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Jury deciding the Hollywood wiretap case

Story Highlights
NEW: Jury going through 78 counts against P.I., two co-defendants
Anthony Pellicano represented himself, says he acted alone
A-list private investigator is accused of illegal dirt-digging tactics
Trial has featured testimony from celebrities, Hollywood players
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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The jury in the two-month federal racketeering trial of Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano has began deliberations.

Anthony Pellicano is accused of using illegal tactics to gather dirt for Hollywood A-list clients.

Jurors must decide on 78 counts lodged against Pellicano and two co-defendants in what prosecutors said was a lucrative but illegal dirt-digging scheme on behalf his A-list clients.

Defense lawyers wrapped up their closing arguments Thursday. Attorneys for ex-telephone company worker Rayford Earl Turner, and Abner Nicherie, a client of Pellicano's, made their arguments to the jury Thursday morning.

Nicherie is charged with one wiretapping count, while Turner is accused of identity theft, computer fraud and taking part in a criminal enterprise.

Pellicano, the celebrity investigator who is acting as his own attorney, had insisted in closing arguments Wednesday he acted as a "lone ranger" while gathering information for his clients. He denied he led a criminal enterprise as prosecutors allege.

The 64-year-old Pellicano has pleaded not guilty to spearheading a scheme that used wiretaps and ran names through law enforcement databases to dig up dirt on Hollywood's rich and famous and supply it to their rivals.

The four co-defendants pleaded not guilty to a variety of federal charges.

In his argument Wednesday, Pellicano insisted he shared no information with colleagues as he conducted investigations and allowed others to learn only what he wanted them to know.

"There was no criminal enterprise or conspiracy. Mr. Pellicano alone is responsible. That is the simple truth," he told jurors, referring to himself in the third person as court rules require for people who act as their own attorneys.

He did not elaborate on what he was responsible for.

"Effectively he was a lone ranger," Pellicano said.

Pellicano, who has remained in custody during the trial, wore his prison-issued green jacket, gray shirt and green pants as he delivered his 15-minute closing argument.

Instead of addressing the evidence, he bragged about his career, showing some of the same swagger that became his calling card when he was doing investigations for his high-powered clientele.

"Perhaps his business card should read `I deliver,' because he did it over and over again," Pellicano said about his work.

Earlier in the day Wednesday, Chad Hummel, a lawyer for former Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Arneson, argued that federal prosecutors had failed to prove his client was part of the alleged criminal enterprise.

Arneson is accused of taking bribes in excess of $180,000 to run names through law enforcement databases. He has said he received the money for off-duty security and surveillance work.

The other co-defendant in the case is software designer Kevin Kachikian. Kachikian's attorney, Adam Braun, said Pellicano duped his client into believing a wiretapping program he developed called Telesleuth would be marketed to law enforcement agencies.

"Mr. Kachikian did not know or intend for Telesleuth to be used" for illegal wiretapping, Braun said.

Seven people, including film director John McTiernan and former Hollywood Records president Robert Pfeifer, earlier pleaded guilty to a variety of charges including perjury and conspiracy. E-mail to a friend