Reasons and proof that Michael Jackson is "innocent".
Reasons:
Reason 1: The Children and Family services said the ***ual abuse
allegations against Michael Jackson was "unfounded".
Reason 2: The Police said the ***ual abuse allegations where "unfounded".
Reason 3: Gavins mother was present while her children drank alcohol
which proves that she is a "irresponsible" parent.
Reason 4: Gavin,Gavin's mother and his sibblings were caught shop
lifting at JC Penny and to try cover up their shop lifting charges
Gavin's mother sued JC Penny because she said that the JC Penny's guard
was harrasing her and her children when he caugt them shop lifting and
she was paid over $100,000 which proves that Gavins mother would do
anything for money...
Reason 5: Gavin and his entire family is now accusing MJ "falsely" of
***aul abuse because he stopped paying their expenses.
Reason 6: Gavin and his family "lied" on Michael Jackson because first
they swore to the Children and Family Services Department that Michael
Jackson "never" did anything wrong to Gavin after the Martin Ba****r show
and now they said that Michael Jackson did after he stopped paying for
expenses. Which means they "lied" and contradicted their entire story
about Michael Jackson.
Reason 7: Gavin and his family "lied" again when they swore to MJ's
Videographer Christian Robinson that Michael Jackson didn't do anything
wrong to Gavin and now they "lie" and contradict themselves again by
saying that MJ did.
Reason 8: In the past Michael Jackson has helped many fatally ill
children by giving his money to many children foundations and also by
giving his time generously to help misfortunate children and in return
Michael is being targeted and falsely accused of child abuse just for
doing what he love the most and that is...helping and caring about
misfortunate children... The only crime that was commited was done by
Gavin and his entire family for taking advantage of Michael Jackson's
generosity and taking advantage of MJ's trust by inviting Gavin and his
entire family into his home and paying for all their expenses and
Gavin's medical bills and the only thanks MJ got was "false"
accusations. Gee...What a charming family...
Reason 9: The DA Tom Sneddon has a personal vendetta against Michael
Jackson because he "lost" his case when Johnny Cockran defended Michael
Jackson 1993... See article number 6 below by Mary Fischer: "Was Michael
Jackson Framed"
Proof:
The articles below...
[Article 1]
This is the confidential Department of Children & Family Services
memorandum detailing the Los Angeles child welfare agency's February
2003 investigation into ***ual abuse allegations against Michael
Jackson. The Smoking Gun has blurred the names of the children involved
in the probe, which ended with a finding that the charges were
"unfounded."
To find out what the accusers mother said to the Department of Children
and Family Services click on the link below:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/dcfsmemo2.html
[Article 2]
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040603/en_afp/us_jackson_probe_040603005339
Entertainment - AFP
Police probe clears Michael Jackson of new child abuse allegations
Wed Jun 2, 8:53 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Embattled pop superstar Michael Jackson (news) got
some much-needed good news when a Los Angeles police investigation
cleared him of new allegations that he molested a child in the late 1980s.
The Los Angeles Police Department announced that a two-month
investigation into the fresh claims of child abuse against Jackson had
concluded that there was no evidence of any crime against Jackson.
The dismissed allegations were unrelated to a case in California's Santa
Barbara County, north of Los Angeles, in which Jackson is awaiting trial
on charges of molesting a 12-year-old boy at his Neverland Ranch last
year.
"After an extensive investigation, which included hours of interviews
with the person making the allegations, detectives concluded there was
no evidence that any crime occurred," police said in a statement.
"No charges will be sought" in the case, the department added.
Police launched the probe in April after being told by prosecutors that
someone had claimed to have been molested by Jackson in Los Angeles more
than 15 years ago. No details of the claims were released.
Jackson in April pleaded innocent to a 10-count indictment in Santa
Barbara County that included charges of child molestation, conspiracy to
falsely imprison and abduct someone, and extortion.
The millionaire entertainer, 45, who has dismissed all the allegations
against him as an attempt to extort money from him, welcomed his
exoneration by Los Angeles police.
"Michael Jackson always maintained his innocence of these false and
malicious allegations from individuals seeking to capitalize on his
current legal situation," his spokeswoman Raymone Bain said.
"He thanks the LAPD (news - web sites) for their thorough investigation,
and for clearing him of these false charges," she said in a statement.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/dcfsmemo1.html
DECEMBER 9--A confidential investigation by Los Angeles police and child
welfare officials concluded earlier this year that allegations Michael
Jackson ***ually abused a cancer-stricken boy were "unfounded,"
according to an internal government memo obtained by The Smoking Gun.
The probe's findings were based, in large part, on interviews with the
alleged victim, his two siblings, and the boy's mother. According to the
memo, when the child was questioned in February by a social worker
assigned to the Sensitive Case Unit of L.A.'s Department of Children &
Family Services (DCFS), he "denied any form of ***ual abuse" by Jackson
and said that he never "slept in the same bed as the entertainer." While
not specifically named in the DCFS memo, the 45-year-old Jackson is
referred to repeatedly as "the entertainer."
The memo notes that the boy, now 14, and his 12-year-old brother--who
also denied ***ual abuse--expressed "a fondness for the entertainer and
stated they enjoyed visiting his home, where they would often ride in
the park, play video games, and watch movies." The pair's sister, now
17, told a social worker that she accompanied the boys on "sleepovers at
the entertainers home," but had "never seen anything ***ually
inappropriate between her brothers and the entertainer."
The children's mother told investigators that Jackson was "like a father
to the children and a part of her family." While acknowledging that her
son "has slept in the same room as the entertainer," the woman claimed
"they did not share a bed. The entertainer would sleep on the floor,"
according to the November 26 memo.
The joint probe by DCFS and the Los Angeles Police Department ran from
February 14-27 and, the memo states, the "investigation by the Sensitive
Case Unit concluded the allegations of neglect and ***ual abuse to be
unfounded both by the LAPD-Wil****re Division and the Department."
When an investigation is closed, child welfare officials can summarize
their findings in one of three ways. If evidence is found to sup****t
abuse charges, the case is marked "substantiated." A case is termed "not
substantiated" when evidence discovered is not sufficient to sup****t
allegations (though the charges may, in fact, be true). Finally, a
matter is branded "unfounded" when officials determine there is no merit
to the allegations.
As with many DCFS investigations, the Jackson abuse case began with a
call to the agency's child abuse hotline. According to the memo, a
"Child Abuse Referral" was phoned in on February 14 by a "school
official" from the Los Angeles Unified School District, which oversees
the city's sprawling public school system. Citing the prior week's ABC
broadcast of "Living with Michael Jackson," the controversial Martin
Ba****r do***entary, the school official lodged allegations of "general
neglect by mother and ***ual abuse by 'an entertainer,'" according to
the summary memo. The school official identified both the cancer
patient, then 13, and his younger brother as the "referred children."
While the school official is not further identified in the DCFS memo,
published re****ts have indicated that the older boy was taunted by
classmates after the do***entary aired on ABC's "20/20" newsmagazine.
During the February 6 program, the child was seen holding hands with
Jackson and resting his head against the singer's shoulder. Jackson told
Ba****r that he had slept with many children unrelated to him, but
insisted, "It's not ***ual, we're going to sleep. I tuck them in...It's
very charming, it's very sweet."
In a clear reference to fallout from the Ba****r do***entary, the boy's
mother told investigators that "she believed the media had taken
everything out of context," according to the memo, which summarizes the
DCFS child abuse investigation. The "sensitive case" memo was prepared
at the direction of Dr. Charles Sophy, a high-ranking DCFS official who
joined the department in late-March, a month after the Jackson probe was
completed. The memo was authored by Jennifer Hottenroth, a DCFS
assistant regional administrator. In a brief telephone interview
yesterday morning, Hottenroth declined to speak about her memo, saying,
"I can't talk about it...I can refer you to our public affairs person. I
can't comment on any of this." Sophy (pictured at right) did not return
a message left with his assistant. Louise Grasmehr, a DCFS spokesperson,
said that while she had been given a copy of the do***ent by Hottenroth
Monday morning, "We cannot comment on anything that is stated in the
memo. Because it's all protected under confidentiality laws in
California."
The boy's February 2003 interview with child abuse investigators--not to
mention those with his family--appears to run counter to allegations he
later made to law enforcement officials in Santa Barbara, where Jackson
was arrested November 20 and released on $3 million bail. District
Attorney Thomas Sneddon has said that he expects to file felony child
molestation charges against Jackson next week. In addition to the boy's
original denial of ***ual abuse by Jackson, his younger brother's
February 2003 statements also appear to contradict recent published
re****ts claiming that the child has told Santa Barbara investigators
that he witnessed his brother being molested by the star.
While it is unclear what, if any, effect the LAPD-DCFS investigation
will have on a future Jackson prosecution, the performer's defense team
will surely seize on the February 2003 probe's findings to question the
current veracity and motives of the child and his family--and, of
course, further muddy a case that already promises to be a difficult
prosecution.
The child abuse investigation was immediately placed with the Sensitive
Case Unit since department guidelines dictate that if "one of the
clients in the referral is a public figure" or if the case's allegations
"would be certain to generate media interest if they became known
outside of DCFS," the matter requires utmost secrecy.
As with most DCFS abuse cases, a children's social worker (CSW) was
dispatched to interview the boys, as was a LAPD investigator (the memo
does not indicate whether the cop and the social worker conducted their
interviews in tandem). In either case, it is likely that the children
were questioned apart from their mother, since the abuse referral
included allegations of neglect on the woman's part, according to a DCFS
source familiar with agency operations.
The allegations examined this year in the LAPD-DCFS probe mirror ***
abuse claims that surfaced in 1993, when a 13-year-old California boy
claimed that the pop star molested him. Jackson, who was not charged in
that case, re****tedly made a multimillion dollar payment to settle a
civil suit brought by the child and his family. Click here to read the
boy's sworn declaration describing Jackson's alleged abuse.
Link To Accusers Mother Sworn Testimony In A Do***ent For The Department
Of Children & Family Services:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/dcfsmemo2.html
[Article 3]
The Link And Article Below Was Given Courtesy Of Pam:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Entertainment/Michael_Jackson_Defense_040624-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
Thanks for the link Pam.
New Details
Sources Claim Mother of Alleged Michael Jackson Victim Often Present
While Kids Drank
June 24, 2004 — ABC News has learned how Michael Jackson could respond
to allegations that he gave the boy who accused him of molestation
alcohol and conspired to silence the boy's family.
Jackson, 45, has been accused of giving his alleged victim and the boy's
siblings alcohol in soda cans. However, sources familiar with Jackson's
side of the case have told ABC News that he adamantly denies ever giving
liquor to the boy or knowing that the boy was consuming alcohol in his
presence.
In addition, these sources told ABC News that there are witnesses who
can testify that the alleged victim and his siblings were often seen
drinking at Neverland when Jackson was not on the premises. They also
told ABC News that the alleged victim's mother was often present when
the children were drinking and did nothing to stop it.
"If the mother is present … that would certainly cause a jury to think
(a) What's the big deal? or (b) How could we possibly blame Michael
Jackson for something that is being done in front of the kid's own
mother?" said California criminal defense attorney Dana Cole, who is not
involved in the case.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges that include: felony
conspiracy with 28 overt acts involving child abduction, false
imprisonment, extortion; committing lewd acts upon a child; attempting
to commit a lewd act; and administering an intoxicating agent to a child.
The alleged victim in the case is believed to be a cancer survivor, now
14 years old, who spent time at Jackson's Neverland ranch and appeared
in the British do***entary Living With Michael Jackson, which was
broadcast on ABC last year.
A Possible Defense Against Conspiracy and Silencing Family
The conspiracy charges against Jackson are rooted in allegations that
Jackson and his associates harassed and tried to intimidate his alleged
victim's family because they were worried about what the family might
say to authorities. Jackson's associates are also accused of conspiring
to imprison the alleged victim's family at both Neverland and a hotel in
Calabasas, Calif.
