A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed against Michael Jackson by a
man who claimed that the pop star molested him more than 20 years ago.

The alleged victim claimed he repressed the memory of the assault until
2003.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon dismissed the suit brought by Joseph
Bartucci Jr., who claimed he was lured into Jackson’s limousine during the
1984 world’s fair in New Orleans and held for nine days, during which he was
both sexually and physically assaulted. The lawsuit sought unspecified
damages.

“We’re pleased with the results,” Jackson spokesman Brian Oxman said Monday.
“It’s time to get on to new and better things.”

The judge’s order was dated Thursday and posted Monday on the court Web
site. His reasons for the dismissal were not immediately released.

“I’m basically shocked,” said Bartucci’s lawyer, Louis Koerner.

The lawsuit was filed in 2004. There is a one-year statute of limitations on
filings in such crimes when victims are adults. Bartucci, who was 18 in
1984, had argued that the statute applied only from 2003, when he says he
recovered a memory of the event.

Bartucci alleged he was sexually assaulted by Jackson and battered, held at
gunpoint and cut with razor blades by the singer’s bodyguards during a drive
to California and back.

Bartucci claimed he remembered the incident only when he saw a TV show about
child molestation charges brought against Jackson in California. Jackson was
acquitted in that case.

Koerner had argued that Bartucci was so badly injured by Jackson’s
bodyguards - including having his head slammed on the pavement - that the
trauma caused him to blank out all memory of it.

Source: Associated Press

By Roger Friedman

Which is weirder, dear reader? The fact that Michael Jackson is now being
managed by a man whose other client is an animated frog? Or that the
notebooks kept by one of his former jurors was purchased on eBay by one of
his unindicted co-conspirators? I mean, you decide, OK?

First the manager: The King of Pop is now being handled by Guy Holmes. His
record label is called Gut Records. His other acts are Chungking, Uniting
Nations and - believe it or not - Sparks, the cult brother act from the ’70s
that sold no records then, had no following, and I had forgotten existed at
all until I saw their name on the Gut Records Web site.

But what Holmes is really famous for is a ring tone called “Crazy Frog.” Now
look, this is serious: I am not kidding. Holmes, who may be a very nice
fellow, is described in a press release from Jackson and Prince Abdullah of
Bahrain as a “music mogul.” I guess things are different in England.

The other business: Alternate juror Jeffrey Welbaum went ahead and sold his
notebooks from the child molestation trial on eBay as planned, even after
his wife told me he was going to take them down. Welbaum’s mother-in-law, I
told you yesterday, was a maid at Neverland during the time the alleged
incidents occurred, but he was allowed on the jury anyway. His
mother-in-law, now deceased, was on the defense witness list.

[b]Anyway, the winner on eBay of the notebooks was Vincent Amen, the
26-year-old unindicted co-conspirator prosecutors tried to prove held the
Arvizo family against their will at Jackson’s request.[/b]

He paid $2,550 for the set of Welbaum’s writings. Amen received immunity
from the prosecution, if you recall, and then they couldn’t put him on the
stand because he corroborated all of the defense theories.

But that’s what the District Attorney’s office in Santa Barbara was like:
inept. Maybe that’s why I hear that Gary Dunlop, a lawyer whom D.A. Tom
Sneddon once unsuccessfully prosecuted, is now running for the job of
district attorney. His platform may well be to make sure no jurors and
witnesses are related, and maybe to interview witnesses before they take the
stand so he knows what they’re going to say.

As for “Crazy Frog,” he will have to be a write-in candidate.

Source: FOXNews.com

By Roger Friedman

You wonder how anyone gets convicted in California unless they’re caught
holding the murder weapon standing over the body.

Jeffrey Welbaum was selected last year as an alternate juror in the Michael
Jackson child molestation trial. I used to watch him from the public
seating; he was young, large (which helped for my eyesight) and with an easy
face to read. You could tell he didn’t believe a word of any prosecution
witness.

