MX (Melbourne, Australia)
November 25, 2003 Tuesday
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 426 words
SPEAKS OUT
Michael Jackson has spoken for the first time about the child abuse allegations against him , claiming they are a "big lie".
The singer, who was arrested and granted bail last week, told his fans on a new website his name will be cleared in court.
Jackson, 45, wrote on the site created to deal with the case: "The charges recently directed at me are terribly serious. They are, however, predicated on a big lie. This will be shown in court and we will be able to put this horrible time behind us."
Jackson faces claims of committing multiple lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14. He is expected to be formally charged next week and a trial date has been set for January 9.
If found guilty he could face more than 10 years in prison.
The boy in question is believed to be 12-year-old cancer sufferer Gavin Arvizo. It has been reported that police discovered love letters and poems the singer addressed to him.
Jackson was freed on $4 million bail and is now filming a pop video.
Jackson's defence team has been busy since the King of Pop's arrest, hiring private investigator Zvonko Bill Pavelic to dig up dirt on witnesses for the prosecution.
Bill Pavelic, a former LAPD detective, was also a crucial and controversial behind-the-scenes operator in the O. J. Simpson trial.
To my fans, friends and family:
As you know, the charges recently directed at me are terribly serious.They are, however, predicated on a big lie. This will be shown in court, and we will be able to put this horrible time behind us.
Because the charges are so serious, I hope you all will understand,on the advice of my attorneys, I will be limited in what I can sayabout the situation. There will be times when I cannot comment atall. No doubt, this will be frustrating for all of us.
For that reason, I have set up this website to serve as a source of official communications on my case. Any statement that does notappear on this website must be considered unauthorised.
You are right to be sceptical of some of the individuals who arebeing identified in the mass media as my friends, spokespeopleand attorneys. With few exceptions, most of them are simplyfilling a desperate void in our culture that equates visibility withinsight. We will not engage in speculation. We will not provide
running commentary on every new development or allegation du jour. We intend to try our case in the courtroom, not in the public
or the media.
I thank you all for your support and
understanding.
God bless you,
Michael Jackson.
LOAD-DATE: November 25, 2003
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
JOURNAL-CODE: MEL
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Hotline shut down as 'tips' plummet
Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada)
August 25, 1994 Thursday Final Edition
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A8
LENGTH: 320 words
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
Calls to a hot line created for tipsters with possible leads in the O.J. Simpson murder case have dropped off so precipitously in recent weeks that his attorneys have decided for now to pull the plug on the highly publicized effort, members of Mr. Simpson's defence camp said yesterday.
"Like anything, the initial impact was the biggest," said Robert Shapiro, one of Mr. Simpson's attorneys. "Since then, it's worn off some."
In its first week of operation, the toll-free number generated thousands of calls -- Mr. Simpson's attorneys say they logged more than 250,000 tips within days, a rush so intense that they were forced to install extra lines to capture the recorded comments deluging the hot line.
Many of the calls came from people sympathetic to the football star charged with murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman. Others sought to cash in on Mr. Simpson's offer of a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the "real killer or killers."
But in the weeks since that first burst of phone calls, members of Mr. Simpson's team say the quantity and quality of calls have tapered off dramatically. In recent weeks, tantalizing tips mostly have been replaced by wackier offerings and meddlesome wanna-be investigators, Mr. Simpson's representatives say.
"Initially, it was a very good idea," said Bill Pavelic, an investigative consultant working with the Simpson team who recommended that the hot line be shut down. "We got a lot of good leads. But the calls lately have not been as good. We get people who want to tell us how to do things, not people who have information."
Because of that, the service was temporarily disconnected, and Mr. Shapiro said Mr. Simpson's attorneys expect to decide later this week whether to leave it off permanently. Tuesday, callers to the number got a recorded message saying that the number was "temporarily out of service."
LOAD-DATE: October 13, 2002
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: Shapiro
TYPE: News
August 25, 1994 Thursday Final Edition
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A8
LENGTH: 320 words
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
Calls to a hot line created for tipsters with possible leads in the O.J. Simpson murder case have dropped off so precipitously in recent weeks that his attorneys have decided for now to pull the plug on the highly publicized effort, members of Mr. Simpson's defence camp said yesterday.
"Like anything, the initial impact was the biggest," said Robert Shapiro, one of Mr. Simpson's attorneys. "Since then, it's worn off some."
In its first week of operation, the toll-free number generated thousands of calls -- Mr. Simpson's attorneys say they logged more than 250,000 tips within days, a rush so intense that they were forced to install extra lines to capture the recorded comments deluging the hot line.
