Anthony Pellicano

It ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. After years of breathless coverage in every newspaper and magazine known to man, Anthony Pellicano was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday for running an illegal wiretapping operation that dug up dirt -- or at least tried to unearth dirty laundry -- on a host of prominent Hollywood celebrities and industry insiders. A longtime private investigator who engaged in everything from wiretapping to computer fraud, Pellicano was supposed to bring down half of Hollywood with him. But after years of titillating speculation, the story was a bust.

A federal judge on Monday shot down Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano's bid to be released on bail during an appeal of his 2008 convictions for racketeering and wiretapping. Judge Dale Fischer, who presided over the private investigator's six-week trial, said she was not convinced the 68-year-old was no longer a threat to society, despite his attorney's pleas that Pellicano suffered from a serious eye condition and had neither the resources nor the motivation to engage in the intimidation and sleuthing that landed him in federal prison.

The case of the shattered windshield, a dead fish and a rose is finally moving forward. Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano and his alleged hired hand, Alexander Proctor, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that they threatened reporter Anita Busch in 2002 to scare her off a story. Pellicano and Proctor, both 65, were charged four years ago in the threat on Busch's life.

"Die Hard" director John McTiernan was sentenced to a year in federal prison Monday for lying to the FBI ? and later to a federal judge ? regarding his role in the wiretapping case of disgraced Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano. McTiernan, 59, will remain free on bail pending an appeal of some issues in the case. If the appeal is denied, he will begin serving his sentence, authorities said. Pellicano was convicted two years ago of racketeering and wiretapping. Prosecutors presented evidence at the trial that he secretly recorded movie producer Charles Roven's phone calls on McTiernan's behalf.

A Los Angeles police sergeant has been suspended for allegedly tapping into confidential police databases on behalf of Anthony Pellicano, a Hollywood private investigator who has worked for some of the biggest names in show business, law enforcement sources said. FBI agents and Los Angeles Police Department investigators who served search warrants on Pellicano obtained records that led to Sgt. Mark Arneson, a 29-year veteran of the force.

Anthony Pellicano, private investigator to the stars, was charged Friday with conspiracy and making criminal threats for allegedly hiring a man three years ago to intimidate a Los Angeles Times reporter. The charges, the result of a long-running federal and state probe of Pellicano, stem from a "Godfather"-like incident in which a dead fish with a rose in its mouth was placed on the windshield of the reporter's car.

As federal authorities move closer to issuing new charges in the Anthony Pellicano investigation, a dozen people -- including the ex-wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian -- are weighing civil lawsuits against the indicted private eye, his alleged accomplices and their former employers. In recent interviews, attorneys representing potential plaintiffs also said they may target law firms and celebrities who hired Pellicano.

Among those who seek the moniker "Hollywood detective," Anthony Pellicano, who was arrested last week, has set the standard for two decades -- even the rivals who portray him as a greedy, self-promoting bully concede that much.

Anthony "the Pelican" Pellicano long ago became a successful Hollywood private investigator by talking tough, and he won't let a federal indictment tame his tongue now. "Maybe the government will put me in a cage, but they're not going to change who I am," said the man who earned millions working for the likes of Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise and Sylvester Stallone -- and once bragged of softening up his adversaries with a baseball bat. "They're not going to scare me.... I'm going to fight this."

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Hollywood private detective Anthony Pellicano tried to intimidate a potential witness against him in a grand jury investigation. Assistant U.S. Atty. Daniel Saunders, in court papers made public Monday, asked a federal judge to overturn a magistrate's decision allowing Pellicano to remain free on $400,000 bond. On Feb.

Former Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano and another man were sentenced to three years in prison Friday after pleading no contest to charges that they threatened a Los Angeles Times reporter in 2002. Pellicano, 65, and Alexander Proctor, 66, were charged with threatening reporter Anita Busch, who was doing investigative research on Hollywood industry figures. Busch found a dead fish with a rose in its mouth on her car's shattered windshield along with a sign reading "Stop," according to prosecutors.

A Hollywood film director who pleaded guilty three years ago to lying to the FBI in connection with the Anthony Pellicano investigation, then withdrew his plea, was indicted Friday by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. John McTiernan faces two counts of making false statements to federal agents and one count of perjury for a statement to a federal judge while seeking to withdraw his plea, federal authorities said.

It's been more than a decade since Chris Rock and a shapely blond model struck up a conversation over Sunday brunch at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. The relationship that followed was brief -- two dinner dates -- but there seems to be no end to the fallout from the liaison.

It ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. After years of breathless coverage in every newspaper and magazine known to man, Anthony Pellicano was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday for running an illegal wiretapping operation that dug up dirt -- or at least tried to unearth dirty laundry -- on a host of prominent Hollywood celebrities and industry insiders. A longtime private investigator who engaged in everything from wiretapping to computer fraud, Pellicano was supposed to bring down half of Hollywood with him. But after years of titillating speculation, the story was a bust.

Former Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday for running an illegal wiretapping operation that gathered information for a list of well-to-do clients, including celebrities, attorneys and business executives. U.S. District Judge Dale S.

A veteran FBI agent has been accused of illegally accessing computers at bureau headquarters in Washington, D.C., in what prosecutors suspect was a failed bid to help Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano defend himself against federal racketeering and wiretapping charges, according to court documents and a source familiar with the case. Mark T.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley criticized federal authorities Wednesday for what he described as a failure to brief him on key aspects of an investigation into whether private detective Anthony Pellicano had listened in on private conversations by prosecutors. As part of a broader investigation into alleged wiretapping by Pellicano, who has worked for a host of Hollywood stars and prominent attorneys, federal agents have questioned several Los Angeles prosecutors over the last year.

Celebrated private investigator Anthony Pellicano was charged Friday with possession of two unregistered hand grenades discovered as federal agents searched his office for evidence of his alleged involvement in a plot to threaten a Los Angeles Times reporter who was investigating actor Steven Seagal.

A prominent Los Angeles attorney was sentenced Monday to three years in federal prison and fined $250,000 for conspiring with Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano to wiretap billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's former wife. Terry Christensen, 67, also was ordered by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer to three years on supervised release after his prison term. He will remain free pending an appeal. Christensen was found guilty by a federal jury in August.