April 11th, 2005 Trial Analysis: Bob Jones, Stacy Brown, June Chandler, and Dwayne Swingler, Part 3 of 4
Ok, now back to the subject of Las Vegas! This was a very important topic to discuss because Mesereau had to remove the negative impression that the jury received from Sneddon’s direct examination about June’s confrontation with Jackson outside of her hotel room. Their conversation was put into proper context by Mesereau, and June confirmed that Jackson was upset because he thought that June didn’t trust him (which confirms what I suspected all along):
8 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: When you were in Las Vegas 5688
1 with Mr. Jackson, you went to Cirque du Soleil,
2 correct?
3 A. No, I did not.
4 Q. Did your son?
5 A. Yes, he did.
6 Q. And did your daughter go as well?
7 A. To Cirque du Soleil?
8 Q. Yes.
9 A. No, she did not.
10 Q. Did you have any problem at that time
11 letting your son go to Cirque du Soleil with Mr.
12 Jackson?
13 A. No.
14 Q. And did your son stay with Mr. Jackson that
15 evening, to your knowledge?
16 A. To my knowledge, yes.
17 Q. Okay. You told the prosecutor that Mr.
18 Jackson got upset at one point about your not
19 trusting him, right?
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. And he said words to you to the effect that,
22 “We’re family,” right?
23 A. Correct.
24 Q. You suggested that you let Jordie sleep
25 wherever he wants to sleep, right?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. And you told him, “Look, I’ve had two
28 husbands that I can’t trust,” right? 5689
1 A. Correct.
2 Q. You said, “I think you’re a wonderful
3 person, but I can’t let my trust down,” right?
4 A. Correct.
5 Q. And you described Michael as saying that he
6 was going to take care of you, right?
7 A. No.
8 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, excuse me, I’m
9 going to object as vague as to point in time of the
10 conversation.
11 MR. MESEREAU: Sure. Sure.
12 Q. When was the conversation where Michael got
13 upset because he didn’t think you trusted him?
14 A. In Las Vegas in the hotel room.
15 Q. Okay. You said to Michael, “I’ve had males
16 in my life that, you know, have disappointed me.
17 How can I have you in my life and you’re saying that
18 you’re going to take care of us, that you’re so
19 wonderful, everything’s going to be okay, how am I
20 going to do that?”
21 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, I’m going to
22 object to counsel reading from the document.
23 MR. MESEREAU: I haven’t finished the
24 question yet, Your Honor.
25 MR. SNEDDON: Well, he’s reading —
26 THE COURT: Well, all right, what is the
27 question?
28 MR. MESEREAU: I was going to ask her if she 5690
1 made that statement.
2 THE COURT: All right. You may.
3 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Did you make a statement
4 to that effect?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And Michael said to you he wanted a family
7 to just treat him like a regular person, right?
8 A. Correct.
9 Q. He said he didn’t want to be like a
10 stranger, right?
11 A. Correct.
12 Q. And he asked you to trust him, right?
13 A. Yeah.
Here are some more important exculpatory statements that June said to Sneddon about Jackson in 1993; it’s funny how they were conveniently omitted from Sneddon’s direct examination!
14 Q. Do you remember telling the District
15 Attorney in Los Angeles that when you talked to your
16 ex-husband Evan about Michael Jackson’s relationship
17 with your family, that Evan saw this as a wonderful
18 means for Jordie not having to worry for the rest of
19 his life?
20 A. Would you repeat your question?
21 Q. Yes. Didn’t you tell the Los Angeles
22 District Attorney that your ex-husband Evan, the
23 father of Jordie, told you that the relationship
24 with Michael was a wonderful means of Jordie not
25 having to worry for the rest of his life?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. And to you, that meant Michael Jackson
28 supporting you financially for the rest of your 5691
1 life, correct?
2 A. No.
3 Q. That’s what you thought your ex-husband
4 meant by it, true?
5 MR. SNEDDON: Calls for speculation.
6 THE WITNESS: Speculation.
7 THE COURT: Sustained. Sustained.
8 (Laughter.)
9 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Just asking you what you
10 thought, not what your ex-husband thought.
11 A. Well, I’m speculating also. I would be
12 speculating if I answered.
13 Q. Well, if someone says to you, “This is a
14 wonderful way not to have to worry for the rest of
15 our life,” doesn’t that suggest that maybe someone
16 is thinking about Michael Jackson supporting you?
