Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and their fellow celebrities have turned a Robertson Boulevard boutique called Kitson into "L.A.'s hippest hot spot," in the words of US Weekly -- a place where certain green tank tops go for $645 and $195 buys that special trucker's hat.
With the star power have come the paparazzi, who regularly line up in front of Kitson waiting for their shot -- a frequent sight on the trendy boulevard, where the photojournalistic ritual sometimes has an unpleasant outcome.
Such was the case on Robertson last October, when Lohan crashed her car while trying to evade a pack of paparazzi. Sheriff's officials say the cause of the crash was a van driver, not members of the paparazzi who had been following the actress.
"There's a wake-up call here," Kitson owner Fraser Ross told The Times then. "It's not good for my store; it's not good for business on the street."
But the same month, Ross became an investor and one of three officers in a new venture: Sunset Photo and News LLC, a paparazzi agency run by a veteran tabloid reporter and celebrity photographer.
Ross and his attorney said he is a "passive investor" and does not have any role in running the firm.
But his involvement with Sunset Photo offers another twist in the shifting relationship between celebrities and the celebrity media.
"We have long suspected collusion between the editors of tabloid magazines, the owners of these paparazzi agencies and the business that happened to always get in these publications," said Blair Berk, a Beverly Hills attorney who represents Lohan, Halle Berry and Reese Witherspoon. "It is outrageous, but not unexpected."
Even in the anything-goes world of the Hollywood paparazzi, some tabloid veterans said they have never heard of anything like it.
"He is working all the angles," said Frank Griffin, co-owner of the Bauer Griffin agency, who is considered the dean of the paparazzi scene. "He, like many, knows there is [big] money in this business."
Ross said in an interview that he sees nothing wrong with his investment in Sunset Photo.
"Someone needed money and I invested. I leave the business to other people," said Ross, comparing it to Disney's 50% interest in US Weekly.
His attorney, Glenn Feldman, said Ross decided to invest because he wanted to give his friend Jill Ishkanian the opportunity to be the first female head of a paparazzi agency. Feldman said it is one of several investments, which include the Kitson stores and real estate.
