L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator
Woman claims harassment, wiretap campaign left her "traumatized"
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L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator
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L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator -
L.A. Reporter Sues Private Eye Intimidator
JUNE 1--A Los Angeles journalist has sued an imprisoned Hollywood private eye, a retired police detective, and a convicted drug dealer, claiming that the men were part of a harassment campaign that included the illegal wiretapping of her telephone lines and a 2002 death threat. Anita Busch alleges in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that P.I. Anthony Pellicano and his coconspirators, acting at the direction of an unnamed law firm, brought her reporting career to a halt and traumatized her in their bid to retaliate for Busch's investigative stories about the entertainment industry. In her complaint, Busch alleges that Pellicano was aided by Mark Arneson, an ex-LAPD detective suspected of providing confidential police files to Pellicano, and Alexander Proctor, a strong arm man suspected of a June 2002 threat against Busch. That Pellicano-directed intimidation attempt, detailed in an October 2002 FBI affidavit, allegedly included Proctor's smashing of Busch's car windshield and the placement of a dead fish, a rose, and a note saying "Stop" on the reporter's auto. Busch's lawsuit also claims other harassment, including the hacking of her computer and an August 2002 attempt to run her over with a Mercedes (at the time, Busch was a Los Angeles Times reporter). Pellicano, the target of an ongoing federal probe into illegal wiretapping, pleaded guilty last year to explosives charges that will keep him in a federal lockup until January 2006. Proctor will be in the can until 2011 following his recent conviction for heroin distribution. Though they have been fingered by the feds, neither man--nor Arneson--has been charged in connection with the Busch harassment. (13 pages)
