Billionaire investor and casino mogul Kirk Kerkorian testified Wednesday that he had no knowledge of any illegal wiretap targeting his former wife during his bitter child support battle with her six years ago.
Kerkorian, who rarely speaks in public and is known for shunning publicity, was called to the stand by defense attorneys in the criminal trial of his longtime lawyer and friend Terry Christensen.
Christensen, a prominent Century City attorney and member of Kerkorian's small circle of devoted loyalists, is on trial in federal district court alongside private investigator Anthony Pellicano. Each man faces two felony counts in connection with the alleged wiretapping of Kerkorian's former wife during the couple's heated legal fight over her demands for a steep increase in child support for her then 4-year-old child.
The 91-year-old Kerkorian, who wore a blue blazer and red tie, had to ask attorneys to speak up a couple of times when they asked him questions. He called Christensen, whom he has known 35 years, an "honest" and "true" friend.
Kerkorian's testimony was brief -- about 30 minutes -- and fairly unremarkable.
But those close to Kerkorian said the fact that the man who chooses to avoid the limelight testified for Christensen's defense, revisiting an embarrassing chapter in his life, was a testament to his friendship with the attorney.
"This isn't the kind of exposure that he looks for," said Alex Yemenidjian, the former head of MGM studios and a longtime Kerkorian friend, of Wednesday's testimony. "I think it's unquestionable, his loyalty to Terry is evident."
Kerkorian's friends said the investor is less a recluse, as he is often described, than a man who prefers to spend time with a tight circle of friends. He would never sit at the head of a table or in the front row at fights in his Las Vegas hotels, because he chooses not to draw attention to himself, friends said.
"He's a private person," said Burton Cohen, a former casino executive and a friend of Kerkorian's for more than three decades. "He's not an egomaniac; he puts his pants on one leg at a time just as I do."
On Wednesday, shortly after Kerkorian was sworn in, Christensen's attorney, Patricia Glaser, asked him to summarize his "personal background."
"How far down?" Kerkorian replied, eliciting laughs from jurors.
"You have two minutes," the judge said, which again prompted jurors and members of the audience to chuckle.