[Article 4]
Defending Michael
Beyond The Dance
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the numerous charitable works
done by Mr. Michael Jackson, The Heal the World Foundation and other
charities in which Michael has given his sup****t.
Significant Dates
Michael Jackson established the Heal The World Foundation in 1992.
Heal L.A. was launched at Super Bowl XXVII with the collaboration of
Heal the World, The National Football league, Frito Lay, The
International Youth Foundation, and Hilton Foundation/BEST Foundation.
Heal L.A., a collaborative children's initiative produced 3,000
mentoring relation****ps, immunizations for 7,000 children and drug
prevention education for more than 72,000 youth.
Heal the World has provided sup****t for dozens of children's programs in
20 countries.
Heal the World joined with AmeriCares to ****p 47 tons of food, clothing
and medical supplies to children of war-torn Sarajevo; partnered with
the Gorbachev Foundation, USA to deliver 60,000 doses of children's
vaccines to the Republic of Georgia. And has twice assisted the U.K.
based Operation Christmas Child to airlift supplies and gifts collected
by children in the U.K. to give to children in Bosnia.
Heal the World along with Former President Jimmy Carter, Turner
Broadcasting System, Inc. , Ronald McDonald Children's Charities, Gladys
Knight and TLC joined together to help The Atlanta Project increase the
local immunization rate in a single week from the expected 6,000 to more
than 17,000 and to establish a follow-up tracking system for family
health care.
Heal L.A. in partner****p with the Los Angeles Unified School district,
California State University, Independent Colleges of Southern
California, Learnstar and other local non-profit organizations created
the Community School/safe Haven Initiative to provide after-school
educational op****tunities at two pilot sites where over 300 students per
day could have computer instruction, tutoring, homework assistance, math
lab, English as a second language and performing arts.
History & Accomplishments
2001-1994 | 1993-1979
2001
January -- Michael donated the coat that he wore in May 2000 to Dame
Elizabeth Taylor's tribute concert in London to Liam Neeson's Movie for
Action Charity Auction, in aid of children and mothers with HIV. This
charity is working in conjunction with UNICEF. Michael has also donated
a private and personal 'birthday phone call' to a lucky bidder.
2000
In the Guinness Book of World Record's Year 2000 Millennium Edition
Michael Jackson is listed as having the most charities sup****ted by a
pop star.
"Most Charities Sup****ted By a Pop Star: Michael Jackson has sup****ted
39 charitable organizations either with monetary donations through
sponsor****ps of their projects or the participation in their activities.
The charities involved include AIDS Project L.A., American Cancer
Society, BMI Foundation, Inc., Childhelp USA, United Negro College Fund,
YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw, The Sickle Cell Research Fund and
Volunteers of America."
The following is a list of the many charities (39) who are given sup****t
by Michael Jackson:
AIDS Project L.A., American Cancer Society, Angel Food, Big Brothers of
Greater Los Angeles, BMI Foundation, Inc., Brotherhood Crusade, Brotman
Burn Center, Camp Ronald McDonald, Childhelp U.S.A., Children's
Institute International, Cities and Schools Scholar****pFund, Community
Youth S****ts & Arts Foundation, Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Dakar
Foundation, Dreamstreet Kids, Dreams Come True Charity, Elizabeth Taylor
Aids Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Love Match, Make-A-Wish
Foundation, Minority Aids Project, Motown Museum, NAACP, National
Rainbow Coalition, Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund, Red Cross, Rotary
Club of Australia, Society of Singers, Starlight Foundation, The Carter
Center's Atlanta Project, The Sickle Cell Research Foundation,
Transafrica, Unesco,United Negro College Fund (UNCF), United Negro
College Fund Ladder's of Hope, Volunteers of America, Watts Summer
Festival, Wish Granting, YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw.
December -- Michael Jackson appeared on stage at the "Miracle On 34th
Street", a charity concert organized by radio station KTU 103,5 FM at
the Madison Square Garden in New York, USA.
November -- President Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson and Jordan's Queen
Noor were honored for their work to fight cancer at a star-studded
black-tie dinner to raise $4 million for the New York-based G&P cancer
Foundation, which funds research into leukemia, lymphoma and related
cancers. The G&P foundation was created by Denise Rich to honor her
daughter, who died of leukemia at the age of 27.
October -- Michael and other members of the Jackson family sup****t 'WAVE
TO THE WORLD' an official fund-raising project of the Paralympic Games
2000 in Sydney, Australia.
Michael's attends the Carousel Of Hope charity ball with friend
Elizabeth Taylor. The event was given to raise funds to help fight
childhood diabetes. Michael also donated a plate he painted to be
auctioned at the event.
Michael donated one of his fedoras, which he autographed, and a
limited-edition poster for an auction at the annual gala of the African
Ambassadors' Spouses association to help raise money to fight childhood
AIDS in Africa.
May -- Michael Jackson donated items to 4th annual online auction for
the T. J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research.
Michael Jackson escorted Elizabeth Taylor in the gala tribute in her
honor at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Proceeds from this tribute
benefited the Red Hot Aids Charitable Trust and the Elizabeth Taylor
Aids Foundation.
January -- The United Negro College Fund's "Evening Of Stars" January
15th telethon fundraiser raised $13.5 million in cash and pledges.
Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, and Barry White were
among the performers.
The violent storm which ravaged the north of France during the night of
the 25th December 1999 destroyed 10,000 trees in the park of the Chateau
de Versailles (former castle of the Kings of France). The wind gusts,
blowing at 100 mph destroyed 80% of the rare historic trees, planted
during the XVIII and XIX centuries. It will take years and years to
rebuild the park at an estimate of around $35 million. It is re****ted
that some celebrities including Michael Jackson, Gregory Peck and Kirk
Douglas have donated money to help restore this park.
1999
June -- Michael Jackson and Friends concerts in Korea and Germany raise
$3.3 million dollars for the humanitarian agencies UNESCO, Nelson
Mandela's Children's Fund and the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies.
1996
February -- Heal the World/World Children's Congress youth ambassador
from Mexico presents model for creating a sustainable environment to the
U.N. Habitat II Prep Committee.
April -- Heal the World/World Children's Congress youth ambassadors
attend Children First: A Global Forum, in Atlanta, Georgia. The event,
hosted by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, the Carter
Center, and the Task Force for Child Survival, and co-sponsored by the
Rockefeller Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The World Bank,
and Heal the World, brings together 360 representatives from 100
countries to discuss strategies to improve the quality of life for
children.
April -- Heal the World/World Children's Congress youth ambassadors
attend the Spectrum of Light Youth Conference in Wa****ngton, D.C. to
form partner****ps to emphasize the need for a sustainable society based
on a healthy environment.
May -- Michael Jackson sends a floral tribute of white roses, carnations
and lilies to the funeral of one of his British fans. The inscription
reads, "May your courage be an inspiration to us all. Your spirit ****nes
on. Love, Michael Jackson" Eleven-year-old Jaymee Bowen had lost her
battle with leukemia. Her favorite songs -- Farewell My Summer Love, Ben
and Never Can Say Goodbye -- were played at the funeral services.
June -- A donated trip to Neverland Ranch received the highest bid at a
Cities in School celebrity auction. Los Angeles KIIS-FM and Cities in
School organized the event, raising over $115,000 to benefit school
children. A trip for four to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch received
the highest bid of $5,200.
September -- Michael Jackson visits a state orphanage in Bucharest,
Romania prior to his concert before 70,000 in that city. After handing
out toys, Michael said, "I wish all the world was here to see this,
instead of sending our brothers to the killing fields. This is our
future -- children. I love you all so much."
October -- Jackson visits a hospital for mentally challenged children in
Kao****ung, Taiwan. 2,000 free tickets to the sold out performance in
Kao****ung are offered to children.
October -- Michael Jackson contributes almost 85 percent of earnings
from the Indian leg of the HIStory World Tour to a Hindi charity
organization, the ****v Udyog Sena, and will help leaders to create jobs
for 270,000 young people from the state of Maharashtra.
October -- Michael Jackson visits two hospitals, Ronald McDonald House
and AMC, in Amsterdam distributing toys and gifts at each during his
tour stop.
October -- Michael Jackson performs a benefit concert in Tunisia. The
concert benefited the National Solidarity Fund, a Tunisian charity
dedicated to fighting poverty.
November -- During scheduled tour stops in Brisbane, Australia, Michael
Jackson visits the Prince of Wales Hospital which houses children
suffering from assorted ailments, including cancer, heart trouble,
asthma and tumors. He signs autographs and distributes toys to over 75
children, spending hours with the kids.
November -- Michael Jackson visits a children's hospital in Sydney prior
to being publicly feted by Sony Music honoring his sales (exceeding $75
million in Australia) at a reception held in his honor at the Opera
House. Again, re****ts state that he spends over two hours speaking to
the children, signing autographs and distributing gifts to each child.
Re****ts also surface that Michael had committed a ****tion of his
receipts from his nine Australian performances to "The Smith Family", a
charity dedicated to feeding the needy.
November -- Michael Jackson grants American news magazine, American
Journal, permission to accompany him for two weeks on his tour
itinerary. Phenomenal footage narrated by Les Trent depicts Michael
Jackson's visit to "Star****p," a children's hospital in Auckland, New
Zealand, following Jackson from room to room as he speaks to each child,
leaving each a toy and autographed photo or CD. In answer to Trent's
question regarding how the children's faces make him feel, Jackson
touches his chest, replying "It touches my heart." Jackson is also shown
backstage just moments prior to his sold out performance, comforting
Emily Smith, a shy, 13-year-old cancer victim. He welcomes her to the
"shy club" while holding her in his arms and ruffling her curly hair,
then poses for photographs with Emily and her family and rushes off to
prepare himself for the show. In Bangkok, Thailand, Michael Jackson is
shown visiting an orphanage and a school for blind children. At the
orphanage, he leaves a donation of $100,000 American dollars as well as
distributing toys and gifts to children at both the orphanage and school
for the blind. An orphanage spokeswoman comments, "They don't know him
as a pop star. To them he is just a very nice man who came here to offer
hope."
November -- Bombay, India -- 85% of the $5 to $6 million ticket receipts
from one concert is slated to go to he ****v Udyog Sena to help create
jobs for 270,000 young people in the state of Maharashtra, of which
Bombay is the capital. Upon arriving in Bombay, Jackson asks his driver
to stop the motorcade trans****ting him from the air****t to his hotel to
allow him to spend 20 minutes talking with children playing in the
crowded slums he must pass en route.
1995
February -- Heal L.A. expanded curriculum offerings and program hours of
the Community School/Safe Havens Initiative to include over 1200 families.
February -- Michael Jackson privately requests permission to attend
funeral services for little Craig Fleming, a two-year old boy whose
mother threw him over the side of a Los Angeles bridge along with his
four-year-old brother, before jumping to her own planned death. The
mother and four-year-old survived the incident, although the child,
Michael, was badly battered, requiring medical aid. Michael Jackson
presented a contribution towards Michael Fleming's medical expenses and
founded a special trust fund for Michael's care. Jackson later dedicated
the song Childhood on the HIStory album to the memory of Craig Fleming
with these words, "Childhood is dedicated to Little Craig Fleming and
his surviving brother, Michael, for whom a scholar****p fund has been
established to ensure that his childhood ushers in a future of all
possibilities. Love, MJ"
March -- HTW paid for liver transplant for 4 year old, Bela Farkas.
April -- HTW with Permanent Charities and EC2000 sponsored 46 children
from 18 countries to gather at Neverland for the World Congress of
Children, a three-day seminar and leader****p training to discuss
critical children's issues.
June -- Heal the World/World Children's Congress youth ambassadors
present the findings of the World Children's Congress to the World
Summit of Children during the United Nations 50th Anniversary
celebration in San Francisco, CA. and meet with U.N. Secretary Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many
U.N.ambassadors.
