Well, the day has come that many, including myself, have been waiting for. Judge Dale Fischer sentenced Anthony Pellicano to 180 months…15 birthdays. Anthony will be 80 years old if and when he is released from the Bureau of Prisons, after which he will be on three years parole. He will have to pay $ 7,800 to the court immediately (on top of the $2,000,000 forfeiture ruled last week). All fines were waived as the judge stated that he had no way to pay.
Kat Pellicano and her family came to the sentencing this afternoon and were looking great. She was with her daughters and a young man. Say what you will but this was her former husbands doings, not hers and and not their children. She has been through a great deal also, the level of emotional pain for all involved in this case will never be measured. To some degree she, too, is a victim…however, she is going to be fine, I can tell. Perhaps the show idea will work. I would watch! She and her family need a break.
Anthony came in doing the “stroll” as well as he could with leg irons and belly chain, with his hands cuffed at belt buckle level. He was as usual very happy with a big smile, and at times blew kisses to his family members.
Anthony had two attorneys present this afternoon, Steven Gruel and Michael Artan who did the old song and dance and tried to convince the judge that the probation department’s warm and cuddly recommendations should be followed. I.e. Anthony should be sent home with credit for time served and apologize to everyone and shake both Lally and Saunders hands and say “I am sorry” and give Stan Ornellas a kiss on the cheek and go have a Philly cheese steak sandwich. These probation evaluations are such a waste of time and money. The prosecutors are going to have it “their way” and this judge is so far agreeing with what they ask for. What a waste of time, it was so obvious to everyone that these two on again/off again defense lawyers were just putting us to sleep. But, they tried. I noticed Gruel making his way to a short hispanic woman he called Rita. Guess what, she was a juror. And she wanted the court to show Anthony leniency and had sent e-mails to the judge. Remember my piece on “peers”… this women was looking for something, what I don’t know. I did see men in white jackets with nets roaming the parking lot…she looked and came across as a loon.
Lally was the first to speak and to address the arguments of the on again/off again defense team. He was right on the money! Then Saunders came up to bat and smacked all that legal mumbo jumbo right to the moon! His opening line was hogwash as to what he had heard from Pellicanos on again/off again legal team. I am getting up in years, but I swear I heard a pig squealing. These two guys are a team that are hard to beat! The usual team of F.B.I. agents who had worked this case were present, and the man of the hour was none other than Stan Ornellas, F.B.I. retired. Anita Busch thanked Stan as being there at her hour of need. Stan looked great as he did the last time I saw him. He had to be annoyed as to the exploits of Mark Rossini, Fired, F.B.I. agent.
Anita Busch was the first of the victims allowed to address the court and was in a great deal of pain due to an injury. She spoke of the terror and the feelings being hopeless. She spoke of “death by a 1,000 cuts, deep and hard.” She spoke of the attempt by the L.A. Times to cover up the attack on her by Pellicano and Co. The pain and passion as she spoke were very moving. After she spoke she left the court. Pamela Miller also spoke later in the afternoon and was very strong in what she had to say, and her East Coast accent only added to her verbal attack on the Pelican. All he could do was sit and listen. Miller also made her contempt known for Greenscum and Bluster and all of the people who make it run. Pamela spoke of Pellicano’s “winning at any cost” and that Anthony had thrown away the act of being a son and a father to his family. Miller did not hold any punches, nor did Anita and what they had to say was very moving. I hope that both these women can put there lives together and move on. They did not deserve any of this. The usual attorneys were present, with dreams of home
additions and new cars dancing in their heads at the thoughts of what they are going to get from those who sanctioned Pellicanos behavior. The civil suits will be starting very soon.
Judge Dale Fischer has great timing. At one point Michael H. Artan is back up trying to salvage as much as he can and makes a comment to the effect of “who had the handle on the facts and issues” in reference to the sentencing guidelines. When Judge Fischer cranks off, I have a better handle,” Mr. Artan knew that his time had come to shut his piehole and sit down!
Two down and four to go. Mark Arneson, the disgraced former L.A.P.D. Sgt will be coming up sometime in January, and I have to say that it is not looking good for him…15-17 years, I am sure Judge Fischer will have control of the “handle” that day too!