Untouchable

by Randall Sullivan

  ———. “Michael Jackson’s Family Calls for Help.” Fox News, June 29, 2007 (I).

  Lee, Chris, and Harriet Ryan. “Deep Pockets Behind Michael Jackson.” Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2009 (hereafter cited as Lee and Ryan, “Deep Pockets”).

  Netter, Sarah. “Michael Jackson Bodyguards: ‘We Were Asked to Leave Hotels.’” abcnews.com, March 8, 2010 (I).

  Wiltz, Teresa. “Keeper of the Famed.” Washington Post, October 8, 2006.

  CASCIO STAY/NEW JERSEY

  “Alumnus Lands Three Tracks on King of Pop’s New CD Ad a Spot on Oprah’s Couch.” Drew Today, December 14, 2010.

  Friedman, Roger. “Jacko Lived with New Jersey Family for Three Months.” Fox News, November 19, 2007 (I).

  Netter, Sarah. “Befriending Michael Jackson—Longtime Pal Says King of Pop Yearned for Normalcy.” abcnews.com, July 7, 2009 (I).

  Taraborrelli, J. Randy. “Jacko the Hobo’s Worldwide Trail of Debt.” Daily Mail, December 11, 2007.

  Winfrey, Oprah. “Michael Jackson Recorded Music in the Cascio Home.” Oprah, December 6, 2010 (RT) (hereafter cited as Oprah, “Cascio Home”).

  ———. “Secret Friendship” (RT).

  Yaniv, Oren, and Adam Nichol. “Michael Jackson Hid with Kids in Jersey.” New York Daily News, December 12, 2007.

  CHAPTER 14

  MJ–Ron Burkle relationship: AS2, CS2. Stay with Burkle, Jesse Jackson involvement: New York Post. Burkle background (incl. Green Acres fund-raiser, Jesse Jackson): “The Complete Ron Burkle.” Details of financial assistance Burkle gave MJ: AS2, Friedman/“Billionaire to the rescue,” Siklos (see Chapter 1 notes), Gawker. MJ was deposed in the Prescient case at Versailles, passing through France on his way to Ireland. Prescient deposition: Friedman/“Michael Jackson Will Lose Beatles Catalog.” MJ actually said far harsher things about his brother Randy than I reported here; see the “Mijac Claimed on 18 June 2007, Brother Randy Stole His Money” article at michaeljackson.com. MJ meeting Burkle at Cochran’s funeral/Fortress Investments pressure on MJ: Siklos article (see Chapter 1 notes), the most comprehensive account of the financial machinations around MJ in this period (AS2 first suggested that I read it). MJ paying lawyers but not paying bodyguards: their interviews with ABC. Details of the Prescient case: documents provided to me, Friedman, Siklos (see Chapter 1 notes). Nona Jackson, Manuela Gomela Ruiz (the elderly woman who died in the hospital): complaint filings. Sheikh Abdullah lawsuit: court filings, AS2, CS2, and Tohme, who dealt with the Al Khalifas personally in negotiating a settlement of the case. Quotations in that section: court testimony (as reported by the British press; see articles regarding Rwaramba testimony in Chapter 1 notes), pleadings.

  Leiber-Stoller catalog: AS2, CS2, Butler/Billboard. Call to Leiber and Stoller; Sony paying full cost of the purchase: AS2, Siklos (Siklos reported that it was only Stoller MJ called, which may be correct; see Chapter 1 notes). Danger of losing Neverland to Fortress in a default: Friedman, Siklos (see Chapter 1). Burkle introducing MJ to George Maloof: AS2. Maloof on MJ’s stay at the Palms: Maloof to Katsilometes, except where attributed to Larry King interview in the text. “Plaster of Disguise”: Moodie/Daily Mail; follow-up quotes: contactmusic.com, finditt.com, hollyscoop.com.

