Untouchable

by Randall Sullivan

Hodge, Katie. “Michael Jackson Murdered for Hit Catalogue, Claims LaToya.” Independent, June 24, 2010.

  “Michael Jackson Still Alive After Transport to Coroner.” YouTube, August 25, 2009 (I).

  Sloan, Jenna. “Is Jacko Posing as a Burns Victim?” Sun, May 11, 2010.

  “Why the CIA Murdered Michael Jackson.” forum.davidicke.com, August 25, 2009 (I).

  CONRAD MURRAY PRELIMINARY HEARING

  Duke, Alan. “Joe Jackson: Dr. Murray ‘a Fall Guy’ in Michael’s Death.” CNN, February 9, 2010 (I).

  “Do You Want Fries?”

  Ephron, Amy. “The Michael Jackson Trial That Wasn’t.” Daily Beast, September 29, 2011 (I) (hereafter cited as Ephron, “Trial”).

  “Joe Jackson: Don’t Attack Conrad’s Supporters.” TMZ, May 12, 2010 (I).

  McCartney, Anthony, and Thomas Watkins. “MJ’s Doc Requested CPR Gear, Nurse for London Gig.” Associated Press, June 17, 2010.

  “Michael Jackson Was Murdered, Sister La Toya Tells Piers Morgan.” cnn.com, June 21, 2011 (I).

  “MJ Could Have Been Saved, Says Doc in Dock.” Times of India, September 13, 2010 (I).

  CHAPTER 29

  KJ/estate effort to get Alejandra to leave Hayvenhurst: confidential sources close to KJ; also, information in the court file. June 2010 attempt/KJ stunned at Alejandra hiring an attorney/staying: my sources, see also (including Katherine attempting to convince Alejandra to move into MJ’s former condo) hollywoodgossip.com June 2010, Perez Hilton November 2010; most of the Internet media did not join in until the estate filed to evict Alejandra in January 2011. Confidentiality agreement/tell-all book: my sources, eventually reported on the Internet—see Perez Hilton January 7, 2011. I’m quoting Schaffel in part because he was the only one who didn’t ask me not to use his name, and also because he was a confidant to Mrs. Jackson as all this was playing out. Most of what he is reporting to me was told to him by Katherine and other people in her household. DCFS workers urging KJ to separate MJ’s kids from cousins: Schaffel and other sources (see Chapter 28); implied but to my knowledge not explicitly stated on TMZ. KJ staying at Schaffel’s in Calabasas/liking the neighborhood: Schaffel, confirmed by other sources. Details of Calabasas house: “Hangin’ in Britney’s Hood”/TMZ, visitors to the property. “She basically stays in the house,” KJ calling police/Alejandra response: confidential/advisor of KJ, as well as Schaffel on latter story. Jermaine stuck in Africa: confidential sources, TMZ and IANS, January 8–9, 2011. I do not know that Alejandra’s attorneys intended to trap Jermaine in Africa (two of my sources said they did) or whether they had filed a previous notice with the State Department that Jermaine was in child support arrears and that kicked in when Jermaine presented an expired passport in Burkina Faso. KJ going to the estate for money for Jermaine: confidential/her closest advisor; also, Friedman.

  Jacksons’s concerns about what Alejandra might say in court: multiple sources, including Schaffel. Account of court hearing: Schaffel, TMZ, Radar Online. Estate deal to settle KJ-Alejandra-Jermaine issues: confidential sources who were spending a good deal of time in the Jackson household/with KJ as it was happening; see also entertainmentrundown.com, TMZ, Radar Online. What Jermaine told other family members about dealings with Branca: confidential source/KJ’s closest advisor. KJ complaints to Oprah Winfrey about Branca/estate: Mann, who was present at Hayvenhurst during the interview. Mann does bear no small animus toward Branca (and vice versa, I’m told) but his story about this was supported by others, and by KJ’s sworn declaration filed in the lawsuit between the estate and the Heal the World Foundation, from which KJ’s words come about Winfrey “relenting.”