Many of the calls came from people sympathetic to the football star charged with murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman. Others sought to cash in on Mr. Simpson's offer of a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the "real killer or killers."
But in the weeks since that first burst of phone calls, members of Mr. Simpson's team say the quantity and quality of calls have tapered off dramatically. In recent weeks, tantalizing tips mostly have been replaced by wackier offerings and meddlesome wanna-be investigators, Mr. Simpson's representatives say.
"Initially, it was a very good idea," said Bill Pavelic, an investigative consultant working with the Simpson team who recommended that the hot line be shut down. "We got a lot of good leads. But the calls lately have not been as good. We get people who want to tell us how to do things, not people who have information."
Because of that, the service was temporarily disconnected, and Mr. Shapiro said Mr. Simpson's attorneys expect to decide later this week whether to leave it off permanently. Tuesday, callers to the number got a recorded message saying that the number was "temporarily out of service."
LOAD-DATE: October 13, 2002
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: Shapiro
TYPE: News
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
DRIVER'S RECORD TRACED AFTER 4 DIE
Los Angeles Times
July 8, 1987, Wednesday, Home Edition
BYLINE: By TERRY PRISTIN and CRAIG QUINTANA, Times Staff Writers
SECTION: Metro; Part 2; Page 1; Column 2; Metro Desk
LENGTH: 907 words
A former mental patient arrested last week after a traffic collision in which four people died had been released from a county psychiatric ward only two days earlier, having been confined because of reckless driving, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspect, David Columbus Hasson, 33, who was booked on suspicion of murder, was hospitalized June 17 after his father and a friend told police that "he had been driving up and down the street trying to hit people," Los Angeles Police Detective Bill Pavelic said.
Hasson, who according to records has a history of mental problems dating to 1975, was released from Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center on July 1, although he could have been held at least four more days, Deputy Dist. Atty. David H. Guthman said.
The district attorney's office is to decide today whether to file murder charges against Hasson.
Criticizing hospital officials for not trying to keep Hasson confined through legal proceedings, Guthman, who heads the district attorney's mental health section, asked: "Why didn't the hospital bring that case to me seeking to extend civil commitment? . . . What I have always said to the hospitals is, 'Why don't you pass the buck to me, and let me make the decision?' "
Hasson's case is the second in two weeks in which county health officials have been accused of prematurely releasing a dangerous patient.
Last week, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner attacked County-USC Medical Center officials for "irresponsible actions" in releasing AIDS patient Joseph Edward Markowski after being told he was selling contaminated blood.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered Department of Health Services Director Robert C. Gates on Tuesday to look into why Markowski, who has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, was not detained at the county hospital.
As in the Markowski case, county health officials have declined to comment on the Hasson matter, citing restrictions because of confidentiality.
Last Friday, while driving north on Hoover Street, Hasson's car sped through an intersection at Gage Avenue and collided with another car, cutting it in half and killing a man and three children who were returning from a holiday barbecue with friends, police said.
Hasson, who witnesses said was driving between 60 and 70 m.p.h., came to a stop after two other vehicles were struck, investigators said.
The victims were identified as Michael Magee, 25, of South-Central Los Angeles; Sheneke Magee, 2; Duwane Magee, 11 months; and Ryan Wagner, 3. Lydia Tucker, 20, Magee's fiance and the mother of the children, was critically injured and remains in intensive care at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood.
Hospital spokeswoman Christie Ciraulo said Tucker is "awake and fairly alert" but may be paralyzed as a result of spinal injuries.
Hasson is being held without bail in the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center, where he is being treated for internal injuries.
'Acting Strangely'
Pavelic of the Police Department's mental evaluation unit said Hasson was admitted to Augustus F. Hawkins Medical Center on June 17 after his father and a friend complained that he was "acting strangely."
He was carrying dead animals around with him, "driving erratically" and "playing the role of a traffic officer" by stopping cars, Pavelic said.
After 72 hours of observation, hospital staff asked that he be held for 14 days, saying he was gravely disabled. According to customary practice, a probable-cause hearing was held before a mental health referee to determine if the hospital could keep Hasson.
Hasson was described as a manic depressive "with psychotic features" who was hearing voices and carried a dead cat in his car while "'driving up and down the street attempting to hit people," Guthman said, reading from the referee's records.
A hospital psychiatrist, Dr. Greta Johnson, testified, however, that Hasson was not a danger to others, according to Guthman.
As a result of the hearing, the hospital was permitted to confine Hasson until July 5, if it deemed necessary.