17 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, I’m going to
18 object. We just went through this. Calls for
19 speculation.
20 THE COURT: Sustained.
Next, Mesereau questioned June about Jackson’s visits to Evan Chandler’s home and the screenplay for the movie “Robin Hood: Men In Tights” that he and Jordan worked on. (Pay attention to all of the sexual innuendoes in the preview of the film below.) June complained at that time that Evan was spending too much time on the screenplay, and not enough time with Jordan:
21 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: When did you go to France
22 and Monaco with Michael Jackson?
23 A. In May.
24 Q. Did he invite you?
25 A. Yes.
26 Q. Did he invite your whole family?
27 A. Jordan and Lily, yes.
28 Q. At one point you said that Michael Jackson 5692
1 stayed at your ex-husband’s house when Jordan was
2 there, correct?
3 A. Correct.
4 Q. And to your knowledge, was your ex-husband
5 at the house when Michael Jackson stayed there?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. How many days, to your knowledge, did
8 Michael Jackson stay at your ex-husband’s house?
9 A. Approximately four to seven days.
10 Q. To your knowledge, was that consecutive or
11 were they periodic visits?
12 A. Consecutive.
13 Q. And do you recall anything about your
14 ex-husband wanting Michael Jackson to finance a wing
15 on his house?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. And to your knowledge, Michael Jackson never
18 did that, right?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Now, at that point in time, Jordan’s father
21 Evan was writing a screenplay, right?
22 A. Correct.
23 Q. And to your knowledge, he was spending a lot
24 of time on that screenplay, right?
25 A. Yes.
26 Q. And you were complaining that he wasn’t
27 spending enough time with his son, right?
28 A. Correct. 5693
1 Q. At the time you were happy that Michael was
2 around, because Jordan’s father was not spending
3 time with him, and you were separated from David,
4 correct?
5 A. True.
6 MR. SNEDDON: I’m going to object as to
7 vague as to what time, time period. We have several
8 months here.
9 MR. MESEREAU: Well, I can —
10 THE COURT: Sustained.
11 MR. MESEREAU: Okay.
12 MR. SNEDDON: Move to strike the answer.
13 THE COURT: Stricken.
14 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Did there come a time when
15 you were happy that Michael Jackson was around,
16 because your ex-husband Evan was spending time
17 writing a screenplay and you were separated from
18 David?
19 A. Correct.
20 Q. Approximately what — when was that?
21 A. In the beginning I was happy
Here is a video report from a tabloid celebrity gossip show in 1993 about the work that Evan and Jordan Chandler did together on “Robin Hood: Men in Tights”:
And here’s a newspaper article from June 20th, 1993 that describes how Jordan was almost given credit for the work that he did on the script:
Next, June was asked about the night when Jordan and Jackson watched the Exorcist and Jordan was invited to sleep in Jackson’s room because he was so afraid by it. June confronted Jackson about this in their aforementioned conversation:
3 Q. Okay. At some point did you all see an
4 Exorcist movie?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Do you recall anyone watching an Exorcist
7 movie?
8 A. I was told Jordan and Michael watched an
9 Exorcist movie.
10 Q. All right. Did you ever object to Jordie
11 sleeping in Michael’s room on that trip?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And what did you say?
14 A. “Jordie, when you come home, go to your bed.
15 Go to your own bed. Come to our bed, not to
16 Michael’s bed.”
17 He said, “Mom, I want to stay there.” And I
18 was very upset about that.
19 Q. Now, this was before the approximately 30
20 nights that he stayed at your home —
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. — in Santa Monica, right?
23 A. Correct.
24 Q. And you did allow him to stay at your home
25 in Santa Monica, right?
26 A. Afterwards.
More questions about the 30 days at her house:
27 Q. Now, you mentioned in your interview that
28 when Michael Jackson’s not working, he’s a lonely 5696
1 person, correct?
2 A. Correct.
3 Q. And you also mentioned that the Cascios
4 owned a restaurant, true?
5 A. True.
6 Q. How did you know they owned a restaurant?
7 A. I was — I don’t recall how I knew.
8 Q. And do you remember telling the District
9 Attorney that Michael would help Jordie with his
10 homework?
