In the case of the Ovitz-Pellicano conversations six years ago, the trial memo says Ovitz and Pellicano discussed the agent's belief that then-New York Times reporter Bernard Weinraub had "been recycling negative stories about him," sometimes with the assistance of Anita Busch, who worked as a Los Angeles Times writer.
Records show that Arneson searched the FBI's national database for information on Weinraub and Busch on May 16, 2002. Department of Motor Vehicles photos of the reporters requested that same day were recovered during a search of Pellicano's computers, the memo says.
It was a threat against Busch that triggered the Pellicano investigation, according to earlier court papers.
In July 2003, after he resigned from the LAPD, Arneson told the FBI that he had been investigating whether Busch "was involved in gambling or other organized crime activities."
Prosecutors called that story "a complete fabrication."
Late Friday, Ovitz' attorney, James Ellis, said: "Neither Mr. Ovitz nor Artists Management Group authorized or had any knowledge of this activity."
Ellis added that Ovitz was on a list of potential prosecution witnesses that "contains more than 200 individuals."
greg.krikorian@latimes.com Times staff writer Kim Christensen contributed to this report.