Turns out he had a good reason. His mother-in-law, Patti, had worked for
Jackson and his family for about five years. She was actually employed at
the ranch when the Arvizo family used to visit. She was on the defense
witness list but had a different last name, so no one paid much attention,
if they knew at all.

Ironically, the Santa Barbara News Press reported this little fact in
February 2004 during jury selection, but either it was a slow day or no one
noticed. It was never mentioned again that Judge Rodney Melville, according
to the paper, allowed this, and so did the lawyers involved.

Welbaum apparently told the court during his voir dire hearing that he would
hold his mother-in-law to the same standards as any other witness if she
took the stand.

Luckily, she never had to. And sadly, Patti Henkins died suddenly just last
month from a heart attack at age 59.

But imagine if she’d been called as a witness. I mean, we knew sitting there
that we were in a kangaroo court, but this is too much. Santa Maria is not
such a small town that this could happen by accident. It’s no Mayberry.
Frankly, if I were a resident of the county and read this now, I’d demand
the entire district attorney’s office be fired.

Henkins’ daughter, Sherri Welbaum, is the wife of Jeffrey Welbaum, who last
week put his notebooks from the trial up on eBay for auction.

After getting few bites, he took them down on Sunday morning. Sherri told me
they did it as a lark, and that their 17-year-old daughter had been against
the whole thing. “It’s history,” she said.

Here’s something funny: one of the two bidders who got the notebooks up to
$701 was Vinnie Amen, one of the five unnamed co-conspirators in the trial
who did not appear but whose name was mentioned often.

Amen preposterously alleged the Arvizo family held them against their will
at Neverland and elsewhere, forcing them to eat out, shop for clothes and
get full body waxes and beauty treatments. The jury did not find the family
credible.

Neither did Patti Henkins. Sherri Welbaum told me her mother had been
present when the Arvizos visited Neverland, and that they were terrible
kids.

“They were rough,” Sherri said.

She also said her mother never believed all the stories about Jackson and
other kids. She also dreaded being called as a witness.

I’ll bet she did. It might have been a first in California history. It was
just enough that Jeffrey Welbaum came to court equipped with a formed point
of view and insider in the case.

Are there more stories like this among California celebrity cases? I don’t
know, but I do know that O.J. Simpson lives a free life in Florida, and that
I recently saw Robert Blake at a rib joint in Malibu. They were each
acquitted of killing their wives.

Source: FOXNews.com

By Eric Velasco
E-mail: evelasco@bhamnews.com

Tom Mesereau may be known now as a celebrity lawyer, but he has dedicated
his 25-year career to beating the odds for rich and poor alike.

Last year he led a team that won an acquittal in Michael Jackson’s child
molestation trial.

He once persuaded a jury not to convict a Los Angeles gang member nicknamed
“Little Hit Man” in a daytime homicide witnessed by three people.

In one of his annual Alabama trials, he successfully helped defend a
homeless capital murder defendant by attacking the quality of eyewitness
identification.

“He’s as good a trial lawyer as I have ever seen and has as good a trial
record as anyone in the state,” said Jennifer Keller, a California attorney
who has known Mesereau since law school.

Above all, Mesereau is a champion of the underdog.

“I like to see myself that way,” said Mesereau, 55, who defended Jacolby
Cooper on Jefferson County capital murder charges last week alongside
Birmingham’s Charles Salvagio. It was Mesereau’s first trial since
Jackson’s.

Cooper, who faced a potential death sentence, was convicted on a reduced
charge of felony murder. He faces 20 to 99 years in prison when he is
sentenced June 8.

“Charles and I have common interests in representing the underdogs and
people who normally would not get as good a defense as they should,” he
said.

Jackson was an underdog because of public perception, a media feeding frenzy
and the star’s wealth, Mesereau said.

“He was attacked because he is the world’s most famous celebrity,” he said.
“He was perceived as vulnerable.”

Reputation vs. reality

Mesereau’s reputation as a celebrity lawyer began in 2001 when he helped
persuade prosecutors not to charge boxer and convicted rapist Mike Tyson
after another rape accusation.