  A little about the Heal the World lawsuit, Streisand, and Sanders: I saw a draft of Mrs. Jackson’s declaration before it was even signed and received blow-by-blow reports as it all went down. I was at the time staying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and so was Perry Sanders, who was in town to deal with matters relating to the Notorious B.I.G. wrongful death lawsuit. Sanders and I got to know each other through the Notorious B.I.G. case: My article for Rolling Stone was the catalyst for the lawsuit, and we spoke on the phone while I was writing LAbyrinth, my book about the murders of B.I.G. and Tupac that sprung from that reporting. While I was working on a second Rolling Stone article about the case, we spent some time together in Colorado and became friends. So when we were both at the Beverly Hilton I asked Sanders to look at some of the documents I was being shown, in particular those connected to the Joe Jackson–Brian Oxman effort to remove Branca and McClain as executors, and tell me what he thought of them in terms of legal argument.

  I was also meeting at the hotel with various people, including Tohme Tohme and Howard Mann, who wanted to hire me to write and possibly perform the narration for the Stealing Michael Jackson documentary. At one point, Mann stated that Katherine Jackson needed a new attorney who would be more aggressive in representing her and I suggested a meeting with my friend Perry. I had never had any contact with Adam Streisand up to that point in time and certainly bore him no ill will. Several meetings followed between Sanders and Katherine Jackson’s advisors; I sat in on most of them. Sanders and I were looking at the same documents and hearing the same stories. All of this led to a meeting that was attended by Katherine and her two closest advisors, as well as her constant companion Trent Jackson, plus Sanders and myself. I did ask Katherine a number of questions about her legal representation, why this or that decision had been made in dealing with MJ’s will and estate, and about her dealings (and MJ’s) with John Branca, among other things, but I also told her that Perry Sanders was an attorney I believed she could trust. The very next day, or perhaps it was the day after that, the public drama generated by Mrs. Jackson’s declaration in the Heal the World lawsuit erupted and Adam Streisand was quoted as saying that Katherine denied making the statements in that declaration. I heard before the end of the day that he was out and that Mrs. Jackson wanted to hire Perry Sanders (after speaking to Voletta Wallace). “Either a liar or a fool”: confidential/advisor present at the meeting where Sanders was introduced to Mrs. Jackson. TMZ articles containing estate response/Streisand: “Fraud,” “Pathetic,” April 12, 2011. (There have probably been more volleys fired through Harvey Levin than through Judge Beckloff at this point.) KJ firing of Streisand: I saw the letter, and eventually made contact with Adam to hear his side of the story; his quotes are all from e-mails he sent me in a back and forth dialogue. It was my analysis that Streisand, whether he wanted to say so or not, was effectively calling Mrs. Jackson a liar: Katherine had signed that declaration. Streisand is right that Joe and Randy wanted him gone, but they weren’t the only ones. There was general agreement on the Jackson side that Branca needed to be taken on (though not all of Joe and Katherine’s children thought so).

  Sanders and I were together constantly during that week at the Beverly Hilton, but things did change after he formally took the job as Mrs. Jackson’s attorney. He told me less and what he did say was confidential. Fortunately, he was telling Katherine’s advisors everything and they were passing most of it on to me, including his brick and deal approach. “Big-time litigator”: “Let’s Be Fair”/TMZ. Phone meeting between KJ and Voletta: I knew about this before, during, and after it took place. Joe Jackson/Brian Oxman filing, Sanders’s review: The first time he went through it I was sitting right next to him and we were discussing it point-by-point; I have a copy of the filing and all supporting documents; all quoted material is from Oxman’s filing. Sanders warned that Oxman is a publicity hound: by me and others; I also told him that Oxman was not stupid and he agreed after reading the filing.

