agent involved in the Pellicano case had been found not credible by a federal judge.
In 2002, Pellicano allegedly hired Proctor to threaten Busch, who was working on a story for the Los Angeles Times about Steven Seagal’s possible ties to the Mafia, according to prosecutors.
Busch returned to her car to find a smashed windshield, a dead fish with a rose in its mouth, and the word “stop,” she told prosecutors. That allegation spurred an FBI raid of Pellicano’s office in which illegal explosives and documents that led to the latest wiretapping charges were found.
Both Pellicano and Proctor have been charged in a pending state case with conspiracy and criminal threats in connection with the threat against Busch.
The latest government filing is a response to the defense’s request for all evidence relating to Proctor and Seagal.
Prosecutors said any such evidence would be irrelevant in the wiretapping charges Pellicano now faces, and said Gruel’s other discovery requests were premature, adding that his requests appeared to be aimed at getting early discovery.