  I acknowledge that the long plastic surgery section in this chapter could be described as interpretive, perhaps even as opinionated. It was the result of nearly three years of research and dozens of conversations with people who knew MJ. The point of view is my own, but it’s an informed point of view. Among those things that informed me was the footage for the “What More Can I Give?” video that was shot by Marc Schaffel in 2001 and is now in the possession of Howard Mann. I doubt that MJ ever looked worse than he does in those harshly lit scenes, and his discomfort with himself and with being seen in person for the first time by some of the musicians and singers he had chosen as collaborators was palpable to me. I actually found his onscreen sadness almost unbearable to watch.

  MJ’s perfectionism: multiple reports, including from collaborators such as Lenny Kravitz, Akon, and others who worked with him in the last year of his life. Making Bad “as perfect as humanly possible”: MJ to Rolling Stone, Taraborrelli. Bad “over-produced”: Rolling Stone managing editor Will Dana in 2009, summarizing critical reaction at the time. MJ’s first two plastic surgeries, Dr. Hoefflin: Taraborrelli. Arnold Klein work on MJ: billing and medical records, Dr. Wallace Goodstein to People (“Michael Jackson’s Plastic Surgery”). Klein diagnosing vitiligo: Klein to Seal/Vanity Fair (see Chapter 12 notes), and elsewhere. Vitiligo and lupus background, emotional implications of treatment, link to childhood trauma: my research, in particular, “What is Vitiligo?”/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases pamphlet; Deepak Chopra to People. Porcelana, “I do want to be perfect,” third nose job/comparison to Diana Ross: Taraborrelli. Reaction to old photograph: Hilburn/“The wounds, the broken heart (see Chapter 4 notes).”

  Hoefflin has never acknowledged the extent of the surgeries he performed on MJ (perhaps to protect his patient’s privacy), but there is a substantial public record (incl. information from nurses’ lawsuit against Hoefflin, Dr. Goodstein to People). Cleft in MJ’s chin: stories I recall from LA gossip columns from living there in 1986; MJ acknowledging it: Taraborrelli.

  What I write about MJ’s plastic surgery and his feelings about race are, ultimately, my own conclusions, based on my reading of the evidence. “If he couldn’t erase Joe from his life”: Marcus Phillips to Taraborrelli; I heard more or less the same thing from Schaffel, Wiesner, and Tohme years later. MJ on separating from the Jackson 5 to “become me”: Steven Howell in Secret Childhood. “Big, tall mean guys”: MJ to Boteach; although MJ wasn’t specifically speaking about Joe, I think it’s pretty clear that’s where the fear he was talking about originated. Stacy Brown observations: Man Behind the Mask. “Splaboos” to do more with class than race: Schaffel, Tohme. MJ disturbed people thought he wanted to be white: Gotham Chopra in People’s “Deepak Chopra: Michael Jackson Had Lupus.” Admisions he’d gone too far with plastic surgery: Rolling Stone’s 1991 “The Making of the King of Pop” (cited earlier).

  MJ playing Hoefflin and Klein off against one another: both doctors in interviews; lawsuits against each other. Klein trying to prevent MJ from more Hoefflin operations: affirmed by Schaffel. Klein-Hoefflin rivalry: Seal/Vanity Fair, Ryan/LA Times on Klein’s lawsuit against Hoefflin. Nurses’ lawsuit vs. Hoefflin: People, LA Times (by two different women with very similar names); “Ugly face of beauty”/Independent. Hoefflin claims of vindication: his Web site. Court documents showing $42,000 payments to nurses: Diane Dimond/Daily Beast. Hoefflin and Klein withholding law enforcement access to files: People v. Jackson court file. Chopra on MJ’s “poor body image”: Time’s MJ commemorative issue. MJ weeping when Us magazine editor “could no longer put him on the cover”: AS1. Werner Mang claims: “Jackson’s Nose Patched Up”/Daily Mail; Hoefflin denial of Mang claims: contactmusic.com. Sinnreich/”blow holes”: vitals.com (see Chapter 12 notes). Prosthetic noses: multiple sources; Adrian McManus comments: Daily Mail (may have run first in the Mirror). I heard the story about MJ’s nose falling off long before it was published in Rolling Stone, from Will Dana. MJ on Bobby Driscoll: MJ to Boteach. Driscoll life story: Beck, Larson. That the nose MJ wore during the last years of his life was Bobby Driscoll’s should be obvious to anyone who looks at side-by-side pictures of the two.

