Your Boss Might Not Be Going to Jail, So Time To Start Sucking Up Again
Today's NY Times story on the Anthony Pellicano Wiretapping Trial of the Century raised the somewhat deflating notion that when prosecutors get done turning Hollywood upside down and giving it a vigorous shake, not much more than a bunch of eavesdropping-happy lawyers might fall out:
This town has been increasingly consumed by the spectacle of a prosecution that has touched dozens of show business figures since it began to unfold with Mr. Pellicano's indictment in February. So far, an unlikely sheriff — a 43-year-old prosecutor without a single large-scale case under his belt — has studio chiefs, agents, producers and movie stars all waiting to see if they will join those who face criminal charges, be called as witnesses or merely have their ugliest personal and business secrets revealed in court and reported in the newspapers.
But it is only now becoming clear that powerful businesspeople and stars are just collateral damage in a hunt for the real target: what government lawyers see as corruption in a legal system that is suddenly being policed after decades of neglect.
While the possibility of further action in the legal community might drive up the price of your Scary Hollywood Lawyer Card collection, that's probably not enough good news to offset the depression that will set in when you finally accept the fact that your boss might not, in fact, be going to jail.