  Assertion that Joe’s suit against the executors would have been heard if it had been filed on behalf of KJ: opinions from Sanders and other attorneys; I’ve made the same point to Branca and Weitzman and they haven’t disputed it. Sanders conferring with Paul LiCalsi/other attorneys: learned during week at Beverly Hilton. Questions about preparation and signing of will/why Branca hadn’t returned it to MJ
when fired: raised in Oxman’s filing. Weitzman assertions about will’s approval by the court, signatures of witnesses: Weitzman to Reuters. As noted in the text, Weitzman has never stated whether the will was signed in New York or Los Angeles; I’ve given both him and Branca the opportunity to do so. Sanders–Barry Siegel conversation: Sanders; Hawk, unaware of that conversation, told me that Siegel told him the will was signed in New York. Handwriting expert (Bart Baggett): witnessed Sanders and Mann discussing it. I don’t pretend to know what to make of the accusations (and there are several posted online) that MJ’s signatures on either the will or the trust are forgeries. I do know that MJ’s signature varied considerably, and Dennis Hawk was just one of several people who told me that MJ often signed documents without even looking at them. I think Sanders was as skeptical about the whole handwriting analysis approach as I was, but he did seem to think it was significant that the signature page was separate from the rest of the document. Sanders learned from me that MJ was actively seeking to create a new will and trust in early 2009. I learned it from Tohme, confirmed it with Hawk, and then confirmed it again with Sean Najerian. “That was my distinct impression”: Hawk. Tohme was much more blunt and certain, insisting that MJ made it clear he thought he had no will and didn’t think the one naming Branca as an executor still existed. Hawk was much more reluctant to say anything that would sound like an accusation against Branca. 2006 Neverland Trust agreements: described by Tohme, Hawk, two other sources; eventually I saw copies myself. Najerian confirmed everything I had been told by Tohme and Hawk and voiced the opinion that the process was interrupted by the Julien Auctions imbroglio; Hawk agreed. “I can tell you”: Tohme. 2003 will naming Al Malnik as executor: Schaffel, one of the two witnesses to the signing of the document; I later discovered that the day after MJ’s death Malnik had told the Palm Beach Post’s “Page 2” columnist Jose Lambiet that he was indeed the executor of MJ’s 2003 will and had agreed to be the guardian of MJ’s youngest child, Blanket. A reporter for the local CBS affiliate in Miami, Lisa Petrillo, interviewed Malnik that same day and reported that Malnik had also told her that as of 2004 he was the executor of MJ’s estate and the designated guardian of Blanket. Reporters who called to ask/did not get Malnik to comment: South Florida reporters Bob Norman and Joe Weisenthal. Malnik hasn’t spoken to anyone on the record about the will since June 26, 2009, and wouldn’t talk to me. Malnik’s position as summarized in the text (“doesn’t want to be bothered,” etc.): Schaffel, who tried to communicate with Malnik on my behalf; the part about hiring Branca to run the estate makes sense. In our conversations in August of 2012, Howard Weitzman claimed he had spoken to Malnik and told me first that the will “was never filed” and then later wrote a letter to me in which he claimed Malnik had told him that the will never existed. Perry Sanders believed that Malnik should have produced any will in his possession for inspection by the court within sixty days of MJ’s death.

  Sanders’s spring 2011 assessment of his “brick”: Sanders, before he stopped sharing so freely with me; also, Mann, other KJ advisors. Joe/Randy displeasure re. Sanders’s preference for a deal: multiple sources. “Bottom line”: Sanders to TMZ . Sanders-Weitzman lunch and dinner: Sanders; he did not say what it was about or what was discussed, but other confidential sources with relationships with KJ did. Settlement of Heal the World lawsuit: all of the documents, provided to me by one of KJ’s advisors, also discussed with Sanders; it was a moment of contention between us because I didn’t think Melissa Johnson had been dealt with fairly. Perry made it very clear he felt otherwise.