Mesereau also defended actor Robert Blake in pretrial hearings in his murder
case, pulling off the rare feat of getting bail in a capital case.

But it was Jackson’s trial that splashed Mesereau’s face daily all over the
international media.

Jackson fans chattered on the Web about the lawyer they dubbed “Mez.” One
set up a Tom Mesereau Fan Club site, while another offered do-your-own
“T-Mez” dolls.

USA Today declared Mesereau the “new `go-to guy’ for celebs in trouble.”
Barbara Walters named him one of her 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005.

Mesereau blushed when told Jackson’s fans labeled him “a god” and “super
duper rad.” Walters’ accolade was an honor, but he shrugged off the rest.

“I had to psyche myself up, almost like an athlete, to avoid the media and
to view them almost as the enemy,” said Mesereau, an ex-boxer who also
played defense for the Harvard Crimson football team.

“I believe cases are won in the courtroom, not the media,” he said. “Lawyers
who get too star-struck or addicted to the cameras make a terrible mistake.”

Mesereau said lawyering in the limelight isn’t his calling.

“I don’t want to be known as a celebrity lawyer,” he said. “My heart is in
civil rights work. I am a lawyer with a love of justice.”

Civil rights

Mesereau’s interest in civil rights keeps bringing him to a Jefferson County
courtroom.

After meeting Salvagio and Birmingham attorney Wilson Myers, he took on his
first Alabama case in 1999.

Cooper’s trial was his fifth capital murder case here. Another is
tentatively set for June in Greene County. He and Salvagio also defended a
man facing a potential death sentence in Mississippi several years ago.

“What better place for a civil rights lawyer than in the cradle of civil
rights?” Salvagio said.

Mesereau’s volunteer legal work here is an extension of the pro bono work he
has done in Los Angeles for two decades.

He works monthly at a legal clinic for an LA church. He recently helped open
another free legal clinic there, which is named, in part, for him.

Mesereau serves on several social agency boards in Los Angeles and works
with a group that helps women recover from drug abuse or incarceration. His
latest project is to help broker a dialog among black ministers, the Nation
of Islam and rabbis.

Mesereau said his civil rights work attracted the celebrities.

“I’ve always seen the Michael Jackson case as a civil rights case,” he said.
“The prosecution attacked his music, skin color, appearance and sexuality.”

‘A buzzsaw’

Mesereau’s desire to defend the little guy wouldn’t mean much if he were not
a winner in court. He recently had an undefeated year, obtaining eight
acquittals and two hung juries.

None of his Jefferson County clients got death sentences, although some were
convicted of lesser charges.

A defense attorney’s bread and butter is cross-examining witnesses to create
doubt about the state’s case. Mesereau has made it an art form.

“It’s a little like running into a buzzsaw,” said Keller, the California
lawyer. “He’s very methodical and intense.”

Mesereau said the key is to listen to witnesses and not be so in love with
your preparation that you can’t adjust on the fly.

For example, during the Jackson trial Mesereau had six volumes of documents
ready for prosecution witness Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s ex-wife and the mother
of two of his children.

When he realized her testimony favored the defense, he didn’t use any of the
prepared documents in his cross-examination, he said.

In a Birmingham courtroom last week, his demeanor was confident but humble.
He introduced himself to witnesses by saying, “I’m here to speak for Mr.
Cooper.”

His closing argument was casually conversational, yet sharply focused on his
defense themes. Colleagues say his people skills help him connect with
jurors.

He doesn’t always connect with victims’ families and some prosecutors. One
local prosecutor even once called him “a Hollywood fraud.”

But Jill Ganus, who faced Mesereau in a 2000 case in Bessemer, said he has
integrity.

“I respect his passion,” said Ganus, now a judge. “I respect what he does
and how he spends his own money doing it.”

Mesereau said providing quality defense for all is his calling.