Why he was released four days early could not be learned.
Johnson said she was not allowed to comment on the case.
Comment Declined
William Delgardo, spokesman for the mental health center, which is part of Martin Luther King Jr. General Hospital, declined comment, citing confidentiality restrictions.
County health officials did not respond to a request made through spokesman Steven C. Stewart that it discuss its general policies.
Pavelic said Los Angeles police had 11 previous encounters with Hasson, dating back to 1975, but he said the records describing these are not available.
According to court records, Hasson was confined in mental hospitals at least 10 times between September, 1980, and April, 1983, Guthman said.
Meanwhile, relatives of the accident victims expressed outrage Tuesday over Hasson's release.
"They let him go when they knew he couldn't be ready to hit the streets," said Michael Magee's mother, Jacqueline. "Who let him have a car knowing what he was capable of doing? Somebody should have done something to have avoided this."
"Someone just called me and said that this man was a psycho and out to kill people, and the hospital just let him out on the street," said Mack Magee, Michael Magee's father.
The victim's brother, William, said: "Something has to be done to change things to keep people like him in."
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1987 The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times
July 8, 1987, Wednesday, Home Edition
BYLINE: By TERRY PRISTIN and CRAIG QUINTANA, Times Staff Writers
SECTION: Metro; Part 2; Page 1; Column 2; Metro Desk
LENGTH: 907 words
A former mental patient arrested last week after a traffic collision in which four people died had been released from a county psychiatric ward only two days earlier, having been confined because of reckless driving, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspect, David Columbus Hasson, 33, who was booked on suspicion of murder, was hospitalized June 17 after his father and a friend told police that "he had been driving up and down the street trying to hit people," Los Angeles Police Detective Bill Pavelic said.
Hasson, who according to records has a history of mental problems dating to 1975, was released from Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center on July 1, although he could have been held at least four more days, Deputy Dist. Atty. David H. Guthman said.
The district attorney's office is to decide today whether to file murder charges against Hasson.
Criticizing hospital officials for not trying to keep Hasson confined through legal proceedings, Guthman, who heads the district attorney's mental health section, asked: "Why didn't the hospital bring that case to me seeking to extend civil commitment? . . . What I have always said to the hospitals is, 'Why don't you pass the buck to me, and let me make the decision?' "
Hasson's case is the second in two weeks in which county health officials have been accused of prematurely releasing a dangerous patient.
Last week, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner attacked County-USC Medical Center officials for "irresponsible actions" in releasing AIDS patient Joseph Edward Markowski after being told he was selling contaminated blood.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered Department of Health Services Director Robert C. Gates on Tuesday to look into why Markowski, who has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, was not detained at the county hospital.
As in the Markowski case, county health officials have declined to comment on the Hasson matter, citing restrictions because of confidentiality.
Last Friday, while driving north on Hoover Street, Hasson's car sped through an intersection at Gage Avenue and collided with another car, cutting it in half and killing a man and three children who were returning from a holiday barbecue with friends, police said.
Hasson, who witnesses said was driving between 60 and 70 m.p.h., came to a stop after two other vehicles were struck, investigators said.
The victims were identified as Michael Magee, 25, of South-Central Los Angeles; Sheneke Magee, 2; Duwane Magee, 11 months; and Ryan Wagner, 3. Lydia Tucker, 20, Magee's fiance and the mother of the children, was critically injured and remains in intensive care at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood.
Hospital spokeswoman Christie Ciraulo said Tucker is "awake and fairly alert" but may be paralyzed as a result of spinal injuries.
Hasson is being held without bail in the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center, where he is being treated for internal injuries.
'Acting Strangely'
Pavelic of the Police Department's mental evaluation unit said Hasson was admitted to Augustus F. Hawkins Medical Center on June 17 after his father and a friend complained that he was "acting strangely."
He was carrying dead animals around with him, "driving erratically" and "playing the role of a traffic officer" by stopping cars, Pavelic said.
After 72 hours of observation, hospital staff asked that he be held for 14 days, saying he was gravely disabled. According to customary practice, a probable-cause hearing was held before a mental health referee to determine if the hospital could keep Hasson.
Hasson was described as a manic depressive "with psychotic features" who was hearing voices and carried a dead cat in his car while "'driving up and down the street attempting to hit people," Guthman said, reading from the referee's records.
A hospital psychiatrist, Dr. Greta Johnson, testified, however, that Hasson was not a danger to others, according to Guthman.
As a result of the hearing, the hospital was permitted to confine Hasson until July 5, if it deemed necessary.