  Joe and Randy accusing Sanders of working for the estate: multiple sources; actually, Joe insisted that I was the estate’s “plant” and had arranged for Sanders’s introduction at the behest of John Branca, who will no doubt be amused to read about it. Sanders convincing KJ of benefits of negotiating fair deal: multiple sources. What took place at Sanders-Weitzman dinner: per KJ advisors, Sanders made some sort of threat and that Weitzman decided that he, too, believed a deal was better than a battle. “A very able man”: KJ via secondary source. Sanders on Branca: Sanders told me Branca was “super-competent” and a reasonable man. “Katherine is being taken care of”: Sanders. How well MJ’s children were in Calabasas: several sources, again only Schaffel willing to be on record. Prince/Lakers game: “Gets His Game On”/TMZ. Prince developing vitiligo: Schaffel, also reported in media; see Daily Telegraph November 2009, NY Daily News July 2010 (first US mention); Jermaine told Extra six or seven months after I’d first heard.

  COURT FILES

  Civil

  USDC-CA CV-09-07084.

  LASC BP 117321, 11/9/09.

  LASC BP 117 321, 12/15/09.

  USDC-CA CV 11-00584 DDP.

  LASC BP117321, 2/17/12.

  DOCUMENTS

  Birth Certificate, 2/13/98.

  Declaration of Trust, 3/2/02.

  Last Will, 7/7/02.

  Branca to Jackson, 8/14/02.

  Branca to Sony/ATV, 8/14/02.

  Branca to Singer, 8/7/02.

  Singer to Branca, 9/10/02.

  Interfor Report on John Gregory Branca.

  Jackson to Branca, 2/3/03.

  Jackson to Siegel, 2/4/03.

  Siegel to Jackson, Branca, and McClain, 8/26/03.

  Branca, 4/15/06.

  Weitzman to Sullivan and Entrekin, 3/31/11.

  Durst to Reynolds, 4/3/11.

  Mann to Sullivan, 4/9/11.

  Mann to Sullivan “Secret Vault,” 4/9/11.

  Streisand to Sullivan, 6/27/11.

  Williams to Sanders, 11/3/11.

  Ribera to Sullivan, 11/9/11.

  Ribera to Sullivan, 11/13/11.

  OTHER

  Katz and Vaccaro, 8/2009.

  HAYVENHURST DRAMA/ALEJANDRA

  “Alejandra Jackson Agrees to Move Out of Family Compound.” Radar Online, April 9, 2011 (I).

  “Alejandra Jackson Refuses to Leave Michael Jackson’s Encino Estate.” Radar Online, March 15, 2011 (I).

  “Alejandra Jackson to Move Out—Book Deal Imminent.” TMZ, April 8, 2011 (I).

  Free Britney. “Katherine Jackson Really Wants Former Daughter-in-Law, Grandkids Out.” hollywoodgossip.com, June 17, 2010 (I).

  Friedman, “Owed Child Support.”

  Hilton, Perez. “Katherine Jackson Wants Relatives to Move Out!” perezhilton.com, November 9, 2010 (I).

  ———. “Tell-All Book at Center of Jackson Family War!” perezhilton.com, January 1, 2011 (I).

  “Jermaine and Randy Jackson’s Ex-Wife Refuses to Leave Katherine’s Home.” entertainmentrundown.com, March 3, 2011 (I).

  “Jermaine Jackson—Stuck in Africa.” TMZ, January 8, 2011 (I).

  “Jermaine Jackson Trapped in Africa After Passport Expires.” IANS, January 9, 2011 (I).

  “Katherine Jackson—Hangin’ in Britney’s Hood.” TMZ, December 16, 2010 (I).

  “Katherine Jackson: The Declaration Is a Fraud!” TMZ, April 12, 2011 (I).

  “MJ Estate—Katherine’s Accusations Are ‘Pathetic.’” TMZ, April 12, 2011 (I).

  “MJ Estate to Alejandra—Move Out Already!!!” TMZ, March 11, 2011 (I).

  ESTATE/KATHERINE JACKSON/LAWYERS

  Dobuzinkskis, Alex. “Michael Jackson Administrators Dismiss Questions About Legal Will.” Reuters, October 21, 2009.