11 A. Correct.
12 Q. Would he do that at your home?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. You also said he played a lot like a child,
15 correct?
16 A. Correct.
17 Q. And he seemed to play at Neverland a lot
18 like a child, correct?
19 A. Yeah, yes.
20 Q. You mentioned Tommy and Merdie. Do you
21 remember that?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. And who are Tommy and Merdie?
24 A. Merdie; are my brother and sister-in-law.
25 Q. Okay. At some point you stayed in Santa
26 Monica with them, correct?
27 A. Yes.
28 Q. Was Michael Jackson there? 5697
1 A. He was there.
2 Q. Did Michael Jackson stay with you at their
3 home?
4 A. No.
5 Q. Did he stay at their home?
6 A. No.
7 Q. Did he stay at your home?
8 A. Not that time, no. Not at that time.
9 Q. And you stayed in Santa Monica with Tommy
10 and Merdie?
11 A. Meredith. Merdie.
12 Q. Merdie, okay. You stayed with them at one
13 point, right?
14 A. They stayed with me.
15 Q. Oh, they stayed with you?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Was Michael Jackson there that night?
18 A. I don’t recall, no.
19 Q. Okay. To your knowledge, did Michael
20 Jackson ever meet Tommy and Merdie?
21 A. I don’t recall.
22 Q. Okay. Now, when Michael Jackson was staying
23 at your home in Santa Monica during those 30 days
24 that you mentioned, was Jordan in school?
25 A. Yes, he was.
26 Q. Was he going to school each day?
27 A. Yes, he was.
The media loves to report that Jackson stayed with the Chandlers for 30 consecutive days, which obviously makes the general public questions Jackon’s motives for wanting to spend so much time with a 13 year old boy. Ray Chandler trotted out this lie in his November 25th, 2003 interview with Larry King, however, later on in this testimony June said that Jackson did NOT spend 30 CONSECUTIVE days by her home, but only “a week or two” consecutively!:
KING: We’re back with Ray Chandler.
CHANDLER: And one other place, which I think, you know, is very important to understand that it also occurred in the boy’s home, where he was living with his then family. Michael slept in the boy’s bedroom behind closed doors for 30 nights in a row. Thirty nights in a row.
KING: With the mother and the stepfather home?
CHANDLER: The stepfather, I don’t believe, was home. There was some estrangement going on…
KING: Didn’t the mother think something was wrong with this?
CHANDLER: You’d have to ask the mother that question.
KING: She is your sister-in-law?
CHANDLER: She was. Well, I mean, I believe her — her belief at the time was that she didn’t see anything happening.
KING: So it was innocent to her. She believed Michael Jackson was just an innocent friend of a 13-year-old?
CHANDLER: I guess you could say that that’s what she believed.
Another important point that I want to emphasize is that Jackson’s sleepovers at June Chandler’s home took place BEFORE the trip to Monaco, which is when Jordan claimed to have been molested for the first time, and this revelation is further proof of the innocence of Jackson’s motives in spending so much time at their home.
In fact, let’s hear it straight from horse’s mouth! Here is what Jackson told Rabbi Boteach during one of their private conversations, which were eventually published in the book “The Michael Jackson Tapes”. This is a good talking point to use to haters or skeptics or less knowledgeable fans who question why Jackson spend so much time befriending “normal” families like the Chandlers, Robsons, Barnes, etc.:
“I never did birthdays or Christmases – or sleepovers or none of that simple, fun stuff [in my childhood]. Or going into a shopping market and just grabbing something off the counter, you know all those simple things like going out in society and being normal. That’s why when I befriend people it’s usually not the celebrities, it’s usually the simple normal family somewhere. I want to know what their life is like. That’s why I went to that hut in China or going to some of the mud houses in South America. I want to know what it is like. I have slept in crazy places where people say “Are you nuts?”. And I say, “No. I want to know what it’s like.”
Here is an article about Jackson’s only visit to China on October 23rd, 1987 (he didn’t perform there, but visited for one day).
For more examples of how June’s testimony contradicted the lies of Ray Chandler, Victor Gutierrez, Maureen Orth, and other media vultures, please read this post: http://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/peretti%e2%80%99s-film-about-michael-jackson-what-really-happened-story-1/
Next, June confirmed that her brother and sister-in-law witnessing Jordan and Jackson in his bedroom at Neverland:
28 Q. Okay. You mentioned Steve and Jo Ellen. Do 5698
1 you remember that?
