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- Geraldine Hughes -

ing the same protocols that social workers for the Department
of Children's Services would have used. The interview was
conducted in private and done without any parental influence
whatsoever.
It wasn't until Mr. Pellicano was convinced of Michael
Jackson's innocence that he began an aggressive all-out inves-
tigation by interviewing numerous witnesses who could cor-
roborate Michael Jackson's innocence, as well as discrediting
those who had claimed to witness inappropriate behavior by
Michael Jackson.
Midway into the child molestation investigation, many
bloodthirsty witnesses came forth providing the tabloids with
statements of improper behavior by Michael Jackson towards
the numerous children who had visited his Neverland Ranch.
Mr. Pellicano's diligence and sophisticated investigative tech-
niques significantly reduced the number of unreliable wit-
nesses claiming to have damaging information against Michael
Jackson.
I recalled typing letters to Mr. Pellicano, particularly the
letter rejecting Michael Jackson's $350,000 counter-movie deal
offer made to Dr. Chandler.
The first time I saw Mr. Pellicano was when he came to our
office to try to get Mr. Rothman to discuss Michael Jackson's
counter-movie deal offer of $350,000. The meeting took place
behind closed doors. Mr. Pellicano stormed out of Mr.
Rothman's office saying "shoot your best shot" and "that's
extortion." To me he appeared to be furious with Mr. Rothman.
It was apparent that they did not reach an agreement during
that meeting. It is worth noting that Mr. Pellicano has a repu-
tation of being a Sicilian hardball player and accustomed to
dealing with oppositional individuals.
Mr. Pellicano stated from the beginning of the child moles-
tation allegations that this case was only about money. After
hearing a conversation taped by Mr. Schwartz, Mr. Pellicano
must have felt even more certain the case was about extortion.
Just as Dr. Chandler had begun to carry out his threats to
destroy Michael Jackson if he didn't get what he wanted, Mr.

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