  “Katherine’s New Lawyer to Estate: Let’s Be Fair.” TMZ, April 15, 2011 (I).

  Lambiet, Jose. “Palm Beacher Could Be Guardian of Michael Jackson’s Son.” Palm Beach Post, June 26, 2009.

  Norman, “Reputed Mobster.”

  Petrillo, Lisa. “Interview with Michael Jackson Friend Al Malnik.” CBS4/Miami, June 25, 2009 (RT).

  Weisenthal, Joe. “Alleged Mobster May Control Jackson’s Estate.” businessinsider.com, June 28, 2009 (I).

  PRINCE MICHAEL JACKSON

  Black, Rosemary. “Like Father, Like Son? Prince Michael Jackson May Have Vitiligo, Which Dad Michael Claimed He Had.” New York Daily News, July 1, 2010.
>
  Laing, Aislinn, and Nick Allen. “Michael Jackson: Son Prince Has Inherited Vitiligo Skin Condition, says La Toya.” Daily Telegraph, November 17, 2009.

  Lopez, Johnny. “Michael Jackson’s Son Gets His Game On.” TMZ, January 26, 2011.

  “Jermaine Jackson Says Prince Michael Showing Signs of Vitiligo.” Extra, September 26, 2011 (RT).

  CHAPTER 30

  As stated in the text, none of the questions surrounding MJ’s will and estate have been answered. And it still seems likely they never will be. It was widely reported in September of 2011 that Katherine Jackson and MJ’s children were to receive a $30 million distribution from the estate. Simply from reading the headlines on those stories it’s clear the reporters believed that Katherine and the kids were to have that money in their accounts very soon. One year later, they still don’t. When Weitzman appeared with Branca on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, he was careful about how he answered the host’s question about the $30 million, saying, “It’s only a preliminary distribution. You know, the court has a certain process we have to go through. You deal with IRS issues, state of California estate issues. But ultimately the executors, John Branca and John McClain, decided that it was time for a preliminary distribution. Thirty million dollars went into Michael Jackson’s family trust.” Neither Weitzman nor Branca can be accused of misleading Morgan or the media in general. MJ’s family trust, though, has not actually been funded, meaning that none of that $30 million is available to Katherine or MJ’s children. This has naturally stoked suspicion among some in the Jackson family, and even among Mrs. Jackson’s attorneys, that Katherine will die before the estate has to pay her.

  MJ cursing the day he bought the Beatles catalog/golden goose; KJ saying MJ’s wealth created more difficulties with his family than his fame, happier back in Gary: confidential sources close to Mrs. Jackson. KJ the only one in the family MJ trusted: same sources, also Schaffel, Tohme, Hawk, others. KJ on understanding better how it must have been for MJ: the confidential sources just mentioned. John McClain telling Jackie about Sanders estate deal (before Katherine told the rest of the family), Jackie passing the news on, Joe/Randy lobbying to stop deal: multiple sources close to Mrs. Jackson. (This was when Joe started telling people I was an estate “plant”). My sources believed (as did Perry Sanders) that McClain was for some reason trying to scuttle the deal. I don’t know that this last part is true, but it was clearly the consensus opinion of those around Mrs. Jackson. Jackie Jackson, by the way, is now being paid as a consultant to the estate. Judge Palazuelos tying Joe’s wrongful death lawsuit to Katherine’s, process by which Oxman accomplished: Beverly Hills Courier, May 3, 2011; later, my confidential sources. Janet, Jermaine, La Toya, Frank Cascio books: see bibliography, all were published in 2011. Wiesner’s book: Michael Jackson: The True Story, published in 2011 in Germany; I was told by someone close to Wiesner that the estate either had sued or was threatening to sue Dieter Wiesner for copyright infringement. I haven’t seen such a lawsuit. Dileo “tell-all”: Dileo to NY Daily News. Dileo health problems: see Radar Online on illness, Variety obituary, among others. I also discussed this subject with his wife Linda while her husband was in the hospital.