Indicted private eye Anthony Pellicano on Monday abruptly dropped his request for a hearing into alleged government misconduct as a federal judge brushed aside eleventh-hour bids to postpone next month's wiretapping trial of Pellicano and five co-defendants.
The surprise move by Pellicano came at the outset of a hearing before U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who two months ago agreed that Pellicano was entitled to an evidentiary hearing over allegations that the FBI and federal prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by using his ex-girlfriend to elicit confidential information.
The accusation was a cornerstone of the defense under Pellicano's previous attorneys, and Fischer's agreement to grant a hearing was a rare courtroom victory for the former private investigator's legal team.
But at Monday's hearing, the first since he decided to represent himself at trial, Pellicano told the judge he was withdrawing his request.
"I don't believe I have any chance of prevailing," Pellicano said.
Though attorneys in the case declined to comment, Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, expressed satisfaction with the development.
"We have always believed that the motion was unfounded," Mrozek said.
Fischer then pushed forward with plans to begin the long-awaited trial Feb. 27. It is expected to last eight to 10 weeks.
In doing so, the judge again rejected requests by attorneys for entertainment attorney Terry Christensen, a co-defendant, that the trial be delayed.
For some time, Christensen's defense team has argued that the trial should not begin before appeals courts have ruled on the admissibility of evidence, including tape recordings, that they believe should not be entered at trial.
On Monday, Chicago defense attorney Dan Webb added a personal request for a delay in the trial's start date. The former U.S. attorney in Chicago said he had long been retained to head Christensen's defense team at trial but now has a scheduling conflict with a case in New York City set to begin March 3.
Fischer rejected requests to postpone the case pending the appeals. And she said she was not persuaded by Webb's request, noting that Christensen had plenty of other well-qualified attorneys.