“Many lawyers view the profession as simply a business,” he said. “They
don’t approach what they do with passion. If you view it as a business, it
is likely to be reflected in the concern you show for your client.”

“My heart is in civil rights work. I am a lawyer with a love of justice.”
–Tom Mesereau

Source: The Birmingham News

By Roger Friedman

It had to happen. I’m surprised no one thought of it before. An alternate
juror in last year’s Michael Jackson child molestation trial has put his
notebooks on sale on eBay.

The starting bid is $550.

Alternate juror No. 2 was Jeffrey Welbaum, a white 36-year-old male UPS
truck driver who had three kids. According to his jury description, he often
delivered packages to Neverland.

I do believe this is the balding guy who squinted a lot during testimony he
didn’t believe, and was often physically active in his seat. I know he took
a lot of notes because I had a direct view of him every day of the trial.

This is how he describes his eBay item: “These are in good condition. I was
alternate # 2 in the Michael Jackson Trial. I sat in the jury box for the
duration of the trial. I have my original notes and badge and official
certificate that says juror # 207 in the Michael Joe Jackson Trial signed by
Judge Melville.”

Can you blame him for trying to make some money off the trial? Maybe. But I
don’t think so. None of the jurors’ efforts to sell their stories or write
books worked. It’s been a year since the jurors sat through what was
basically a pointless exercise. Will Welbaum find a buyer? Probably. If
Jackson were smart, he’d buy them outright.

Source: FOX News

Smooth Criminal debuted at #19 this week in the UK singles chart

Video Greatest Hits - HIStory rises 4 places to #31 on the Australian DVD
Charts

Source: MJ.INF

By Roger Friedman

Michael Jackson has managed to do himself in again. It’s an amazing
situation, and one only Jackson could pull off.

As I’ve told you for weeks, Sony Music has been trying to negotiate a way
for Jackson to hold on to his partnership with them in what’s known as the
Beatles catalog, aka Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

As I’ve also told you, long before the New York Times caught wind of it,
Sony had convinced Citigroup to help finance the purchase of Jackson’s $270
million worth of loans from Fortress Investment Group. In exchange,
Citigroup only wanted 6 percent ownership in Jackson’s holdings.

But a year ago, Jackson had made a fatal mistake. He instigated the sale of
those loans by Bank of America to Fortress. The deadline for paying the
loans back was Dec. 20. Fortress extended the deadline to Feb. 20, at which
time they could have foreclosed on Jackson.

They didn’t, but they also wouldn’t sell to Sony and Citigroup. As I told
you in this space, Fortress wouldn’t let go. And, according to my sources,
they wanted far more than Citigroup: more like 20 percent.

Now it seems a deal has been struck, but the deal is exactly the same one
Jackson was offered last year, before the Bank of America sale, by advisers
Charles Koppelman and Alvin Malnik and bankers at Goldman Sachs.

In that deal, Jackson would sell one half of his Sony/ATV holdings, retain
the other half and have enough cash to pay off his debts and leave him with
a nice piece of change, plus an annual $10 million income.

At the time, Jackson refused, deciding that the Goldman Sachs group was “out
to get him.” He asked billionaire Ron Burkle to intercede instead with Bank
of America.

Burkle, according to sources, called B of A’s CEO, Ken Lewis, and said he
thought Jackson was getting a raw deal from the bank. Lewis was furious.

Jackson’s personal banker at B of A, Jane Heller, had held his finances
together with toothpicks for years. B of A was offended by Burkle’s
comments, and decided to sell the loans. Fortress, which had already made an
offer, was the buyer.

Now, a year later, Fortress - holding Jackson’s notes - has still refused to
let go. So now, in addition to Sony and Citigroup, Jackson is also in
business with them.

The deal he’s getting isn’t much different from the Goldman Sachs one, and
if you think about it, how could it be? Jackson always had one alternative:
to sell part of his ownership in the Beatles catalog.