Why he was released four days early could not be learned.
Johnson said she was not allowed to comment on the case.
Comment Declined
William Delgardo, spokesman for the mental health center, which is part of Martin Luther King Jr. General Hospital, declined comment, citing confidentiality restrictions.
County health officials did not respond to a request made through spokesman Steven C. Stewart that it discuss its general policies.
Pavelic said Los Angeles police had 11 previous encounters with Hasson, dating back to 1975, but he said the records describing these are not available.
According to court records, Hasson was confined in mental hospitals at least 10 times between September, 1980, and April, 1983, Guthman said.
Meanwhile, relatives of the accident victims expressed outrage Tuesday over Hasson's release.
"They let him go when they knew he couldn't be ready to hit the streets," said Michael Magee's mother, Jacqueline. "Who let him have a car knowing what he was capable of doing? Somebody should have done something to have avoided this."
"Someone just called me and said that this man was a psycho and out to kill people, and the hospital just let him out on the street," said Mack Magee, Michael Magee's father.
The victim's brother, William, said: "Something has to be done to change things to keep people like him in."
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1987 The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times
Friday, May 2, 2008
JUST COLOR HANKS UNIMPRESSED: STAR REFUSES ROLE AS CHIEF EXEC
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)
September 04, 1996, Wednesday
BYLINE: ERIC E. HARRISON, Democrat-Gazette Critic at Large
SECTION: STYLE; Pg. 3F
LENGTH: 660 words
If elected, I will not serve: Tom Hanks has turned down the lead role in "Primary Colors," the film version of the best seller written anonymously by Newsweek's Joe Klein. Director Mike Nichols hoped to cast Hanks as the Clinton-esque candidate and Emma Thompson as his hard-charging wife. But the actor, reportedly a chum of the president's, has bolted. No word yet on a second choice.
School daze: Comedian Dennis Miller on education: "Our culture has gon e from the 'G.E. College Bowl' to the guy on 'Wheel of Fortune' who asks, 'Is there an F, as in Pharaoh?' "
Speaking of game shows, it must be really hard to play "Wheel of Fortune" in Poland (and no, this is not a Polish joke, so simmer down). Imagine: "I'd like to buy a vowel, Pat." "Sorry," Pat replies, "there aren't any."
Culture vulture: In the September issue of GQ, a piece by Joe Queenan called "How Bad Can It Be?" delineates the different levels of American popular culture. Queenan decides to go outside his "elite, effete" tastes, which include Elvis Costello, Igor Stravinsky, Tom McGuane and Henry James, and plunges into "the culture of the masses," which includes Michael Bolton, "Cats," Dean Koontz and the movies of Chris Farley and Adam Sandler: "Until I saw 'Billy Madison' and 'Tommy Boy,' I'd always thought that the three scariest words in the English language were 'starring Dan Aykroyd.' " Queenan also describes John Tesh's recent CD as sounding "so much like dentist's-office music that I inexplicably found myself flossing in the middle of the day." That's pretty bad.
No sex, please, we're British: In Britain, 60 percent of the women sur veyed in an opinion poll said they would rather go out to a restaurant for dinner than stay home and have sex. Here's a little tip, folks: Even if you're British, it's possible to do both. And on the same night, too.
Not just no, but ... Remember the May offer of Hal Lipset and five oth er private detectives to investigate O.J. Simpson's claims that the murderers of his late wife were in San Francisco?
About a week after the offer was made, Lipset says, he received a fax from Simpson's investigator, Zvonko Bill Pavelic, too strongly worded for a gentleman to read aloud.
"He could have just said he discussed this with his client and thanks, but no thanks, but his letter was very mean," Lipset notes.
P.S.: Philip Vannatter and Tom Lange, lead detectives in the Simpson case, have signed with Pocket Books to write their version of the whole saga.
Tie food: Venture Initiative of Dallas offers Tie Cuisine, a selection of 100 silk ties in patterns that mimic common food stains.
"For years, men everywhere have struggled with the universal fashion problem: spillage," says the brochure. Patterns on the ties match the "drops that spot their best tie just as they're about to make a remarkable point during a meal."
The ties, $ 15, are available in Chinese Food, Wine, Club Sandwich, Buffalo Wings, Cordials, Salad and Dessert. Previous offerings have included Tacos and Quesadillas, Pasta, Pizza, Barbecue Ribs and Soup du Jour. Perfect for folks like us, who only wear ties to keep food off our shirts.
Son of a you-know-what: Rottweilers are the most popular dogs in Russi a.