Summer -- Heal the World/World Children's Congress youth ambassador from
Mexico accompanies Children's Torch of Hope across the United States
bringing the message of the World Children's Congress to over 30 events
sponsored by the Coalition for Children of the Earth and EC2000.
October -- Recording Artists BROWNSTONE and Tasha Scott perform 2 shows
for students at Horace Mann Middle School to launch new school year for
Community School/Safe Havens Initiative.
October -- Heal the World/World Children's Congress youth ambassadors
re****t to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva,
Switzerland.
December -- Heal the World/World Children's Congress youth ambassadors
address the dedication of the "Guardians of the Future" monument in
Mexico City, co-sponsored by EC2000, Terra Christa Communications,
UNICEF, the office of the mayor of Mexico City, and Coalition for
Children of the Earth.
December -- HTW in association with the International Rescue Committee,
****pped two pallets of toys to children in war-torn Bosnia and
Hercegovina.
1994
January -- Heal the World in conjunction with Unihealth and the Los
Angeles Immunization Coalition provided vaccines to children made
homeless by the Los Angeles earthquake. Heal the World with Discovery
Toys also donated hundreds of toys to the children participating in the
immunization drive.
January -- Over $85,000 from Heal L.A. is distributed toward earthquake
relief efforts through grants to non-profit organizations dedicated to
aiding families with long-term recovery in the Los Angeles and San
Fernando Valley areas including the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center, Casa
Rutilio Grande, Clinica Para Las Americas, Families in New Directions,
Meeting Each Need With Dignity, Proyecto Esperanza, Pueblo Nuevo, and
the Vaughn Street Family Center.
January -- HTW in association with General Electric, Lever Brothers, and
Surf Wash donated washers, dryers, and soap to 25 non-profit
organizations to provide free laundry services to families affected by
the Los Angeles earthquake of January 17, 1994.
January -- HTW, Heal L.A. with the Salvation Army treated over 400
homeless children and parents living in shelters to a day at Universal
Studios.
January -- Michael Jackson hosts one hundred children from the Community
Youth S****ts and Arts Foundation in Los Angeles at his Neverland Ranch.
Michael spent the day mingling with the children, posing for photographs
and signing autographs. The children watched Beethoven's 2nd, played in
the amusement park and checked out the zoo.
Spring -- Heal L.A Immunization and Mentoring Initiatives promoted by a
visit to patients by pop/rap artist Kriss Kross to the George C. Page
Children's Hospital Community Health Center and pop/rap artists
Raven-Symone and Bryton McClure visit to students at the Bancroft Middle
School.
Summer -- HTW in conjunction with the Los Angeles Unified School
District, Youth Services, the I Have A Dream Foundation, Best Buddies,
Overcoming Obstacles, and California One to One, provides 2000 children
with tickets to see Janet Jackson in concert, the " L.A. Laker Jam", and
The Beach Boys in concert.
August -- HTW with Toys 'R' Us and AmeriCares distributed $20,000 worth
of toys, food, and supplies to children's hospital in Budapest, Hungary.
August -- HTW funds are pledged for a liver transplant to save the life
of 4 year old Bela Farkas, a patient at Bethesda Children's Hospital in
Budapest, Hungary.
Fall -- Heal LA funds implementation of the Los Angeles Team Mentoring
Program in six Los Angeles Unified School District Middle Schools in the
South Central Los Angeles and the Pico Union Districts, reaching over
1,000 young people and utilizing 300 volunteer mentors.
October -- HTW launched the Community School/Safe Havens Initiative
designed to provide Los Angeles communities with a safe environment in
which students, families, and residents can pursue after-school academic
and recreational activities such as free instruction in computers,
language and math skills, tutoring and s****ts.
1993
# A new U.S. Children's Relief Initiative announced in Los Angeles:
"Heal LA", in collaboration with Cities In Schools, Big Brothers/Big
Sisters, the BEST Foundation, Watts Health Foundation, and the
Partner****p for a Drug Free America, will help solve the problems facing
inner-city youth by providing drug-abuse and AIDS prevention education,
mentoring, and immunization campaigns.
# HTW Donated $1.25 million plus proceeds from Michael Jackson's
half-time performance at Super Bowl XXVII to Heal LA
February and March -- In association with Sega, HTW launched an
initiative to distribute more than $108,000 worth of computer games and
equipment to Children's hospitals, Children's homes, and Children's
charities throughout the U.K.
March -- Immunization/Children's Health Initiative announced by HTW
foundation and Former President Jimmy Carter and The Atlanta Project.
March -- Urban anti-drug media campaign launched by the Partner****p for
a Drug-Free America, the Partner****p for a Drug-free California and The
BEST Foundation in Los Angeles with sup****t from HTW Foundation and Heal
L.A.
April -- Michael Jackson makes unannounced tour of three Heal L.A.
Project sites in South Central Los Angeles participating in discussions
with children and service providers.
May -- Michael Jackson visits Atlanta. Heal the World, Former President
Jimmy Carter's Atlanta Project Immunization/Children's Health
Initiative, the Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., Ronald McDonald
Children's Charities, Gladys Knight, and TLC provide for the
immunization of 17,000 children in 5 days in Atlanta, Georgia.
June -- Michael Jackson hosts one hundred children at his ranch from the
Challengers Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles.
June -- Michael Jackson attends a rally in Los Angeles to launch a new
DARE program, called DAREPLUS (Drug Abuse Resistance Education - Play
and Learn Under Supervision)
July -- Mallory Cyr, an eight-year-old girl from Sabattus, Maine who
suffers from a rare intestinal disease, receives a letter and generous
check from Michael Jackson. The letter was a result of a letter-writing
campaign organized by school children. Jackson's letter read, "I am
sending you all my loving and caring, Mallory, along with the enclosed
gift, which I hope will help nourish you and keep you strong." Mallory's
intestinal condition made it nearly impossible for her to eat and she
was being fed intravenously.
August -- Heal the World with Pepsi-Cola Thailand, donated $40,000 to
Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's charity, the Rural School
Children and Youth Development Fund, to sup****t school lunch programs in
rural villages in Thailand.
Fall -- It is announced that the proceeds of concerts to be held in New
Delhi, India would be directed to the Ghandi Foundation for Children.
Pepsi guaranteed $160,000 from the two shows.
Fall -- In Tel Aviv, Israel on a tour stop, Michael Jackson visits a
children's hospital, distributing toys and talking with the children.
September -- While in Japan, Michael Jackson visited a school at a US
naval base. A terminally ill Dutch boy, 15-year-old Martijn Hendricsen
and his two brothers are flown to Japan in response to a request by the
Make A Wish Foundation. Martijn, who is undergoing treatment for cancer,
wanted to meet his idol, Michael Jackson.
October -- Heal the World with Pepsi-Cola International donated new
ambulances to the Moscow's Contacts One Independent Living Center for
Children in Moscow, Russia and the Hospital de Ninos Dr. Ricardo
Gutierrez in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
October -- HTW grants totaling $100,000 are distributed to The
Children's Defense Fund, The Children's Diabetes Foundation, The Atlanta
Project, and the Boys and Girl Clubs of Newark, New Jersey to further
the provision of health services to children.
October -- Michael Jackson pays for five thousand under privileged
children to visit El Nuevo Reino Aventura amusement park in Mexico City,
Mexico.
October -- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- Michael Jackson donates thousands
of tickets to his concert to disadvantaged children. And in Buenos
Aires, Argentina -- Michael Jackson donates thousands of tickets to his
October 6 concert to ill, needy and disadvantaged children.
December -- Heal the World with the Gorbachev Foundation, USA airlifted
60,000 doses of children's vaccines to Tblisi, in the Republic of Georgia.
December -- Heal the World in association with the U.K. Operation
Christmas Child, sends to children in Bosnia over 100,000 "shoebox
gifts" of toys, small gifts, and letters donated by children in the U.K.
1992
February -- Michael Jackson goes on a two-week visit to Africa where he
visits schools, churches and institutions for mentally retarded children.
May -- Michael Jackson pays for a young boy's funeral who had been
killed by a stray bullet during the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles,
California.
May -- President George Bush presents Michael Jackson with an award
acknowledging him as a "Point of Light" ambassador in recognition of
Jackson's efforts in inviting disadvantaged children to his home in
California.
June -- Operation One to One honors Michael Jackson in recognition of
his efforts in sup****t of economically disadvantaged youth.
June -- Michael Jackson presents a check for 40,000 DM to Munich Mayor
Georg Kronawitter to help the city's needy children. He also visits
Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam to donate 100,000 pounds.
July -- Donated L. 821,477,296 to La Partita del Cuore (The Heart Match)
in Rome. Donated 120,000 DM to children's charities in Estonia and Latvia.
July -- Psychologist Dr. Wayne Dyer dedicates his book Real Magic to
Michael Jackson. Dr. Dyer felt Michael deserved the honor because of his
commitment to world peace and helping children.
August -- The first Heal The World European Children's Congress meets in
London, England. Eighty-four children between the ages of 8 and 16 come
together to express their views on the world's biggest problems and the
solutions, as they see them. Despite a case of laryngitis, Michael
Jackson arrives at Regent's College after lunch and stays for
approximately four hours.
September -- Donated 1 million pesetas to charity headed by the Queen of
Spain.
September -- Michael Jackson goes to Bucharest, Romania to open a
playground he donated funds for at the Leaganul Pentru Copii Sfinta
Ecaterina orphanage.
November -- Forty-seven tons of winter relief supplies airlifted to the
children of Sarajevo in association with AmeriCares, including medical
items, blankets, winter clothing, and shoes.
December -- Relief supplies airlifted to children in Bosnia in
association with Operation Christmas Child, consisting of 30,000
"shoebox gifts" of toys, school items, photographs, and letters
collected by U.K. schoolchildren.
December -- Michael Jackson donates a videotaped appeal to be broadcast
in aid of the United Negro College Fund.
1991
April -- Michael Jackson organizes "chimpanzee tea party" to benefit
Jane Goodall's ape research institute. In May, Michael attends a Jane
Goodall International Tribute Benefit. Michael assumes the honorary
"chair" of the organization.
1990
February -- Michael Jackson performs at a musical variety special to
honor Sammy Davis, Jr. and proceeds from the special, $250,000, are
donated to the United Negro College Fund.
April -- Michael is honored as the "Entertainer of the Decade" on behalf
of the Capital Children's Museum. Later, he is guest of honor at a fund
raising banquet to benefit the museum. The award is presented by
President George Bush at the White House.
May -- Make A Wish Foundation arranges a visit for 14-year-old John
Brown, a young cancer victim, to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.
June -- Michael treats 45 children from the Los Angeles Dream Street
program to a tour of his ranch, a movie and lunch.
August -- One hundred thirty children from the YWCA Summer Program in
Los Angeles and Santa Barbara are invited to Michael's Neverland
Ranch.They enjoy a barbecue, play video games, visit his zoo and watch
movies. Each child takes home a free pair of sneakers.
Fall-- Michael throws a party for eighty abused or neglected children
from the Village of Childhelp in Beaumont, California. Later he hosted
fifty children from Maclaren Hall and the Make a Wish Foundation at his
home in California.
1989
February -- Children at the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton,
California receive a visit from Michael Jackson. The children had
earlier been traumatized by a sniper opening fire on their school. Many
of those present re****ted that Jackson's visit helped them to feel safe
again.
Spring -- Michael Jackson invites two hundred children from St.
Vincent's Home for Dysfunctional Children and from the Big Brothers and
Big Sisters Programs to the Circus Vargas in Santa Barbara to help him
celebrate his purchase of Neverland Ranch.
Mid 1989 -- Michael Jackson is presented with the Black Radio Exclusive
Humanitarian Award at the Universal Amphitheater in Universal City,
California for his charitable and humanitarian work. He also receives
the National Urban Coalition Artist/Humanitarian Award in appreciation
for his participation in their "Say Yes to a Youngster" program which
encourages kids to study math and science.
