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- Geraldine Hughes -

The difference in attorney strategy was that Michael
Jackson's attorney, Mr. Fields, with the help of his investiga-
tor Mr. Pellicano, wanted to portray Michael Jackson as the
victim of extortion. Mr. Weitzman, on the other hand, wanted
to portray Michael Jackson as someone falsely accused of the
charges, yet ready, willing and able to stand up to the public
and assert his innocence. It was about that time that Michael
Jackson returned to the United States and hosted several press
conferences and conducted a rare talk show interview to set
the record straight.
The extortion investigation lasted for approximately five
months before it was dismissed immediately after the civil case
was settled. (The dismissal of the extortion investigation may
have been a provision of the settlement.) The highlights of the
extortion case were the sophisticated investigation work done
by Mr. Pellicano's office. It was Mr. Pellicano's office that se-
cured the audio taped conversation between Mr. Schwartz and
Dr. Chandler and later the recorded conversation between Mr.
Pellicano and Mr. Rothman.
Mr. Pellicano also interviewed numerous child witnesses
that were close to Michael Jackson and who had spent time at
his ranch. They included children that had also spent the night
at sleep-overs and had also shared Michael Jackson's bed. None
of whom reported any wrongdoing by Michael Jackson-only
good clean fun, which included pillow fights, food fights, pa-
jama parties, and other childlike games.
Mr. Pellicano was later criticized for his efforts and accused
of, "trying the case in the media." He was later plagued with
motions to compel all the details of his investigation and to
produce documents by Mr. Feldman's office. When Mr.
Pellicano's attorneys tried to claim client privilege, Feldman
quoted City of L.A. v. Superior Court, 170 Cal.App.3d 744, as
his basis to deny his claim of privilege and admonished
Pellicano about the risks involved in trying the case in the me-
dia.
Soon after this, it was announced in the media that Mr.
Fields and Mr. Pellicano were no longer involved in the case.

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