It's all about the "List"

What do the names Heidi Lynne Fleiss and Anthony Pellicano have in Common?

It's all about the list! Do you remember Heidi Fleiss? Also know as the Hollywood Madam -Heidi is a former American madam. In 1997, she was convicted in connection with her prostitution ring with charges including pandering and tax evasion. Her ring had numerous famous and wealthy clients. She was sentenced to 37 months in prison for tax evasion, (pandering charges were dropped) but served just 21. As the Hollywood Madam story unfolded, so did the speculation about who would be on her client list. As you can imagine, there were many names on the list - mostly millionaires and billionaires (the one celebrity name that sticks out is "Charlie Sheen.")

Personally, I wonder which names should have been on the list but were suspiciously removed.....

Heidi Fleiss

Also, I find it interesting that as the story unfolded, people became less and less interested in the details of the crime and more and more concerned about who was involved and which names would appear on the "Client List"

Such is the case with Anthony Pellicano who finds himself on trial for federal wiretapping charges. On February 6, 2006, Pellicano was indicted on 110 counts in federal court in Los Angeles alleging crimes of racketeering and conspiracy, wiretapping, witness tampering, identity theft and destruction of evidence. Opening statements were set to begin yesterday, with Pellicano acting as his own lawyer defending charges that he ran a criminal enterprise that wiretapped phones and bribed police and telephone workers. Prosecutors said he obtained confidential information that could be used to gain advantage in divorce, business and other cases. Serious stuff huh? Well, at least it sounds tough. How about that "Racketeering" charge? Sounds a bit Al Capone-ish to me.

Anthony Pellicano

But guess which names appeared on the list of potential witnesses? Come on, can't you name just a few? Okay here ya go.... Chris Rock, Sylvester Stallone, and Gary Shandling just to name a few

According to court documents, reps for Chris Rock retained Pellicano in a paternity battle waged by then 33-year-old former model Monika Zsibrita. She claimed in April 2006 that Pellicano hired a former LAPD sergeant to snoop through her confidential records after she made a paternity claim against the comedian.

Sylvester Stallone and Garry Shandling were alleged victims of Pellicano's alleged wiretapping. Stallone told The Associated Press last month that he would testify if needed. Also named were Brad Grey, chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures; Ron Meyer, president and chief executive officer of Universal Studios; and former Walt Disney Co. president and powerful talent agent Michael Ovitz. (Follow this link to see more of the story)

Pretty gritty stuff the way I see it. Let's see how many more familiar names drop in this case. You see, it doesn't matter about the crime anymore - It's all about who's on the list!

And guess what else? I hear Heidi Fleiss is planning to open a legal brothel in Nevada. The exterior of the building is designed to look a lot like the White House.