December -- Ryan White, a young victim of AIDS, spends a vacation at
Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.
1988-1989 -- Michael Jackson begins his Bad World Tour. During many of
the stops Michael is joined backstage prior to the concert with ill
children from the local areas in which he performs. Seth Riggs,
Michael's vocal coach, remarks, "Every night the kids would come in on
stretchers, so sick they could hardly hold their heads up. Michael would
kneel down at the stretchers and put his face right down beside theirs
so that he could have his picture taken with them, and then give them a
copy to remember the moment."
1988
February -- Man in the Mirror enters the music charts. Jackson's
royalties from the sale of this single are donated to Camp Ronald
McDonald for Good Times, a camp for children with cancer.
March -- Second stop of the first US leg of the Bad Tour, New York --
Michael Jackson performs at the Madison Square Garden, the first of
three concerts is a benefit for the United Negro College Fund. He
presents a check for $600,000 to Christopher Edley, UNCF President,
making him one of the UNCF's largest contributors. The reviews in New
York read, "Michael's act has already gone well beyond a pop music
concert. By this time, 97 young people had benefited from Michael
Jackson's generosity to the United Negro College Fund.
April -- It is announced that 4,000 tickets from Michael Jackson's
concerts in Britain will be donated to ITV Telethon which will raise
200,000 pounds for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.
May -- Michael Jackson visits Rome's Bambin Gesie Hospital during a tour
stop, passing out candy and autographed pictures to the children.
June -- Music celebrity auction to benefit the T. J. Martell Foundation
for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research boasts a black fedora signed by
Michael Jackson as its winning bid. It sold for over $4,000.
July -- Michael Jackson presents a check in the amount of $450,000 to
the Princes' Trust, a charity for disadvantaged children. He also
contributes to the Wi****ng Well Fund, established to help finance the
construction of a new building for London's Hospital for Sick Children.
Michael toured the hospital and visited with some of the patients. He
also donated 100,000 pounds to the Great Ormond Street Children's
Hospital, where he visited the ill children, reading them a story.
August -- Michael performs a concert for the British Charity, Give For
Life. The $130,000 proceeds from the concert were contributed toward
helping immunize 40,000 children.
October -- Michael Jackson presents a check in the amount of $125,000 to
Esther Edwards and Berry Gordy for the maintenance and upkeep of
Hittsville, USA, Motown's Museum in Detroit, Michigan. He also
contributed a black fedora, a white beaded glove and costume from the
Motown Era for display.
December -- Re****ts appear in many media forums that David Rothenberg, a
young child who had been critically injured by his father setting him on
fire, had received compassionate visits from Michael Jackson.
Late 1988 -- One hundred tickets to the Atlanta, Georgia Bad Tour
concerts were given to the Children's Wish Foundation to be distributed
to terminally ill children.
1987
November -- Michael Jackson donates 10,000 pounds to the Children in
Need Appeal in Britain.
November -- Michael Jackson visits a children's hospital while touring
in Australia.
September -- While touring in Japan, Michael Jackson donates thirty
personal items to an auction, the proceeds of which went toward
educating children in the third world. Among the items were sungl*****,
t-****rts and a windbreaker.
September -- Michael Jackson donates $20,000 to the family of a young
Japanese boy, Yo****yaki, who had been recently kidnapped and killed.
News footage of his empathy with Yo****yaki and his family shows a highly
emotional Michael Jackson addressing the incident, "I am very sorry and
deeply saddened to hear about Yo****yaki. If I could, I would like to
rush to his parents to express my words of sympathy and pay tribute to
Yo****yaki. I would like to dedicate my Japanese tour to Yo****yaki..
Yo****yaki, I know you're out there watching us. I hope such a brutal and
heartbreaking thing never happens again. And I love you." Jackson then
proceeded into the song I Just Can't Stop Loving You.
1986
February -- Donna Ashlock from Patterson, California receives a call
from Michael Jackson after he learns she is a devoted fan. In March, the
fourteen-year-old girl visits Michael at home in Encino, California. She
stays for lunch and watches a movie.
October -- Michael's Pets, a line of stuffed animals modeled after
Michael Jackson's zoo is released to market. Michael Jackson requests
that from each purchase, one dollar should be donated to a children's
charity.
1985
January -- Michael Jackson is one of the first artists to arrive at A&M
Lion Share Studios for the historic recording which brought dozens of
nationally acclaimed artists together in the hope of alleviating famine
in Africa. In an all night session, the largest-grossing single in the
history of the recording arts, We Are The World, is recorded, spawning a
videocassette and a book, all the proceeds of which would be funneled
directly through to famine relief efforts. The famine relief efforts of
this recording resulted in over $60 million dollars being channeled
directly into the countries most affected. Michael Jackson contributed
to the effort not only as featured artist, but co-wrote the song with
Lionel Ritchie and recorded the demo tracks distributed to the
participating artists.
Early 1985 -- Michael Jackson visits a young girl who was paralyzed in a
car accident in Miami, Florida. Later, he sent her a tape of the Victory
Tour concerts and a tour jacket.
1984
January -- During the filming of Pepsi commercials, Michael Jackson is
burned. As a result of the on-set accident, he is admitted to the
Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California. Despite palm-sized
second and third-degree burns to the back of his head when pyrotechnics,
somehow, went awry, Jackson visited several other burn patients and
later donated a hyperbaric chamber (used to treat burn victims) in
addition to a large donation toward preparing and equipping the Michael
Jackson Burn Center.
April -- Michael Jackson endows a nineteen-bed unit at the Mount Sinai
New York Medical Center, a division of the T.J. Martell Foundation for
Leukemia and Cancer Research.
May -- Michael Jackson donates the use of his song Beat It to a national
advertising campaign against drinking and driving. For his contribution,
he received a Special Achievement Award presented by President Ronald
Reagan.
July -- Michael Jackson and his family hold a press conference to
announce the changing of the ticket distribution system for the Victory
Tour. During his speech, he announces, "Finally, and most im****tantly,
.... I want you to know that when I first agreed to tour, I decided to
donate all the money I make from our performances to charity." Three
charities benefited from Michael's generosity: The United Negro College
Fund established the Michael Jackson Scholar****p Fund which, by 1988,
had provided scholar****ps for 70 students at UNCF member schools , Camp
Good Times for terminally ill children and the T.J. Martell Foundation
for Leukemia and Cancer Research.
July -- The Jacksons perform at Texas Stadium in Dallas, donating 1200
tickets to underprivileged children (valued at $39,000).
July -- The Jacksons, performing in Jacksonville, Florida entertain
eight children suffering from incurable diseases. Fourteen-year-old
Malanda Cooper, a young victim, who has only a short time to live,
writes the Major asking to meet Michael. Michael meets her backstage
prior to a performance. Later 700 disadvantaged children are treated to
the show.
August -- As negotiations for a performance in Gary, Indiana break down,
the Jacksons trans****t forty children from the Thelma Marshall
Children's Home for orphans, foster children and abandoned children, The
Hoosier Boys Home and the Donzels Work Study Program for high school
students working toward a college education to Detroit, Michigan for the
third performance there.
Summer -- David Smithey a fourteen year-old fan, through the auspices of
the Brass Ring Society, fulfills a lifelong dream. He is invited to
visit Michael Jackson in his home in Encino. David, a victim of cystic
fibrosis had long wished to meet Jackson. The two young people shared an
afternoon watching movies in the private screening room, eating lunch
and playing video games. Before leaving, he was treated by the superstar
to a black sequined glove and his red leather jacket from Beat It. Seven
weeks later, David Smithey died.
1981
July -- Concert in Atlanta Georgia, Triumph Tour, - benefit concert
raises $100,000 at the Omni Auditorium in Atlanta, Georgia for the
Atlanta Children's Foundation in response to a series of kidnappings and
murders that had been plaguing the children of Atlanta for months.
1979
January -- Michael Jackson donates an unspecified number of books,
including Peter Pan to the Chicago Public Library's Young Adult Section
and promotes reading through a library program called Boogie to the Book
Beat.
[Article 4]
The Link And Article Below Was Given Compliments Of Pam:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Entertainment/Michael_Jackson_Defense_040624-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
Thanks for the link Pam.
New Details
Sources Claim Mother of Alleged Michael Jackson Victim Often Present
While Kids Drank
June 24, 2004 — ABC News has learned how Michael Jackson could respond
to allegations that he gave the boy who accused him of molestation
alcohol and conspired to silence the boy's family.
Jackson, 45, has been accused of giving his alleged victim and the boy's
siblings alcohol in soda cans. However, sources familiar with Jackson's
side of the case have told ABC News that he adamantly denies ever giving
liquor to the boy or knowing that the boy was consuming alcohol in his
presence.
In addition, these sources told ABC News that there are witnesses who
can testify that the alleged victim and his siblings were often seen
drinking at Neverland when Jackson was not on the premises. They also
told ABC News that the alleged victim's mother was often present when
the children were drinking and did nothing to stop it.
"If the mother is present … that would certainly cause a jury to think
(a) What's the big deal? or (b) How could we possibly blame Michael
Jackson for something that is being done in front of the kid's own
mother?" said California criminal defense attorney Dana Cole, who is not
involved in the case.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges that include: felony
conspiracy with 28 overt acts involving child abduction, false
imprisonment, extortion; committing lewd acts upon a child; attempting
to commit a lewd act; and administering an intoxicating agent to a child.
The alleged victim in the case is believed to be a cancer survivor, now
14 years old, who spent time at Jackson's Neverland ranch and appeared
in the British do***entary Living With Michael Jackson, which was
broadcast on ABC last year.
A Possible Defense Against Conspiracy and Silencing Family
The conspiracy charges against Jackson are rooted in allegations that
Jackson and his associates harassed and tried to intimidate his alleged
victim's family because they were worried about what the family might
say to authorities. Jackson's associates are also accused of conspiring
to imprison the alleged victim's family at both Neverland and a hotel in
Calabasas, Calif.
[Article 5]
http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Entertainment/Jackson_videographer_exclusive_040226-1.html
Untold Story
Former Jackson Videographer: Accuser's Family Declared Pop Star's
Innocence
Feb. 26 — Videographer Christian Robinson says he spent two years
recording Michael Jackson and those who made it into the pop star's
inner circle. Now Robinson is finally talking about what he saw during
those years and about a tape that could rock the case against Jackson.
Robinson says he taped his own interview with Jackson's accuser and his
family soon after Martin Ba****r's do***entary Living With Michael
Jackson aired in February 2003.
The 24-year-old videographer says he asked them whether there had ever
been any inappropriate ***ual behavior between the pop star and the
young boy.
"Yeah. I asked. And they answered, and they were very up front and they,
of course, said absolutely not," said Robinson on ABCNEWS' Good Morning
America. "All of them, every single one," he said.
Robinson claims the alleged victim, his brother, his sister and his
mother all said Jackson did nothing wrong.
'Tell the Truth'
"And just to clarify that even a little bit more, during this interview
I told them to speak truthfully probably more than 30 times. I kept on
reminding them, I'm like I want you guys to tell the truth. You know, I
know how passionate you guys are about this. I just want, I want you
guys to tell your story. And they told it," Robinson told ABCNEWS'
Cynthia McFadden.
Meanwhile, some of the individuals closest to the case re****tedly said
the boy's family didn't know about the alleged abuse when Robinson's
interview was conducted. They said the boy's mother didn't know anything
about claims of abuse until months after the interview was recorded.
Robinson says he felt he was doing the right thing when he shot the
interview for Jackson after the Ba****r do***entary aired.
"In my mind, you know, I was doing an interview to show the accurate
side of Michael Jackson," Robinson said.
The former Jackson employee says his hour-and-a-half interview with the
boy and his family convinced him that Jackson is innocent.
"Yeah. I can't think of anything else. They were so passionate about it.
They were resolute in their answers," Robinson said.