2 A. Do I remember mentioning —
3 Q. Mentioning Steve and Jo Ellen to the
4 District Attorney?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Who are Steve and Jo Ellen?
7 A. Steve is also my brother, and his wife Jo
8 Ellen.
9 Q. Did they visit you in Santa Monica during
10 the time that Michael Jackson was staying over?
11 A. No.
12 Q. You said that they witnessed Michael Jackson
13 and Jordie in the bedroom, didn’t they?
14 A. Correct.
15 Q. When was that?
16 A. At Neverland.
17 Q. Did they stay there?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Okay. Did they go into Michael Jackson’s
20 bedroom?
21 A. Yes, they did.
22 Q. And did you go into Michael Jackson’s
23 bedroom?
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. How many times do you think you went into
26 Michael Jackson’s bedroom at Neverland?
27 A. It stopped after maybe the tenth time.
28 Q. Okay. Describe, if you would for the jury, 5699
1 what Michael Jackson’s bedroom looks like?
2 A. Lots of dolls. Lots of playthings. It
3 looks like a boy’s room, big boy’s room. Lots of
4 toys and things.
5 Q. Is it a big area?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. How big would you describe it as, if you
8 can?
9 A. Oh, it’s a long time ago.
10 Q. Was it kind of huge?
11 A. Well, there’s an upstairs and a downstairs.
12 Yes, it’s kind of huge.
13 Q. When you used to visit Michael Jackson’s
14 bedroom, would you see other people in there?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Who do you remember seeing in there?
17 A. The Cascio brothers. Macaulay. Brett.
18 Wade.
19 Q. And you saw their parents in there, too,
20 didn’t you?
21 A. No.
22 Q. Did you ever see Macaulay’s father in there?
23 A. In the bedroom?
24 Q. Yes.
25 A. No.
26 Q. And why were you in the bedroom those ten
27 times?
28 A. Because I’m Jordie’s mother. I’m allowed to 5700
1 go into the bedroom.
2 Q. Were you dropping clothes off?
3 A. Oh, I might have. I don’t recall.
4 Q. Did you ever sit down and watch T.V. or
5 anything in there?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. How often did you do that?
8 A. A few times.
9 Q. Did you ever have food delivered to you in
10 Michael Jackson’s bedroom?
11 A. I don’t recall.
12 Q. Okay. Did David Schwartz, to your
13 knowledge, ever visit Neverland?
14 A. No. No.
June was then asked to describe the Monaco trip:
15 Q. Okay. When you were in Monaco with Michael
16 Jackson, what did you do?
17 A. We went to an awards ceremony. We — well,
18 Jordie and Michael — Jordie and Michael were sick,
19 so Lily and I went shopping and drove around. We
20 were driven around.
21 Q. Did Michael Jackson pay for the whole trip?
22 A. Yes, the trip was paid for. I don’t know
23 who paid for it.
24 Q. To your knowledge, did Michael Jackson pay
25 for it?
26 A. No. No. It was an awards. I think he was
27 given tickets to attend this award because he was
28 receiving some kind of – 5701
1 Q. Who paid for your hotel room, if you know?
2 A. I don’t know.
3 Q. Now, you indicated that at one point Jordie
4 and Michael had the flu, right?
5 A. Correct.
6 Q. And where did you find out they had the flu?
7 A. In the hotel room.
8 Q. And were they staying in the same room at
9 that point?
10 A. Yes, they were.
11 Q. Did you ever complain about that?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. And what happened?
14 A. The room was boarded up. I couldn’t get in
15 there. It started to get weird now. Things started
16 to go downhill pretty quickly.
17 Q. Did you ever take your son and leave on your
18 own?
19 A. No.
20 Q. After you got back from Monaco, did Michael
21 Jackson spend nights at your home?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Were the 30 nights you’ve described after
24 you got back from Monaco?
25 A. No.
26 Q. How many nights after you got back from
27 Monaco do you think Michael Jackson stayed at your
28 home? 5702
1 A. Oh, perhaps a week or two.
2 Q. And this was a point where you were getting
3 upset that your son wanted to spend all of his time
4 with Michael Jackson, right?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Now, while you were in Monaco, you never saw
7 Michael Jackson and your son ever take a bath
8 together, right?
