Hollywood wiretap trial begins

Sylvester Stallone and Chris Rock are on the witness list.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Private investigator Anthony Pellicano was the architect of a criminal enterprise that spied on Hollywood’s rich and famous, a federal prosecutor said Thursday.

Clients “would pay a premium fee to discredit, and in some cases destroy, their adversaries,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Lally during opening statements. “This is a case about corruption.”

Pellicano, 63, is representing himself at trial and could provide fireworks when he cross-examines some of his former clients and employees expected to testify. He indicated he would give an opening statement.

Pellicano wore a prison-issued green jacket, gray shirt and green pants. As Lally presented the government’s case against the private eye and four co-defendants, Pellicano watched with his head rested on his hand.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors released a list of 127 potential witnesses that included Sylvester Stallone, Chris Rock and Garry Shandling. Stallone and Shandling were alleged victims in the case. Stallone told the AP last month that he wouldn’t mind testifying.

Pellicano is accused of running a criminal enterprise that wiretapped phones and bribed police and telephone workers. Prosecutors said he obtained confidential information that could be used to gain an advantage in divorce, business and other cases.

Prosecutors estimate Pellicano and two co-defendants — retired Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Arneson and former telephone company employee Rayford Earl Turner — collected nearly $2 million from what they say was a racketeering scheme.

Pellicano and his co-defendants, including Kevin Kachikian and Abner Nicherie, have pleaded not guilty.

“At the end of the day I hope the jurors understand one thing — that I’m not a criminal enterprise,” Pellicano told The Associated Press in an interview last month from federal prison. “If they understand that I’m ecstatic.”