[Article 6]
Was Michael Jackson Framed?
The Untold Story
Mary A. Fisher
GQ, October 1994
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DID MICHAEL DO IT?
The untold story of the events that brought down a superstar.
Before O.J. Simpson, there was Michael Jackson -- another beloved black
celebrity seemingly brought down by allegations of scandal in his
personal life. Those allegations -- that Jackson had molested a
13-year-old boy -- instigated a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, two
grand-jury investigations and a shameless media circus. Jackson, in
turn, filed charges of extortion against some of his accusers.
Ultimately, the suit was settled out of court for a sum that has been
estimated at $20 million; no criminal charges were brought against
Jackson by the police or the grand juries. This past August, Jackson was
in the news again, when Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis's daughter, announced
that she and the singer had married.
As the dust settles on one of the nation's worst episodes of media
excess, one thing is clear: The American public has never heard a
defense of Michael Jackson. Until now.
It is, of course, impossible to prove a negative -- that is, prove that
something didn't happen. But it is possible to take an in-depth look at
the people who made the allegations against Jackson and thus gain
insight into their character and motives. What emerges from such an
examination, based on court do***ents, business records and scores of
interviews, is a persuasive argument that Jackson molested no one and
that he himself may have been the victim of a well-conceived plan to
extract money from him.
More than that, the story that arises from this previously unexplored
territory is radically different from the tale that has been promoted by
tabloid and even mainstream journalists. It is a story of greed,
ambition, misconceptions on the part of police and prosecutors, a lazy
and sensation-seeking media and the use of a powerful, hypnotic drug. It
may also be a story about how a case was simply invented.
Neither Michael Jackson nor his current defense attorneys agreed to be
interviewed for this article. Had they decided to fight the civil
charges and go to trial, what follows might have served as the core of
Jackson's defense -- as well as the basis to further the extortion
charges against his own accusers, which could well have exonerated the
singer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jackson's troubles began when his van broke down on Wil****re Boulevard
in Los Angeles in May 1992. Stranded in the middle of the heavily
trafficked street, Jackson was spotted by the wife of Mel Green, an
employee at Rent-a-Wreck, an offbeat car-rental agency a mile away.
Green went to the rescue. When Dave Schwartz, the owner of the
car-rental company, heard Green was bringing Jackson to the lot, he
called his wife, June, and told her to come over with their 6-year-old
daughter and her son from her previous marriage. The boy, then 12, was a
big Jackson fan. Upon arriving, June Chandler Schwartz told Jackson
about the time her son had sent him a drawing after the singer's hair
caught on fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. Then she gave
Jackson their home number.
"It was almost like she was forcing [the boy] on him," Green recalls. "I
think Michael thought he owed the boy something, and that's when it all
started."
Certain facts about the relation****p are not in dispute. Jackson began
calling the boy, and a friend****p developed. After Jackson returned from
a promotional tour, three months later, June Chandler Schwartz and her
son and daughter became regular guests at Neverland, Jackson's ranch in
Santa Barbara County. During the following year, Jackson showered the
boy and his family with attention and gifts, including video games,
watches, an after-hours shopping spree at Toys "R" Us and trips around
the world -- from Las Vegas and Disney World to Monaco and Paris.
By March 1993, Jackson and the boy were together frequently and the
sleepovers began. June Chandler Schwartz had also become close to
Jackson "and liked him enormously," one friend says. "He was the kindest
man she had ever met."
Jackson's personal eccentricities -- from his attempts to remake his
face through plastic surgery to his preference for the company of
children -- have been widely re****ted. And while it may be unusual for a
35-year-old man to have sleepovers with a 13-year-old child, the boy's
mother and others close to Jackson never thought it odd. Jackson's
behavior is better understood once it's put in the context of his own
childhood.
"Contrary to what you might think, Michael's life hasn't been a walk in
the park," one of his attorneys says. Jackson's childhood essentially
stopped -- and his unorthodox life began -- when he was 5 years old and
living in Gary, Indiana. Michael spent his youth in rehearsal studios,
on stages performing before millions of strangers and sleeping in an
endless string of hotel rooms. Except for his eight brothers and
sisters, Jackson was surrounded by adults who pushed him relentlessly,
particularly his father, Joe Jackson -- a strict, unaffectionate man who
re****tedly beat his children.
Jackson's early experiences translated into a kind of arrested
development, many say, and he became a child in a man's body. "He never
had a childhood," says Bert Fields, a former attorney of Jackson's. "He
is having one now. His buddies are 12-year-old kids. They have pillow
fights and food fights." Jackson's interest in children also translated
into humanitarian efforts. Over the years, he has given millions to
causes benefiting children, including his own Heal The World Foundation.
But there is another context -- the one having to do with the times in
which we live -- in which most observers would evaluate Jackson's
behavior. "Given the current confusion and hysteria over child ***ual
abuse," says Dr. Phillip Resnick, a noted Cleveland psychiatrist, "any
physical or nurturing contact with a child may be seen as suspicious,
and the adult could well be accused of ***ual misconduct."
Jackson's involvement with the boy was welcomed, at first, by all the
adults in the youth's life -- his mother, his stepfather and even his
biological father, Evan Chandler (who also declined to be interviewed
for this article). Born Evan Robert Charmatz in the Bronx in 1944,
Chandler had reluctantly followed in the footsteps of his father and
brothers and become a dentist. "He hated being a dentist," a family
friend says. "He always wanted to be a writer." After moving in 1973 to
West Palm Beach to practice dentistry, he changed his last name,
believing Charmatz was "too Jewish-sounding," says a former colleague.
Hoping somehow to become a screenwriter, Chandler moved to Los Angeles
in the late Seventies with his wife, June Wong, an attractive Eurasian
who had worked briefly as a model.
Chandler's dental career had its precarious moments. In December 1978,
while working at the Crenshaw Family Dental Center, a clinic in a
low-income area of L.A., Chandler did restoration work on sixteen of a
patient's teeth during a single visit. An examination of the work, the
Board of Dental Examiners concluded, revealed "gross ignorance and/or
inefficiency" in his profession. The board revoked his license; however,
the revocation was stayed, and the board instead suspended him for
ninety days and placed him on probation for two and a half years.
Devastated, Chandler left town for New York. He wrote a film script but
couldn't sell it.
Months later, Chandler returned to L.A. with his wife and held a series
of dentistry jobs. By 1980, when their son was born, the couple's
marriage was in trouble. "One of the reasons June left Evan was because
of his temper," a family friend says. They divorced in 1985. The court
awarded sole custody of the boy to his mother and ordered Chandler to
pay $500 a month in child sup****t, but a review of do***ents reveals
that in 1993, when the Jackson scandal broke, Chandler owed his ex-wife
$68,000 -- a debt she ultimately forgave.
A year before Jackson came into his son's life, Chandler had a second
serious professional problem. One of his patients, a model, sued him for
dental negligence after he did restoration work on some of her teeth.
Chandler claimed that the woman had signed a consent form in which she'd
acknowledged the risks involved. But when Edwin Zinman, her attorney,
asked to see the original records, Chandler said they had been stolen
from the trunk of his Jaguar. He provided a duplicate set. Zinman,
suspicious, was unable to verify the authenticity of the records. "What
an extraordinary coincidence that they were stolen," Zinman says now.
"That's like saying 'The dog ate my homework.' " The suit was eventually
settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Despite such setbacks, Chandler by then had a successful practice in
Beverly Hills. And he got his first break in Hollywood in 1992, when he
cowrote the Mel Brooks film Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Until Michael
Jackson entered his son's life, Chandler hadn't shown all that much
interest in the boy. "He kept promising to buy him a computer so they
could work on scripts together, but he never did," says Michael Freeman,
formerly an attorney for June Chandler Schwartz. Chandler's dental
practice kept him busy, and he had started a new family by then, with
two small children by his second wife, a cor****ate attorney.
At first, Chandler welcomed and encouraged his son's relation****p with
Michael Jackson, bragging about it to friends and associates. When
Jackson and the boy stayed with Chandler during May 1993, Chandler urged
the entertainer to spend more time with his son at his house. According
to sources, Chandler even suggested that Jackson build an addition onto
the house so the singer could stay there. After calling the zoning
department and discovering it couldn't be done, Chandler made another
suggestion -- that Jackson just build him a new home.
That same month, the boy, his mother and Jackson flew to Monaco for the
World Music Awards. "Evan began to get jealous of the involvement and
felt left out," Freeman says. Upon their return, Jackson and the boy
again stayed with Chandler, which pleased him -- a five-day visit,
during which they slept in a room with the youth's half brother. Though
Chandler has admitted that Jackson and the boy always had their clothes
on whenever he saw them in bed together, he claimed that it was during
this time that his suspicions of ***ual misconduct were triggered. At no
time has Chandler claimed to have witnessed any ***ual misconduct on
Jackson's part.
Chandler became increasingly volatile, making threats that alienated
Jackson, Dave Schwartz and June Chandler Schwartz. In early July 1993,
Dave Schwartz, who had been friendly with Chandler, secretly
tape-recorded a lengthy telephone conversation he had with him. During
the conversation, Chandler talked of his concern for his son and his
anger at Jackson and at his ex-wife, whom he described as "cold and
heartless." When Chandler tried to "get her attention" to discuss his
suspicions about Jackson, he says on the tape, she told him "Go ****
yourself."
"I had a good communication with Michael," Chandler told Schwartz. "We
were friends. I liked him and I respected him and everything else for
what he is. There was no reason why he had to stop calling me. I sat in
the room one day and talked to Michael and told him exactly what I want
out of this whole relation****p. What I want."
Admitting to Schwartz that he had "been rehearsed" about what to say and
what not to say, Chandler never mentioned money during their
conversation. When Schwartz asked what Jackson had done that made
Chandler so upset, Chandler alleged only that "he broke up the family.
[The boy] has been seduced by this guy's power and money." Both men
repeatedly berated themselves as poor fathers to the boy.
Elsewhere on the tape, Chandler indicated he was prepared to move
against Jackson: "It's already set," Chandler told Schwartz. "There are
other people involved that are waiting for my phone call that are in
certain positions. I've paid them to do it. Everything's going according
to a certain plan that isn't just mine. Once I make that phone call,
this guy [his attorney, Barry K. Rothman, presumably] is going to
destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can
do it. And I've given him full authority to do that."
Chandler then predicted what would, in fact, transpire six weeks later:
"And if I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose.
I've checked that inside out. I will get everything I want, and they
will be destroyed forever. June will lose [custody of the son]...and
Michael's career will be over."
"Does that help [the boy]?" Schwartz asked.
"That's irrelevant to me," Chandler replied. "It's going to be bigger
than all of us put together. The whole thing is going to crash down on
everybody and destroy everybody in sight. It will be a massacre if I
don't get what I want."
Instead of going to the police, seemingly the most appropriate action in
a situation involving suspected child molestation, Chandler had turned
to a lawyer. And not just any lawyer. He'd turned to Barry Rothman.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This attorney I found, I picked the nastiest son of a ***** I could
find," Chandler said in the recorded conversation with Schwartz. "All he
wants to do is get this out in the public as fast as he can, as big as
he can, and humiliate as many people as he can. He's nasty, he's mean,
he's very smart, and he's hungry for the publicity." (Through his
attorney, Wylie Aitken, Rothman declined to be interviewed for this
article. Aitken agreed to answer general questions limited to the
Jackson case, and then only about aspects that did not involve Chandler
or the boy.)
To know Rothman, says a former colleague who worked with him during the
Jackson case, and who kept a diary of what Rothman and Chandler said and
did in Rothman's office, is to believe that Barry could have "devised
this whole plan, period. This [making allegations against Michael
Jackson] is within the boundary of his character, to do something like
this." Information supplied by Rothman's former clients, associates and
employees reveals a pattern of manipulation and deceit.