9 A. No.
10 Q. You never saw them shower together, right?
11 A. No.
12 Q. And when did you go to France on that trip?
13 A. I think that was in May.
14 Q. And what was the purpose of that trip, if
15 you know?
16 A. To get an award. He was receiving an award.
17 Q. Was that after the trip to Monaco or before?
18 A. I’m sorry?
19 Q. Was that after the trip to Monaco?
20 A. What was? What are you asking?
21 Q. The trip to France you described. Was there
22 a —
23 A. That is the trip.
24 Q. That’s the trip?
25 A. Yes.
26 Q. It was all in Monaco?
27 A. Monaco, yes.
28 Q. Did you ever go anywhere else? 5703
1 A. We went to Euro Disney also, outside of
2 Paris.
3 Q. Was the trip to Euro Disney after you were
4 in Monaco for the awards or before it, if you know?
5 A. To the best of my recollection, it was after
6 the awards.
7 Q. And how much time did you spend on that
8 portion of the trip?
9 A. I would say a couple of nights.
In this excerpt, June recollects her visit to Evan’s home when Jackson was there. Pay close attention to one of the fun activities that Jackson participated in with the Chandlers, which is entirely indicative of why he was there in the first place:
10 Q. Okay. Now, one point you visited Evan,
11 Jordan’s father, at his home when Michael Jackson
12 was there, right?
13 A. I don’t recall.
14 Q. Do you recall seeing Evan and Michael in a
15 squirt-gun-type fight?
16 A. That was my home, sir.
17 Q. That was your home?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. So Evan had come to your home at that point?
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. Okay. And Evan, Michael and Jordie were in
22 a squirt gun fight, right?
23 A. Along with his other son Nicky.
24 Q. Okay. And you got upset a little bit at
25 that, right?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. Okay. How did you learn that Michael
28 Jackson was going to stay over at Evan’s house? 5704
1 A. Through my son Jordan.
2 Q. And approximately when did that occur?
3 A. After the trip to Monaco, I think.
4 Q. How many visits, to your knowledge, did
5 Michael Jackson make to Evan’s house?
6 A. To my knowledge — to the best of my
7 recollection, one or two visits.
8 Q. Okay. And to your knowledge, did he spend
9 the night there?
10 A. Yes, he did.
11 Q. To your knowledge, did Jordan spend the
12 night there?
13 A. Yes, he did.
14 Q. And to your knowledge, was Evan there both
15 nights?
16 A. To the best of my knowledge, yes.
17 Q. Jordan never missed school while Michael
18 Jackson was staying at your home, right?
19 A. To the best of my recollection, no, he did
20 not miss school.
21 Q. Okay.
22 A. There might have been one or two days where
23 he missed, but –
Next, Mesereau pivots to Jackson’s trip to New York with June for her brother’s wedding in June 1993 (not September 1993, as she inadvertently stated earlier in her testimony):
24 Q. Okay. You said that Michael Jackson saw you
25 in New York at one point?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. And when was that?
28 A. In June, the middle of June. 5705
1 Q. Was he staying at the same hotel you were
2 at?
3 A. He arrived after we were there, yes.
4 Q. Did you know in advance he was going to be
5 staying at the same hotel?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. And how did you know he was going to be
8 staying at the same hotel as you and your children?
9 A. His secretary informed me.
10 Q. Did he pay for those hotel rooms, to your
11 knowledge?
12 A. I don’t know who paid for the hotel rooms.
13 Q. Did you?
14 A. No.
15 Q. And which hotel was this?
16 A. The Rega Royal Hotel in New York City.
17 Q. And how long did you stay at that hotel —
18 A. Oh, perhaps —
19 Q. — on that trip?
20 A. — four nights.
21 Q. Okay. Was Mr. Jackson there during the four
22 nights, to your knowledge?
23 A. Part — part of those nights, yes.
24 Q. Okay. And did you introduce Mr. Jackson to
25 other members of your family on that trip?
26 A. I don’t recall.
27 Q. Did you mention your brothers were there on
28 that trip? 5706
1 A. They were in New York, yes.
2 Q. Okay. Did they come to your hotel; do you
3 know?
4 A. I don’t recall.
5 Q. Okay. Do you know whether or not Michael
6 met your brothers on that trip?