  JESSE JACKSON PARTY/RON BURKLE/FINANCES

  Banfield, Ashleigh, and Angela Ellis. “Michael Jackson: Inside His Family and Finances.” abcnews.go.com, March 10, 2010 (I).

  Butler, Susan. “Sony/ATV Acquires Lieber and Stoller.” Billboard, April 16, 2007.

  “The Company Ron Burkle Keeps.” Gawker.com, July 1, 2008 (I).

  Friedman, Roger. “Billionaire to the Rescue for Jacko.” Fox News, April 25, 2005 (I).

  ———. “Michael Jackson Will Lose Beatles Catalog in ’08.” Fox News, March 9, 2007 (I).

  Ho
rowitz, Jason. “The Complete Ron Burkle.” New York Observer, April 12, 2006.

  “Jacko, Kids Squat with Burkle.” New York Post, November 20, 2007.

  PALMS/MALOOFS

  Katsilometes, John. “Michael Jackson Recorded New Song ‘Hold My Hand’ at Palms, but Had ‘Artistic Differences’ with Playboy Suite.” Las Vegas Sun, November 12, 2010.

  King, Larry. “Interview with George Maloof.” CNN, August 19, 2011 (RT).

  PLASTIC SURGERY

  Chopra, Deepak. “Remembering Michael.” Time, June 2009. Special “Michael Jackson 1958–2009” commemorative issue.

  Dimond, Diane. “It’s Getting Even Weirder.” Daily Beast, August 5, 2009 (I) (hereafter cited as Dimond, “Even Weirder”).

  “Jackson Has ‘Surgery’ After Hit by Son.” Contactmusic.com, December 24, 2007 (I).

  Messer, Lesley. “Deepak Chopra: Michael Jackson Had Lupus.” People, June 27, 2009.

  “Michael Jackson Gets a Beating.” hollyscoop.com, December 24, 2007 (I).

  “Michael Jackson Needs Surgery After Being Whacked by Son Prince.” finditt.com, December 24, 2007 (I).

  “Michael Jackson Wore a Fake Nose, and It Was Missing as He Lay in the Morgue.” Daily Mail, July 25, 2009.

  Moodie, Clemmie. “Plaster of Disguise: Bandaged Michael Jackson Goes Shopping in Las Vegas.” Daily Mail, December 21, 2007.

  O’Neill, Anne-Marie. “Under Scrutiny.” People, November 24, 1997.

  O’Neill, Ann W. “Doctor Files Suits Alleging Defamation.” Los Angeles Times, November 12, 1997.

  Orr, Deborah. “The Ugly Face of Beauty.” Independent, February 19, 1999.

  “A Photographic History of Michael Jackson’s Face.” anomalies-unlimited.com (I).

  “Plastic Surgeon Steven M. Hoefflin Is Cleared and Vindicated of All Legal Claims Against Him.” Hoefflin Center for Plastic Surgery, hoefflin.com (PR).

  Ryan, Harriet. “Michael Jackson’s Dermatologist Sues Another Physician.” Los Angeles Times, September 16, 2009.

  Seal, “Doctor Will Sue.”

  Triggs, Charlotte. “Inside Story: Michael Jackson’s Plastic Surgery.” People, July 10, 2009.

  “What Is Vitiligo?” niams.nih.gov, November 2010 (I).

  Wigmore, Barry. “Jackson’s Nose Patched Up with Ear.” Daily Mail, August 23, 2004.

  BOBBY DRISCOLL

  Beck, Marilyn. “With Re-Release of Disney Film—Child Star’s Tragic Death Described.” North American Newspaper Alliance, July 14, 1971.