Rothman has a general-law practice in Century City. At one time, he
negotiated music and concert deals for Little Richard, the Rolling
Stones, the Who, ELO and Ozzy Osbourne. Gold and platinum records
commemorating those days still hang on the walls of his office. With his
grayish-white beard and perpetual tan -- which he maintains in a tanning
bed at his house -- Rothman reminds a former client of "a leprechaun."
To a former employee, Rothman is "a demon" with "a terrible temper." His
most cherished possession, acquaintances say, is his 1977 Rolls-Royce
Corniche, which carries the license plate "BKR 1."
Over the years, Rothman has made so many enemies that his ex-wife once
expressed, to her attorney, surprise that someone "hadn't done him in."
He has a reputation for stiffing people. "He appears to be a
professional deadbeat... He pays almost no one," investigator Ed Marcus
concluded (in a re****t filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, as part of a
lawsuit against Rothman), after reviewing the attorney's credit profile,
which listed more than thirty creditors and judgment holders who were
chasing him. In addition, more than twenty civil lawsuits involving
Rothman have been filed in Superior Court, several complaints have been
made to the Labor Commission and disciplinary actions for three
incidents have been taken against him by the state bar of California. In
1992, he was suspended for a year, though that suspension was stayed and
he was instead placed on probation for the term.
In 1987, Rothman was $16,800 behind in alimony and child-sup****t
payments. Through her attorney, his ex-wife, Joanne Ward, threatened to
attach Rothman's assets, but he agreed to make good on the debt. A year
later, after Rothman still hadn't made the payments, Ward's attorney
tried to put a lien on Rothman's expensive Sherman Oaks home. To their
surprise, Rothman said he no longer owned the house; three years
earlier, he'd deeded the property to Tinoa Operations, Inc., a
Panamanian shell cor****ation. According to Ward's lawyer, Rothman
claimed that he'd had $200,000 of Tinoa's money, in cash, at his house
one night when he was robbed at gunpoint. The only way he could make
good on the loss was to deed his home to Tinoa, he told them. Ward and
her attorney suspected the whole scenario was a ruse, but they could
never prove it. It was only after sheriff's deputies had towed away
Rothman's Rolls Royce that he began paying what he owed.
Do***ents filed with Los Angeles Superior Court seem to confirm the
suspicions of Ward and her attorney. These show that Rothman created an
elaborate network of foreign bank accounts and shell companies,
seemingly to conceal some of his assets -- in particular, his home and
much of the $531,000 proceeds from its eventual sale, in 1989. The
companies, including Tinoa, can be traced to Rothman. He bought a
Panamanian shelf company (an existing but nonoperating firm) and
arranged matters so that though his name would not appear on the list of
its officers, he would have unconditional power of attorney, in effect
leaving him in control of moving money in and out.
Meanwhile, Rothman's employees didn't fare much better than his ex-wife.
Former employees say they sometimes had to beg for their paychecks. And
sometimes the checks that they did get would bounce. He couldn't keep
legal secretaries. "He'd demean and humiliate them," says one. Tem****ary
workers fared the worst. "He would work them for two weeks," adds the
legal secretary, "then run them off by yelling at them and saying they
were stupid. Then he'd tell the agency he was dissatisfied with the temp
and wouldn't pay." Some agencies finally got wise and made Rothman pay
cash up front before they'd do business with him.
The state bar's 1992 disciplining of Rothman grew out of a
conflict-of-interest matter. A year earlier, Rothman had been kicked off
a case by a client, Muriel Metcalf, whom he'd been representing in
child-sup****t and custody proceedings; Metcalf later accused him of
padding her bill. Four months after Metcalf fired him, Rothman, without
notifying her, began representing the company of her estranged
companion, Bob Brutzman.
The case is revealing for another reason: It shows that Rothman had some
experience dealing with child-molestation allegations before the Jackson
scandal. Metcalf, while Rothman was still representing her, had accused
Brutzman of molesting their child (which Brutzman denied). Rothman's
knowledge of Metcalf's charges didn't prevent him from going to work for
Brutzman's company -- a move for which he was disciplined.
By 1992, Rothman was running from numerous creditors. Folb Management, a
cor****ate real-estate agency, was one. Rothman owed the company $53,000
in back rent and interest for an office on Sunset Boulevard. Folb sued.
Rothman then countersued, claiming that the building's security was so
inadequate that burglars were able to steal more than $6,900 worth of
equipment from his office one night. In the course of the proceedings,
Folb's lawyer told the court, "Mr. Rothman is not the kind of person
whose word can be taken at face value."
In November 1992, Rothman had his law firm file for bankruptcy, listing
thirteen creditors -- including Folb Management -- with debts totaling
$880,000 and no acknowledged assets. After reviewing the bankruptcy
papers, an ex-client whom Rothman was suing for $400,000 in legal fees
noticed that Rothman had failed to list a $133,000 asset. The former
client threatened to expose Rothman for "defrauding his creditors" -- a
felony -- if he didn't drop the lawsuit. Cornered, Rothman had the suit
dismissed in a matter of hours.
Six months before filing for bankruptcy, Rothman had transferred title
on his Rolls-Royce to Majo, a fictitious company he controlled. Three
years earlier, Rothman had claimed a different cor****ate owner for the
car -- Longridge Estates, a subsidiary of Tinoa Operations, the company
that held the deed to his home. On cor****ation papers filed by Rothman,
the addresses listed for Longridge and Tinoa were the same, 1554
Cahuenga Boulevard -- which, as it turns out, is that of a Chinese
restaurant in Hollywood.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was with this man, in June 1993, that Evan Chandler began carrying
out the "certain plan" to which he referred in his taped conversation
with Dave Schwartz. At a graduation that month, Chandler confronted his
ex-wife with his suspicions. "She thought the whole thing was baloney,"
says her ex-attorney, Michael Freeman. She told Chandler that she
planned to take their son out of school in the fall so they could
accompany Jackson on his "Dangerous" world tour. Chandler became irate
and, say several sources, threatened to go public with the evidence he
claimed he had on Jackson. "What parent in his right mind would want to
drag his child into the public spotlight?" asks Freeman. "If something
like this actually occurred, you'd want to protect your child."
Jackson asked his then-lawyer, Bert Fields, to intervene. One of the
most prominent attorneys in the entertainment industry, Fields has been
representing Jackson since 1990 and had negotiated for him, with Sony,
the biggest music deal ever -- with possible earnings of $700 million.
Fields brought in investigator Anthony Pellicano to help sort things
out. Pellicano does things Sicilian-style, being fiercely loyal to those
he likes but a ruthless hardball player when it comes to his enemies.
On July 9, 1993, Dave Schwartz and June Chandler Schwartz played the
taped conversation for Pellicano. "After listening to the tape for ten
minutes, I knew it was about extortion," says Pellicano. That same day,
he drove to Jackson's Century City condominium, where Chandler's son and
the boy's half-sister were visiting. Without Jackson there, Pellicano
"made eye contact" with the boy and asked him, he says, "very pointed
questions": "Has Michael ever touched you? Have you ever seen him ****d
in bed?" The answer to all the questions was no. The boy repeatedly
denied that anything bad had happened. On July 11, after Jackson had
declined to meet with Chandler, the boy's father and Rothman went ahead
with another part of the plan -- they needed to get custody of the boy.
Chandler asked his ex-wife to let the youth stay with him for a
"one-week visitation period." As Bert Fields later said in an affidavit
to the court, June Chandler Schwartz allowed the boy to go based on
Rothman's assurance to Fields that her son would come back to her after
the specified time, never guessing that Rothman's word would be
worthless and that Chandler would not return their son.
Wylie Aitken, Rothman's attorney, claims that "at the time [Rothman]
gave his word, it was his intention to have the boy returned." However,
once "he learned that the boy would be whisked out of the country [to go
on tour with Jackson], I don't think Mr. Rothman had any other choice."
But the chronology clearly indicates that Chandler had learned in June,
at the graduation, that the boy's mother planned to take her son on the
tour. The taped telephone conversation made in early July, before
Chandler took custody of his son, also seems to verify that Chandler and
Rothman had no intention of abiding by the visitation agreement. "They
[the boy and his mother] don't know it yet," Chandler told Schwartz,
"but they aren't going anywhere."
On July 12, one day after Chandler took control of his son, he had his
ex-wife sign a do***ent prepared by Rothman that prevented her from
takingthe youth out of Los Angeles County. This meant the boy would be
unable to accompany Jackson on the tour. His mother told the court she
signed the do***ent under duress. Chandler, she said in an affidavit,
had threatened that "I would not have [the boy] returned to me." A
bitter custody battle ensued, making even murkier any charges Chandler
made about wrong-doing on Jackson's part. (As of this August [1994], the
boy was still living with Chandler.) It was during the first few weeks
after Chandler took control of his son -- who was now isolated from his
friends, mother and stepfather -- that the boy's allegations began to
take shape.
At the same time, Rothman, seeking an expert's opinion to help establish
the allegations against Jackson, called Dr. Mathis Abrams, a Beverly
Hills psychiatrist. Over the telephone, Rothman presented Abrams with a
hypothetical situation. In reply and without having met either Chandler
or his son, Abrams on July 15 sent Rothman a two-page letter in which he
stated that "reasonable suspicion would exist that ***ual abuse may have
occurred." Im****tantly, he also stated that if this were a real and not
a hypothetical case, he would be required by law to re****t the matter to
the Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services (DCS).
According to a July 27 entry in the diary kept by Rothman's former
colleague, it's clear that Rothman was guiding Chandler in the plan.
"Rothman wrote letter to Chandler advising him how to re****t child abuse
without liability to parent," the entry reads.
At this point, there still had been made no demands or formal
accusations, only veiled assertions that had become intertwined with a
fierce custody battle. On August 4, 1993, however, things became very
clear. Chandler and his son met with Jackson and Pellicano in a suite at
the Westwood Marquis Hotel. On seeing Jackson, says Pellicano, Chandler
gave the singer an affectionate hug (a gesture, some say, that would
seem to belie the dentist's suspicions that Jackson had molested his
son), then reached into his pocket, pulled out Abrams's letter and began
reading passages from it. When Chandler got to the parts about child
molestation, the boy, says Pellicano, put his head down and then looked
up at Jackson with a surprised expression, as if to say "I didn't say
that." As the meeting broke up, Chandler pointed his finger at Jackson,
says Pellicano, and warned "I'm going to ruin you."
At a meeting with Pellicano in Rothman's office later that evening,
Chandler and Rothman made their demand - $20 million.
On August 13, there was another meeting in Rothman's office. Pellicano
came back with a counteroffer -- a $350,000 screenwriting deal.
Pellicano says he made the offer as a way to resolve the custody dispute
and give Chandler an op****tunity to spend more time with his son by
working on a screenplay together. Chandler rejected the offer. Rothman
made a counterdemand -- a deal for three screenplays or nothing -- which
was spurned. In the diary of Rothman's ex-colleague, an August 24 entry
reveals Chandler's disappointment: "I almost had a $20 million deal," he
was overhear telling Rothman.
Before Chandler took control of his son, the only one making allegations
against Jackson was Chandler himself -- the boy had never accused the
singer of any wrongdoing. That changed one day in Chandler's Beverly
Hills dental office.
In the presence of Chandler and Mark Torbiner, a dental
anesthesiologist, the boy was administered the controversial drug sodium
Amytal -- which some mistakenly believe is a truth serum. And it was
after this session that the boy first made his charges against Jackson.
A newsman at KCBS-TV,in L.A., re****ted on May 3 of this year that
Chandler had used the drug on his son, but the dentist claimed he did so
only to pull his son's tooth and that while under the drug's influence,
the boy came out with allegations. Asked for this article about his use
of the drug on the boy, Torbiner replied: "If I used it, it was for
dental purposes."
Given the facts about sodium Amytal and a recent landmark case that
involved the drug, the boy's allegations, say several medical experts,
must be viewed as unreliable, if not highly questionable.