And now the moment has come. Jackson - whose group leaked information to the
New York Times yesterday - gets a loan from Fortress for $300 million, but
sells Sony half his interest in the company. The details still have to be
worked out, but by calculation, in the end, Jackson loses now for not taking
the Goldman Sachs deal last year.

Of course, this is what Jackson doesn’t know about Fortress Investments, and
what he’ll likely never know unless someone reads him this column.

A few years ago, Fortress financed something called The Songwriters
Collective. TSC, as it was known, was designed to help songwriters - mostly
in Nashville - so they would get some money for their work. It seemed like a
noble idea, but it backfired wildly.

Last year one of the writers in the Collective, Annie Rogoff, sued Fortress
to get the rights back to her songs. The case has been settled, and Rogoff
got the rights back, but at a high price. If Fortress was interested in
helping songwriters, this was not a good example of caring about artists’
rights.

Presently, three different lawsuits are proceeding against Fortress and The
Songwriters Collective, according to Rogoff’s attorney. They are similar to
Rogoff’s. One is in state court in Tennessee. Two are in federal, one which
includes as a plaintiff Holly Lamar, who co-wrote Faith Hill’s biggest hit,
“Breathe.” All of the songwriters involved are demanding the return of their
rights. In the end, it is likely they will have to buy their own work back
from Fortress.

Jackson still has to deal with another manifestation of the Fortress
agreement. He is currently being sued for $48 million by Prescient Capital,
a one-man operation owned by Darien Dash, cousin of hip-hop entrepreneur
Damon Dash.

In late 2004, Dash was asked by Jackson’s brother Randy Jackson to find
someone who would put up the financing to buy out Bank of America. Jackson
agreed to pay Dash a 9 percent fee if this was accomplished.

Dash found Fortress, which agreed to put up $530 million to get Jackson out
of his entire Sony mess. In the end, though, they only had to pony up $270
million. Dash asserts in his lawsuit that he’s owed 9 percent of $530. That
comes to $48 million.

Last year, during his short term as Jackson’s financial adviser, Burkle, I
am told, spoke with Dash and offered him $1 million as a settlement. Dash
refused.

“The problem is, Michael signed the document with him,” says a source.

So even if the legality of the agreement is questionable, Jackson’s
liability may yet be proven.

Of course, there’s also another lawsuit, brought by Jackson’s former
business partner Marc Schaffel. It’s set to begin June 2 in California, and
so far no one from Jackson’s side has indicated that they are not ready.

If Jackson doesn’t show in the case, it’s possible his videotaped
deposition, made last September in London, could be played for a jury in
lieu of an appearance.

Source: FOX News

Michael Jackson is pleased to announce that he has restructured his finances
with the assistance of Sony Corporation of America, the long time co-owner
of Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. Following negotiations with several
leading financial institutions, Mr. Jackson has concluded refinancing with
affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, the lender that currently holds
secured debts that were previously held by Bank of America. Citigroup
structured the transaction for the parties. The terms of this new financing
deal will not be disclosed.

Mr. Jackson was supported on the refinancing by an advisory team that
included Bahrain-based financial advisor Ahmed Al Khan and Qays H. Zubi
Attorneys & Legal Consultants.

Source: Yahoo!

Mariah Carey is waiting for Jermaine Dupri to invite her into the studio to
record a duet with his lover Janet Jackson.

Carey is such a huge admirer of the ‘All For You’ hit maker, she has given
producer Dupri’s collaboration concept the green light.

She tells MTV, “I love Janet. I’m a big fan. So if Jermaine has a concept,
we should go and write something.”

Source: Yahoo! Music

Costume designer Billy Frank Whitten, who created Michael JacksonMichael
Jackson’s famous glove, died of lymphoma on April 8 in Los Angeles. He was
62.

Funeral services will be held at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills at The Church
of the Hills, April 13 at 1 p.m.

Whitten was known for his hand-beaded clothing, made for his label Workroom
27. He designed costumes for performers including Neil Diamond, Siegfried &
Roy, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac and Earth, Wind and
Fire.

Source: Variety.Com