  Larson, Donna. “Bobby Driscoll Won’t Be Around for Reissue of Song of the South.” Los Angeles Times, February 13, 1972.

  CHAPTER 15

  Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio, and Associates audit: I was able to read and make notes, but don’t have a copy. I haven’t listed it among my sources for that reason; I don’t recall the specific title of the document or the exact date on the cover letter. Associated Press reporter Stevenson Jacobs apparently saw it as well. MJ’s only choices (besides selling his share of the Sony/ATV catalog) to borrow more money or file for bankruptcy: Tohme, Hawk, AS2, CS2, among others. MJ’s refinancing details: same sources, plus Siklos (see Chapter 1 notes), who had details about HSBC and Plainfield involvement in Mijac loan. Refinancing money to settle lawsuits, pay off John Branca: Tohme, Hawk, AS2, CS2, Siklos (see Chapter 1 notes). Deal with Branca: documents in Joe Jackson lawsuit against Michael Jackson Estate. “Obvious problems”: my analysis of Thompson, Cobb audit and refinancing details, plus Hawk, AS2, and, especially, Tohme. Promotion and success of Thriller 25: Sony press releases collected on MJ MySpace, Facebook pages, michaeljackson.com, “Charts and Certifications”/Wikipedia, Herrera/Billboard, “Artist Chart History.” “Working day and night”: Will.i.am in michaeljacksonbeat.blogspot.com collection of artist quotes on comeback album (see Chapter 9 notes). Thanks again to R.J. 7even, leaking of Pras and Akon duets: michaeljackson.com, michaeljacksonbeat.blogspot.com (which also has Will.i.am MTV interview, quotes from Chris Brown, 50 Cent, Syience, and Carlos Santana, Ne-Yo’s Rolling Stone interview; see Chapter 9 notes). Ne-Yo, Will.i.am and Akon were among the many who spoke about MJ’s insistence that there was no point in putting out another album unless it was the best work he had ever done.

  Palomino lease: original lease agreement, signed by Brother Michael on MJ’s behalf. Description of property: Tohme, also Hawk, CS2.

  MJ actually stayed at the Bolkiahs’ Spanish Trail estate briefly in summer 2007, between leaving Monte Cristo and leaving for the East Coast. Jefri Bolkiah’s wastrel ways: Seal/Vanity Fair. Condition of Spanish Trails house, MJ’s determination to purchase it: Tohme, Brother Michael, AS1. Sony withholding Thriller 25 royalties: Tohme. Farrakhan’s son as MJ’s cook: Hawk, Tohme. Brother Michael’s position in household: Hawk, Tohme, CS2. Because of a promise of confidentiality, I can’t name the attorney quoted about MJ and the Muslims. Foreclosure and refinancing of Neverland: primarily Tohme, who ultimately brokered the deal that kept it in MJ’s possession; comprehensive account: Lee/Ryan “Deep pockets behind”/LA Times; risk of losing it, foreclosure, auction notice: Friedman, foreclosurelistingsca.com. McMillan boasting on “confidential” arrangement: McMillan to Moody/AP.

  I anticipate that Tohme Tohme will be the most controversial of my sources. Since Tohme was indispensable to me as a source, and because our relationship illustrates how complicated my investigation of Michael Jackson’s last days became, I’m going to explain it at length here. This is how I met Tohme: Tom Mesereau told me I should talk to Dennis Hawk, who had been Michael’s main attorney during the final year of his life and was a good man. After I interviewed Dennis a couple of times, he said he’d like to attempt an introduction to Michael’s “mysterious” manager, Tohme Tohme. Dennis described Tohme as terribly misunderstood and said the man had been treated more unfairly by the media than just about any other significant figure in the Michael Jackson story. Tohme and I eventually met three times at Hawk’s office in Santa Monica and, irascible as he is, I liked him. Also, I recognized it as a coup that he was speaking to me at such length and in such detail. I knew that lots of network correspondents and various national media had been trying to score an in-depth interview with Tohme and that he’d turned them all down. (I especially enjoyed hearing from Tohme about how “Barry King” kept trying to take him to lunch at Spago.) “You are the only one I trust,” Tohme told me. Naturally, that was pleasing to my ears. Michael’s former manager and I began to talk regularly on the phone and to meet for drinks whenever I was in LA. As I worked to verify what he was telling me, though, I heard more and more people question Tohme’s professional manner and credibility. Howard Mann, for example, shared information about Tohme with me that he believed cast him in a bad light.

