Federal prosecutors Wednesday released a list of more than 120 witnesses -- including actors Sylvester Stallone, Chris Rock and Farrah Fawcett -- whom they plan to call during the racketeering and wiretapping trial of private investigator Anthony Pellicano and his four co-defendants.
Also on the five-page list are agent Michael Ovitz, studio executives Ron Meyer of Universal Studios and Brad Grey of Paramount Pictures, and well-known entertainment attorney Bert Fields, who acknowledged long ago that he was a subject of the probe.
Fields was never charged, and there has been no indication that Fields would be more than a witness.
Fields and other Hollywood power brokers have said they had no idea that Pellicano engaged in the wiretapping, witness intimidation and other allegations the government will outline today during opening statements in what is expected to be an eight- to 10-week trial.
The 63-year-old Pellicano and co-defendants ex-LAPD Sgt. Mark Arneson, former telephone company technician Rayford Earl Turner, computer consultant Kevin Kachikian and Las Vegas businessman Abner Nicherie, have pleaded not guilty.
So has entertainment attorney Terry Christensen, who will stand trial in a second proceeding on charges of paying Pellicano to wiretap the ex-wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian. Pellicano is also a defendant in that case.
An eight-man, four-woman jury was quickly impaneled Wednesday after a selection process that gave few hints at the breadth or depth of the government's case.
But in a brief address to potential jurors, Pellicano, who is representing himself, hinted that he might offer some surprises about the real-life world of private eyes and his years as an investigator known for hardball tactics and well-heeled clients.
"Is there anyone here who has preconceived notions of what a private investigator does?" Pellicano asked the jurors, standing before them wearing a green nylon Windbreaker and prison garb because he remains in federal custody.
When no one responded, Pellicano then asked if any jurors who considered hiring a private investigator would "like them to bend the law" -- a question that is at the heart of the government's case.
Before his indictment, Pellicano was wired into state and federal prosecutors, and over the years was often used as a government witness on audio recordings. During his questioning, he also implied that he would raise questions about the government's own use of wiretaps, asking jurors if they had "any questions" about how the government conducts surveillance.