"It's the Mafia's favorite breed," Anatoly Glebov says, by way of an advertisement for his $ 350 puppies. "She's a killing machine, and she'll fight to the end. A terrifying dog. She'll guard your house, your car, your family. And she's very good with children."
Short stuff: Carol Burnett will play Jamie's (Helen Hunt) mom in an episo de of NBC's "Mad About You," to be taped this month for broadcast later in the season ... Diane Sawyer has scored a coup: She'll interview the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, on Nov. 13; it'll be Fergie's first TV chat since leaving the royal family.
Partially compiled from Democrat-Gazette wire services.
LOAD-DATE: September 05, 1996
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
September 04, 1996, Wednesday
BYLINE: ERIC E. HARRISON, Democrat-Gazette Critic at Large
SECTION: STYLE; Pg. 3F
LENGTH: 660 words
If elected, I will not serve: Tom Hanks has turned down the lead role in "Primary Colors," the film version of the best seller written anonymously by Newsweek's Joe Klein. Director Mike Nichols hoped to cast Hanks as the Clinton-esque candidate and Emma Thompson as his hard-charging wife. But the actor, reportedly a chum of the president's, has bolted. No word yet on a second choice.
School daze: Comedian Dennis Miller on education: "Our culture has gon e from the 'G.E. College Bowl' to the guy on 'Wheel of Fortune' who asks, 'Is there an F, as in Pharaoh?' "
Speaking of game shows, it must be really hard to play "Wheel of Fortune" in Poland (and no, this is not a Polish joke, so simmer down). Imagine: "I'd like to buy a vowel, Pat." "Sorry," Pat replies, "there aren't any."
Culture vulture: In the September issue of GQ, a piece by Joe Queenan called "How Bad Can It Be?" delineates the different levels of American popular culture. Queenan decides to go outside his "elite, effete" tastes, which include Elvis Costello, Igor Stravinsky, Tom McGuane and Henry James, and plunges into "the culture of the masses," which includes Michael Bolton, "Cats," Dean Koontz and the movies of Chris Farley and Adam Sandler: "Until I saw 'Billy Madison' and 'Tommy Boy,' I'd always thought that the three scariest words in the English language were 'starring Dan Aykroyd.' " Queenan also describes John Tesh's recent CD as sounding "so much like dentist's-office music that I inexplicably found myself flossing in the middle of the day." That's pretty bad.
No sex, please, we're British: In Britain, 60 percent of the women sur veyed in an opinion poll said they would rather go out to a restaurant for dinner than stay home and have sex. Here's a little tip, folks: Even if you're British, it's possible to do both. And on the same night, too.
Not just no, but ... Remember the May offer of Hal Lipset and five oth er private detectives to investigate O.J. Simpson's claims that the murderers of his late wife were in San Francisco?
About a week after the offer was made, Lipset says, he received a fax from Simpson's investigator, Zvonko Bill Pavelic, too strongly worded for a gentleman to read aloud.
"He could have just said he discussed this with his client and thanks, but no thanks, but his letter was very mean," Lipset notes.
P.S.: Philip Vannatter and Tom Lange, lead detectives in the Simpson case, have signed with Pocket Books to write their version of the whole saga.
Tie food: Venture Initiative of Dallas offers Tie Cuisine, a selection of 100 silk ties in patterns that mimic common food stains.
"For years, men everywhere have struggled with the universal fashion problem: spillage," says the brochure. Patterns on the ties match the "drops that spot their best tie just as they're about to make a remarkable point during a meal."
The ties, $ 15, are available in Chinese Food, Wine, Club Sandwich, Buffalo Wings, Cordials, Salad and Dessert. Previous offerings have included Tacos and Quesadillas, Pasta, Pizza, Barbecue Ribs and Soup du Jour. Perfect for folks like us, who only wear ties to keep food off our shirts.
Son of a you-know-what: Rottweilers are the most popular dogs in Russi a.
"It's the Mafia's favorite breed," Anatoly Glebov says, by way of an advertisement for his $ 350 puppies. "She's a killing machine, and she'll fight to the end. A terrifying dog. She'll guard your house, your car, your family. And she's very good with children."
Short stuff: Carol Burnett will play Jamie's (Helen Hunt) mom in an episo de of NBC's "Mad About You," to be taped this month for broadcast later in the season ... Diane Sawyer has scored a coup: She'll interview the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, on Nov. 13; it'll be Fergie's first TV chat since leaving the royal family.
Partially compiled from Democrat-Gazette wire services.
LOAD-DATE: September 05, 1996
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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