7 A. I don’t recall that, no.
8 Q. Okay. And what month are we in now, if you
9 know?
10 A. June. In June.
Here’s a very interesting remark from June that shows exactly how comfortable she was around Jackson: in this excerpt, she recalled stating in 1993 that Jackson was such a Peter Pan-like figure that everybody wanted to be around him, including her daughter Lily! And she would have allowed Lily to be around him if she was older!
11 Q. Okay. And just to clarify, the first time
12 Mr. Jackson ever stayed at your home in Santa Monica
13 was what month?
14 A. In April.
15 Q. Okay. Do you remember telling Michael
16 Jackson, “You’re like a magnet?”
17 A. I don’t recall.
18 Q. Do you remember telling Michael Jackson,
19 “You’re like Peter Pan. Everybody wants to be
20 around you and spend 24 hours”?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. You told him, “Lily would too, except she’s
23 not old enough”?
24 A. Yes.
Next, Lily Chandler inadvertently fact checked Ray Chandler’s lie that Jackson destroyed a lamp while in a hotel in New York because he was caught sleeping in the same bed as Jordan Chandler! Here is June’s recollection:
25 Q. Now, you said there was an incident in a
26 room in New York, right?
27 A. Correct.
28 Q. And did you actually see what happened? 5707
1 A. No.
2 Q. When did you learn what happened in the
3 room?
4 A. In the morning I saw lamps, two lamps were
5 broken.
6 Q. Okay. And Michael told you he had kicked
7 the two lamps, right?
8 A. My son said that Michael Jackson did a
9 karate kick and kicked the lamps.
10 Q. Actually, Michael told you that, too, didn’t
11 he?
12 A. I don’t recall.
13 Q. Would it refresh your recollection to show
14 you what you said to the District Attorney?
15 A. Thank you. Yes.
16 MR. MESEREAU: May I approach, Your Honor?
17 THE COURT: Yes.
18 THE WITNESS: Correct.
19 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Have you had a chance to
20 look at that page?
21 A. Yes, I have.
22 Q. Does it refresh your recollection —
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. — about what you said?
25 Michael told you he kicked the two lamps
26 practicing karate, right?
27 A. Correct.
28 Q. And he said he would pay for it, right? 5708
1 A. Correct.
2 Q. And you said to him, “Lily told me a
3 different story,” right?
4 A. Correct.
5 Q. But Lily told you they were just playing,
6 correct?
7 A. Correct.
In this excerpt, Mesereau questioned June’s decision to not mention Jackson, Pellicano, or Bert Fields in her sworn declaration in 1993 (which gave temporary custody of Jordan to Evan), yet tell the jury during direct examination that they pressured her into signing it. She also mentioned that she wanted Evan to pay Jordan $5,000 dollars for his work on the script, but Evan refused to do so.
8 Q. Now, when do you remember meeting Bert
9 Fields for the first time?
10 A. Sometime in August.
11 Q. Was Michael Jackson still spending evenings
12 at your home in August?
13 A. No.
14 Q. When had he stopped spending evenings at
15 your home, if you know?
16 A. I would say late June.
17 Q. And had you heard of who Bert Fields was
18 before that meeting?
19 A. No.
20 Q. You weren’t aware he’s one of the best-known
21 entertainment lawyers in Los Angeles?
22 A. I was told that by Michael Jackson.
23 Q. And how long was your meeting with Bert
24 Fields?
25 A. I don’t recall. It could be an hour.
26 Q. And that’s where Mr. Pellicano was present?
27 A. I don’t recall.
28 Q. Okay. Is that the only time you’ve ever met 5709
1 with Bert Fields, to your knowledge?
2 A. I don’t recall.
3 Q. In the sworn declaration you filed regarding
4 your attempt to set aside that stipulation, is there
5 any reason why you didn’t mention Mr. Fields, Mr.
6 Pellicano or Mr. Jackson in that declaration?
7 A. Is my — I don’t understand the question.
8 Q. That’s where you said the only reason you
9 signed the stipulation was because of what your
10 ex-husband threatened you with.
11 A. Correct.
12 Q. But you told the jury initially that the
13 reason you signed it was because Michael Jackson
14 wanted you to sign it, true?
15 A. Correct.
16 Q. That’s not contained in your declaration, is
17 it?
18 A. No.
19 MR. SNEDDON: Objection. Asked and answered
20 and argumentative.