"It's a psychiatric medication that cannot be relied on to produce
fact," says Dr. Resnick, the Cleveland psychiatrist. "People are very
suggestible under it. People will say things under sodium Amytal that
are blatantly untrue." Sodium Amytal is a barbiturate, an invasive drug
that puts people in a hypnotic state when it's injected intravenously.
Primarily administered for the treatment of amnesia, it first came into
use during World War II, on soldiers traumatized -- some into catatonic
states -- by the horrors of war. Scientific studies done in 1952
debunked the drug as a truth serum and instead demonstrated its risks:
False memories can be easily implanted in those under its influence. "It
is quite possible to implant an idea through the mere asking of a
question," says Resnick. But its effects are apparently even more
insidious: "The idea can become their memory, and studies have shown
that even when you tell them the truth, they will swear on a stack of
Bibles that it happened," says Resnick.
Recently, the reliability of the drug became an issue in a high-profile
trial in Napa County, California. After undergoing numerous therapy
sessions, at least one of which included the use of sodium Amytal,
20-year-old Holly Ramona accused her father of molesting her as a child.
Gary Ramona vehemently denied the charge and sued his daughter's
therapist and the psychiatrist who had administered the drug. This past
May, jurors sided with Gary Ramona, believing that the therapist and the
psychiatrist may have reinforced memories that were false. Gary Ramona's
was the first successful legal challenge to the so-called "repressed
memory phenomenon" that has produced thousands of ***ual-abuse
allegations over the past decade.
As for Chandler's story about using the drug to sedate his son during a
tooth extraction, that too seems dubious, in light of the drug's
customary use. "It's absolutely a psychiatric drug," says Dr. Kenneth
Gottlieb, a San Francisco psychiatrist who has administered sodium
Amytal to amnesia patients. Dr. John Yagiela, the coordinator of the
anesthesia and pain control department of UCLA's school of dentistry,
adds, "It's unusual for it to be used [for pulling a tooth]. It makes no
sense when better, safer alternatives are available. It would not be my
choice."
Because of sodium Amytal's potential side effects, some doctors will
administer it only in a hospital. "I would never want to use a drug that
tampers with a person's unconscious unless there was no other drug
available," says Gottlieb. "And I would not use it without resuscitating
equipment, in case of allergic reaction, and only with an M.D.
anesthesiologist present."
Chandler, it seems, did not follow these guidelines. He had the
procedure performed on his son in his office, and he relied on the
dental anesthesiologist Mark Torbiner for expertise. (It was Torbiner
who'd introduced Chandler and Rothman in 1991, when Rothman needed
dental work.)
The nature of Torbiner's practice appears to have made it highly
successful. "He boasts that he has $100 a month overhead and $40,000 a
month income," says Nylla Jones, a former patient of his. Torbiner
doesn't have an office for seeing patients; rather, he travels to
various dental offices around the city, where he administers anesthesia
during procedures.
This magazine has learned that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
is probing another aspect of Torbiner's business practices: He makes
housecalls to administer drugs -- mostly morphine and Demerol -- not
only postoperatively to his dental patients but also, it seems, to those
suffering pain whose source has nothing to do with dental work. He
arrives at the homes of his clients -- some of them celebrities --
carrying a kind of fi****ng-tackle box that contains drugs and syringes.
At one time, the license plate on his Jaguar read "SLPYDOC." According
to Jones, Torbiner charges $350 for a basic ten-to-twenty-minute visit.
In what Jones describes as standard practice, when it's unclear how long
Torbiner will need to stay, the client, anticipating the stu**** that
will soon set in, leaves a blank check for Torbiner to fill in with the
appropriate amount.
Torbiner wasn't always successful. In 1989, he got caught in a lie and
was asked to resign from UCLA, where he was an assistant professor at
the school of dentistry. Torbiner had asked to take a half-day off so he
could observe a religious holiday but was later found to have worked at
a dental office instead.
A check of Torbiner's credentials with the Board of Dental Examiners
indicates that he is restricted by law to administering drugs solely for
dental-related procedures. But there is clear evidence that he has not
abided by those restrictions. In fact, on at least eight occasions,
Torbiner has given a general anesthetic to Barry Rothman, during
hair-transplant procedures. Though normally a local anesthetic would be
injected into the scalp, "Barry is so afraid of the pain," says Dr.
James De Yarman, the San Diego physician who performed Rothman's
transplants, "that [he] wanted to be put out completely." De Yarman said
he was "amazed" to learn that Torbiner is a dentist, having assumed all
along that he was an M.D.
In another instance, Torbiner came to the home of Nylla Jones, she says,
and injected her with Demerol to help dull the pain that followed her
appendectomy.
On August 16, three days after Chandler and Rothman rejected the
$350,000 script deal, the situation came to a head. On behalf of June
Chandler Schwartz, Michael Freeman notified Rothman that he would be
filing papers early the next morning that would force Chandler to turn
over the boy. Reacting quickly, Chandler took his son to Mathis Abrams,
the psychiatrist who'd provided Rothman with his *****sment of the
hypothetical child-abuse situation. During a three-hour session, the boy
alleged that Jackson had engaged in a ***ual relation****p with him. He
talked of masturbation, kissing, fondling of nipples and oral ***. There
was, however, no mention of actual penetration, which might have been
verified by a medical exam, thus providing corroborating evidence.
The next step was inevitable. Abrams, who is required by law to re****t
any such accusation to authorities, called a social worker at the
Department of Children's Services, who in turn contacted the police. The
full-scale investigation of Michael Jackson was about to begin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Five days after Abrams called the authorities, the media got wind of the
investigation. On Sunday morning, August 22, Don Ray, a free-lance
re****ter in Burbank, was asleep when his phone rang. The caller, one of
his tipsters, said that warrants had been issued to search Jackson's
ranch and condominium. Ray sold the story to L.A.'s KNBC-TV, which broke
the news at 4 P.M. the following day.
After that, Ray "watched this story go away like a freight train," he
says. Within twenty-four hours, Jackson was the lead story on
seventy-three TV news broadcasts in the Los Angeles area alone and was
on the front page of every British newspaper. The story of Michael
Jackson and the 13-year-old boy became a frenzy of hype and
unsubstantiated rumor, with the line between tabloid and mainstream
media virtually eliminated.
The extent of the allegations against Jackson wasn't known until August
25. A person inside the DCS illegally leaked a copy of the abuse re****t
to Diane Dimond of Hard Copy. Within hours, the L.A. office of a British
news service also got the re****t and began selling copies to any
re****ter willing to pay $750. The following day, the world knew about
the graphic details in the leaked re****t. "While laying next to each
other in bed, Mr. Jackson put his hand under [the child's] shorts," the
social worker had written. From there, the coverage soon demonstrated
that anything about Jackson would be fair game.
"Competition among news organizations became so fierce," says KNBC
re****ter Conan Nolan, that "stories weren't being checked out. It was
very unfortunate." The National Enquirer put twenty re****ters and
editors on the story. One team knocked on 500 doors in Brentwood trying
to find Evan Chandler and his son. Using property records, they finally
did, catching up with Chandler in his black Mercedes. "He was not a
happy man. But I was," said Andy O'Brien, a tabloid photographer.
Next came the accusers -- Jackson's former employees. First, Stella and
Philippe Lemarque, Jackson' ex-housekeepers, tried to sell their story
to the tabloids with the help of broker Paul Barresi, a former ****
star. They asked for as much as half a million dollars but wound up
selling an interview to The Globe of Britain for $15,000. The Quindoys,
a Filipino couple who had worked at Neverland, followed. When their
asking price was $100,000, they said " 'the hand was outside the kid's
pants,' " Barresi told a producer of Frontline, a PBS program. "As soon
as their price went up to $500,000, the hand went inside the pants. So
come on." The L.A. district attorney's office eventually concluded that
both couples were useless as witnesses.
Next came the bodyguards. Pur****ting to take the journalistic high road,
Hard Copy's Diane Dimond told Frontline in early November of last year
that her program was "pristinely clean on this. We paid no money for
this story at all." But two weeks later, as a Hard Copy contract
reveals, the show was negotiating a $100,000 payment to five former
Jackson security guards who were planning to file a $10 million lawsuit
alleging wrongful termination of their jobs.
On December 1, with the deal in place, two of the guards appeared on the
program; they had been fired, Dimond told viewers, because "they knew
too much about Michael Jackson's strange relation****p with young boys."
In reality, as their depositions under oath three months later reveal,
it was clear they had never actually seen Jackson do anything improper
with Chandler's son or any other child:
"So you don't know anything about Mr. Jackson and [the boy], do you?"
one of Jackson's attorneys asked former security guard Morris Williams
under oath.
"All I know is from the sworn do***ents that other people have sworn
to."
"But other than what someone else may have said, you have no firsthand
knowledge about Mr. Jackson and [the boy], do you?"
"That's correct."
"Have you spoken to a child who has ever told you that Mr. Jackson did
anything improper with the child?"
"No."
When asked by Jackson's attorney where he had gotten his impressions,
Williams replied: "Just what I've been hearing in the media and what
I've experienced with my own eyes."
"Okay. That's the point. You experienced nothing with your own eyes, did
you?"
"That's right, nothing."
(The guards' lawsuit, filed in March 1994, was still pending as this
article went to press.)
[NOTE: The case was thrown out of court in July 1995.]
Next came the maid. On December 15, Hard Copy presented "The Bedroom
Maid's Painful Secret." Blanca Francia told Dimond and other re****ters
that she had seen a ****d Jackson taking showers and Jacuzzi baths with
young boys. She also told Dimond that she had witnessed her own son in
compromising positions with Jackson -- an allegation that the grand
juries apparently never found credible.
A copy of Francia's sworn testimony reveals that Hard Copy paid her
$20,000, and had Dimond checked out the woman's claims, she would have
found them to be false. Under deposition by a Jackson attorney, Francia
admitted she had never actually see Jackson shower with anyone nor had
she seen him ****d with boys in his Jacuzzi. They always had their
swimming trunks on, she acknowledged.
The coverage, says Michael Levine, a Jackson press representative,
"followed a proctologist's view of the world. Hard Copy was loathsome.
The vicious and vile treatment of this man in the media was for selfish
reasons. [Even] if you have never bought a Michael Jackson record in
your life, you should be very concerned. Society is built on very few
pillars. One of them is truth. When you abandon that, it's a slippery
slope."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The investigation of Jackson, which by October 1993 would grow to
involve at least twelve detectives from Santa Barbara and Los Angeles
counties, was instigated in part by the perceptions of one psychiatrist,
Mathis Abrams, who had no particular expertise in child ***ual abuse.
Abrams, the DCS caseworker's re****t noted, "feels the child is telling
the truth." In an era of widespread and often false claims of child
molestation, police and prosecutors have come to give great weight to
the testimony of psychiatrists, therapists and social workers.
Police seized Jackson's telephone books during the raid on his
residences in August and questioned close to thirty children and their
families. Some, such as Brett Barnes and Wade Robson, said they had
shared Jackson's bed, but like all the others, they gave the same
response -- Jackson had done nothing wrong. "The evidence was very good
for us," says an attorney who worked on Jackson's defense. "The other
side had nothing but a big mouth."
Despite the scant evidence sup****ting their belief that Jackson was
guilty, the police stepped up their efforts. Two officers flew to the
Philippines to try to nail down the Quindoys' "hand in the pants" story,
but apparently decided it lacked credibility. The police also employed
aggressive investigative techniques -- including allegedly telling lies
-- to push the children into making accusations against Jackson.
According to several parents who complained to Bert Fields, officers
told them unequivocally that their children had been molested, even
though the children denied to their parents that anything bad had
happened. The police, Fields complained in a letter to Los Angeles
Police Chief Willie Williams, "have also frightened youngsters with
outrageous lies, such as 'We have **** photos of you.' There are, of
course, no such photos." One officer, Federico Sicard, told attorney
Michael Freeman that he had lied to the children he'd interviewed and
told them that he himself had been molested as a child, says Freeman.