  In a long and threatening letter sent to me by Howard Weitzman, co-general counsel for the Michael Jackson estate and John Branca’s right-hand man, there were a number of assertions that challenged statements Tohme had made to me. Tohme had answers to most of these claims and Dennis Hawk largely backed him up but at the very least Weitzman had stirred waters that were looking increasingly murky. And the estate’s attorney had referenced a number of documents concerning Michael Jackson’s separation from Tohme that I found did, in fact, exist and that were, in a couple of cases, indisputably valid.

  The fact that Frank Dileo was indisposed complicated matters. I was and am absolutely certain that Dileo resorted to various devious ploys while angling to reenter Michael Jackson’s life in the spring of 2009 and that a number of these were intended to separate Michael from his then-manager, Tohme. Still, I had heard Tohme’s version of events in great detail, but hadn’t spoken to Dileo, who fell into a coma right around the time I began trying to make contact with him. I spoke to his wife Linda to check on something Tohme had told me about Frank and Mrs. Dileo insisted, convincingly, that it wasn’t true. Her husband never recovered, so in the end I had to rely on the public record and on what Frank Dileo had said in various interviews, including with the police, t
o get his side of the story. It didn’t make him look good—there were a number of things he’d said that I knew were false—but it bothered me that I couldn’t offer him a chance to respond to accusations I was hearing from Tohme and others. I was certain that Randy Phillips knew the whole truth about what had transpired, but Phillips was claiming that he couldn’t talk to me about any of that without the approval of AEG Live’s legal counsel, Marvin Putnam, who told me that, because of Katherine Jackson’s wrongful death lawsuit, he was compelled to advise Mr. Phillips not to speak to me at this time. Other than the e-mail in which Phillips asserted that there was “much confusion” surrounding the subject of Michael Jackson’s management, “much of it caused by Michael himself,” I got no help from the AEG Live boss.

  Meanwhile, Howard Weitzman and Mike Sitrick, both representatives of John Branca, were defending Dileo to me while attacking Tohme. Branca, though, declined to answer any questions about his personal dealings with either man. Then, in the early summer of 2011, I introduced Tohme to Perry Sanders and sat in on a couple of meetings between the two. At the time, I was trying to help Tohme settle his differences with both the Jackson family and the Michael Jackson estate (and, of course, collect whatever useful information might surface in the process). Sanders started out liking Tohme, but became increasingly skeptical about the man. They met at least once when I wasn’t present, and Sanders began to tell me he didn’t trust Tohme because he’d caught the man in several “internal contradictions,” meaning that Tohme had told different versions of the same story in separate conversations. Sanders also said that Tohme had “outright lied” on at least a couple of occasions. These “lies” sounded petty to me—more akin to braggadocio than to some grand deception, but still. And I was bothered when Katherine Jackson made it clear she didn’t trust Tohme, suggesting he was a con man who had taken advantage of her son Michael. Mrs. Jackson also seemed to put some stock in the accusations made by other members of her family—most notably La Toya—that Tohme had looted the Carolwood chateau after Michael’s body was removed from it, that he had made some sort of under-the-table deal on the Neverland refinance, and that he might even be complicit in Michael’s death. Many of my concerns in these regards were swept away by my first interview with Ron Williams, the former Secret Service agent whose company was charged with securing the Carolwood property on the evening that Michael Jackson died. Williams backed Tohme’s story of what happened on the day of Michael Jackson’s death in every detail and made it clear that if anything had been taken from the Carolwood house, it was likely by the Jackson women, led by La Toya herself.