Sicard did not respond to requests for an interview for this article.
All along, June Chandler Schwartz rejected the charges Chandler was
making against Jackson -- until a meeting with police in late August
1993. Officers Sicard and Rosibel Ferrufino made a statement that began
to change her mind. "[The officers] admitted they only had one boy,"
says Freeman, who attended the meeting, "but they said, 'We're convinced
Michael Jackson molested this boy because he fits the classic profile of
a pedophile perfectly.' "
"There's no such thing as a classic profile. They made a completely
foolish and illogical error," says Dr. Ralph Underwager, a Minneapolis
psychiatrist who has treated pedophiles and victims of ***** since
1953. Jackson, he believes, "got nailed" because of "misconceptions like
these that have been allowed to parade as fact in an era of hysteria."
In truth, as a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study shows,
many child-abuse allegations -- 48 percent of those filed in 1990 --
proved to be unfounded.
"It was just a matter of time before someone like Jackson became a
target," says Phillip Resnick. "He's rich, bizarre, hangs around with
kids and there is a fragility to him. The atmosphere is such that an
accusation must mean it happened."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The seeds of settlement were already being sown as the police
investigation continued in both counties through the fall of 1993. And a
behind-the-scenes battle among Jackson's lawyers for control of the
case, which would ultimately alter the course the defense would take,
had begun.
By then, June Chandler Schwartz and Dave Schwartz had united with Evan
Chandler against Jackson. The boy's mother, say several sources,
fearedwhat Chandler and Rothman might do if she didn't side with them.
She worried that they would try to advance a charge against her of
parental neglect for allowing her son to have sleepovers with Jackson.
Her attorney, Michael Freeman, in turn, resigned in disgust, saying
later that "the whole thing was such a mess. I felt uncomfortable with
Evan. He isn't a genuine person, and I sensed he wasn't playing things
straight."
Over the months, lawyers for both sides were retained, demoted and
ousted as they feuded over the best strategy to take. Rothman ceased
being Chandler's lawyer in late August, when the Jackson camp filed
extortion charges against the two. Both then hired high-priced criminal
defense attorneys to represent them.. (Rothman retained Robert Shapiro,
now O.J. Simpson's chief lawyer.) According to the diary kept by
Rothman's former colleague, on August 26, before the extortion charges
were filed, Chandler was heard to say "It's my ass that's on the line
and in danger of going to prison." The investigation into the extortion
charges was superficial because, says a source, "the police never took
it that seriously. But a whole lot more could have been done." For
example, as they had done with Jackson, the police could have sought
warrants to search the homes and offices of Rothman and Chandler. And
when both men, through their attorneys, declined to be interviewed by
police, a grand jury could have been convened.
In mid-September, Larry Feldman, a civil attorney who'd served as head
of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association, began representing
Chandler's son and immediately took control of the situation. He filed a
$30 million civil lawsuit against Jackson, which would prove to be the
beginning of the end.
Once news of the suit spread, the wolves began lining up at the door.
According to a member of Jackson's legal team, "Feldman got dozens of
letters from all kinds of people saying they'd been molested by Jackson.
They went through all of them trying to find somebody, and they found
zero."
With the possibility of criminal charges against Jackson now looming,
Bert Fields brought in Howard Weitzman, a well-known criminal-defense
lawyer with a string of high-profile clients -- including John DeLorean,
whose trail he won, and Kim Basinger, whose Boxing Helena contract
dispute he lost. (Also, for a short time this June, Weitzman was O.J.
Simpson's attorney.) Some predicted a problem between the two lawyers
early on. There wasn't room for two strong attorneys used to running
their own show.
From the day Weitzman joined Jackson's defense team, "he was talking
settlement," says Bonnie Ezkenazi, an attorney who worked for the
defense. With Fields and Pellicano still in control of Jackson's
defense, they adopted an aggressive strategy. They believed staunchly in
Jackson's innocence and vowed to fight the charges in court. Pellicano
began gathering evidence to use in the trial, which was scheduled for
March 21, 1994. "They had a very weak case," says Fields. "We wanted to
fight. Michael wanted to fight and go through a trial. We felt we could
win."
Dissension within the Jackson camp accelerated on November 12, after
Jackson's publicist announced at a press conference that the singer was
canceling the remainder of his world tour to go into a
drug-rehabilitation program to treat his addiction to painkillers.
Fields later told re****ters that Jackson was "barely able to function
adequately on an intellectual level." Others in Jackson's camp felt it
was a mistake to ****tray the singer as incompetent. "It was im****tant,"
Fields says, "to tell the truth. [Larry] Feldman and the press took the
position that Michael was trying to hide and that it was all a scam. But
it wasn't."
On November 23, the friction peaked. Based on information he says he got
from Weitzman, Fields told a courtroom full of re****ters that a criminal
indictment against Jackson seemed imminent. Fields had a reason for
making the statement: He was trying to delay the boy's civil suit by
establi****ng that there was an impending criminal case that should be
tried first. Outside the courtroom, re****ters asked why Fields had made
the announcement, to which Weitzman replied essentially that Fields
"misspoke himself." The comment infuriated Fields, "because it wasn't
true," he says. "It was just an outrage. I was very upset with Howard."
Fields sent a letter of resignation to Jackson the following week.
"There was this vast group of people all wanting to do a different
thing, and it was like moving through mol***** to get a decision," says
Fields. "It was a nightmare, and I wanted to get the hell out of it."
Pellicano, who had received his share of flak for his aggressive manner,
resigned at the same time.
With Fields and Pellicano gone, Weitzman brought in Johnnie Cochran Jr.,
a well-known civil attorney who is now helping defend O.J. Simpson. And
John Branca, whom Fields had replaced as Jackson's general counsel in
1990, was back on board. In late 1993, as DAs in both Santa Barbaraand
Los Angeles counties convened grand juries to *****s whether criminal
charges should be filed against Jackson, the defense strategy changed
course and talk of settling the civil case began in earnest, even though
his new team also believed in Jackson's innocence.
Why would Jackson's side agree to settle out of court, given his claims
of innocence and the questionable evidence against him? His attorneys
apparently decided there were many factors that argued against taking
the case to civil court. Among them was the fact that Jackson's
emotional fragility would be tested by the oppressive media coverage
that would likely plague the singer day after day during a trial that
could last as long as six months. Politics and racial issues had also
seeped into legal proceedings -- particularly in Los Angeles, which was
still recovering from the Rodney King ordeal -- and the defense feared
that a court of law could not be counted on to deliver justice. Then,
too, there was the jury mix to consider. As one attorney says, "They
figured that Hispanics might resent [Jackson] for his money, blacks
might resent him for trying to be white, and whites would have trouble
getting around the molestation issue." In Resnick's opinion, "The
hysteria is so great and the stigma [of child molestation] is so strong,
there is no defense against it."
Jackson's lawyers also worried about what might happen if a criminal
trial followed, particularly in Santa Barbara, which is a largely white,
conservative, middle-to-upper-class community. Any way the defense
looked at it, a civil trial seemed too big a gamble. By meeting the
terms of a civil settlement, sources say, the lawyers figured they could
forestall a criminal trial through a tacit understanding that Chandler
would agree to make his son unavailable to testify.
Others close to the case say the decision to settle also probably had to
do with another factor -- the lawyers' reputations. "Can you imagine
what would happen to an attorney who lost the Michael Jackson case?"
says Anthony Pellicano. "There's no way for all three lawyers to come
out winners unless they settle. The only person who lost is Michael
Jackson." But Jackson, says Branca, "changed his mind about [taking the
case to trial] when he returned to this country. He hadn't seen the
massive coverage and how hostile it was. He just wanted the whole thing
to go away."
On the other side, relation****ps among members of the boy's family had
become bitter. During a meeting in Larry Feldman's office in late 1993,
Chandler, a source says, "completely lost it and beat up Dave
[Schwartz]." Schwartz, having separated from June by this time, was
getting pushed out of making decisions that affected his stepson, and he
resented Chandler for taking the boy and not returning him.
"Dave got mad and told Evan this was all about extortion, anyway, at
which point Evan stood up, walked over and started hitting Dave," a
second source says.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To anyone who lived in Los Angeles in January 1994, there were two main
topics of discussion -- the earthquake and the Jackson settlement. On
January 25, Jackson agreed to pay the boy an undisclosed sum. The day
before, Jackson's attorneys had withdrawn the extortion charges against
Chandler and Rothman.
The actual amount of the settlement has never been revealed, although
speculation has placed the sum around $20 million. One source says
Chandlerand June Chandler Schwartz received up to $2 million each, while
attorney Feldman might have gotten up to 25 percent in contingency fees.
The restof the money is being held in trust for the boy and will be paid
out under the supervision of a court-appointed trustee.
"Remember, this case was always about money," Pellicano says, "and Evan
Chandler wound up getting what he wanted." Since Chandler still has
custody of his son, sources contend that logically this means the father
has access to any money his son gets.
By late May 1994, Chandler finally appeared to be out of dentistry. He'd
closed down his Beverly Hills office, citing ongoing harassment from
Jackson sup****ters. Under the terms of the settlement, Chandler is
apparently prohibited from writing about the affair, but his brother,
Ray Charmatz, was re****tedly trying to get a book deal.
In what may turn out to be the never-ending case, this past August, both
Barry Rothman and Dave Schwartz (two principal players left out of the
settlement) filed civil suits against Jackson. Schwartz maintains that
the singer broke up his family. Rothman's lawsuit claims defamation and
slander on the part of Jackson, as well as his original defense team --
Fields, Pellicano and Weitzman -- for the allegations of extortion. "The
charge of [extortion]," says Rothman attorney Aitken, "is totally
untrue. Mr. Rothman has been held up for public ridicule, was the
subject of a criminal investigation and suffered loss of income."
(Presumably, some of Rothman's lost income is the hefty fee he would
have received had he been able to continue as Chandler's attorney
through the settlement phase.)
As for Michael Jackson, "he is getting on with his life," says publicist
Michael Levine. Now married, Jackson also recently recorded three new
songs for a greatest-hits album and completed a new music video called
"History."
And what became of the massive investigation of Jackson? After millions
of dollars were spent by prosecutors and police departments in two
jurisdictions, and after two grand juries questioned close to 200
witnesses, including 30 children who knew Jackson, not a single
corroborating witness could be found. (In June 1994, still determined to
find even one corroborating witness, three prosecutors and two police
detectives flew to Australia to again question Wade Robson, the boy who
had acknowledged that he'd slept in the same bed with Jackson. Once
again, the boy said that nothing bad had happened.)
The sole allegations leveled against Jackson, then, remain those made by
one youth, and only after the boy had been give a potent hypnotic drug,
leaving him susceptible to the power of suggestion.
"I found the case suspicious," says Dr. Underwager, the Minneapolis
psychiatrist, "precisely because the only evidence came from one boy.
That would be highly unlikely. Actual pedophiles have an average of 240
victims in their lifetime. It's a progressive disorder. They're never
satisfied."
Given the slim evidence against Jackson, it seems unlikely he would have
been found guilty had the case gone to trial. But in the court of public
opinion, there are no restrictions. People are free to speculate as they
wish, and Jackson's eccentricity leaves him vulnerable to the likelihood
that the public has assumed the worst about him.
So is it possible that Jackson committed no crime -- that he is what he
has always pur****ted to be, a protector and not a molester of children?
Attorney Michael Freeman thinks so: "It's my feeling that Jackson did
nothing wrong and these people [Chandler and Rothman] saw an op****tunity
and programmed it. I believe it was all about money."
To some observers, the Michael Jackson story illustrates the dangerous
power of accusation, against which there is often no defense --
particularly when the accusations involve child ***ual abuse. To others,
something else is clear now -- that police and prosecutors spent
millions of dollars to create a case whose foundation never existed.
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