21 THE COURT: Sustained.
22 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: You didn’t mention Mr.
23 Fields or Mr. Pellicano either in that declaration,
24 right?
25 MR. SNEDDON: Same objection, Your Honor.
26 THE COURT: Overruled.
27 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Right?
28 THE COURT: You may answer. 5710
1 THE WITNESS: Correct.
2 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: When had you separated
3 from David Schwartz?
4 A. Around August of ‘92, approximately.
5 Q. Do you remember complaining that Evan,
6 Jordan’s father, had promised him money for helping
7 him write the screenplay?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. And you complained that Evan had not paid
10 Jordan the money he owed him, true?
11 A. I didn’t complain. It was a statement.
12 Q. Well, you asked him to pay him the money,
13 right?
14 A. No, I did not.
15 Q. You didn’t tell him he owed your son $5,000?
16 A. It was a discussion.
17 Q. Okay. Did you want him to pay him that
18 money?
19 A. It would have been a nice thing, yes.
20 Q. He didn’t do it, did he?
21 A. No, he did not.
22 Q. Now, you mentioned a gift certificate for
23 $7,000 —
24 A. Yes.
25 Q. — that you got from Michael Jackson, right?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. And did you go to Fred Segal and use that
28 gift certificate? 5711
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. What did you get with it?
3 A. Oh, clothes, jewelry. That’s it.
4 Q. That’s it?
5 A. Yes.
Here’s an excerpt from “All That Glitters”, pages 55-56, that describes June’s request that Evan pay Jordan for his work on the script:
When June arrived home, Michael and Jordie told her what had transpired at the graduation, including Evan’s decree that Jordie could not go on tour, June called Evan immediately, and with Michael and Jordie listening on speakerphone she launched into a tirade.
You’re a terrible father! You’re just using him for his writing talents.” June accused Evan of reneging on his promise to give Jordie five thousand dollars from the sale of Robin Hood. She announced that she was now managing their son’s career and if Evan wanted to collaborate with him again he would have to sign a contract with her. “What are you talking about?” Evan said. “Jordie didn’t write one word of that screenplay and you know it. He doesn’t know the first thing about it.” The only contribution Jordie had made was the original suggestion that it be a comedy, and occasionally he reviewed the script to see if it made him laugh. “I’m not going to give a thirteen-year-old five thousand dollars to spend at will,” Evan continued. “The money’s in the bank. He knows it and you know it. Please, June, let’s not argue about this. It’s stupid.”
Evan later surmised that the real reason June had read him the riot act was to make it clear to Michael that she had total control of Jordie. That she and she alone could give Michael what he wanted.
June ended the call by bashing Evan over the head with the very weapon he had so conveniently provided to her just a few weeks earlier, when he had joined forces with Michael to convince her about the once-in-a-lifetime educational experience awaiting their son. “We’re going on the tour,” June proclaimed, and hung up.
The aforementioned newspaper article and video report from earlier in this series clearly dispute Evan and Ray Chandler’s assertion that Jordan’s involvement in the script was merely to see if it “made him laugh”.
In this excerpt, June testified that she hasn’t talked Evan Chandler in 10 years! But that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, considering that she also had not spoken to Jordan in 10 years, either.
6 Q. Okay. Before today, when is the last time
7 you ever saw Mr. Jackson?
8 A. Oh, ten years ago.
9 Q. Okay.
10 A. Eleven years ago.
11 Q. Have you talked to Evan at all about what
12 you’re saying in court today?
13 A. No.
14 Q. When is the last time you spoke to him?
15 A. Ten years ago.
16 Q. To your knowledge, did Michael Jackson ever
17 stay at David Schwartz’s home?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Did he ever visit there, to your knowledge?
20 A. No. Not that I recall.
21 Q. Other than the first time when you met Mr.
22 Jackson at David Schwartz’s rental car company, do
23 you recall ever seeing Michael Jackson meeting with
24 David Schwartz?
25 A. No.
26 Q. Do you remember Evan threatening David
27 physically?
28 A. Yes. 5712
1 Q. And when did that happen?
2 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, I’m going to
3 object as immaterial.
4 THE COURT: Sustained.
Here is a description of the Schwartz v. Chandler lawsuit from Geraldine Hughes’ “Redemption”, page 136: The motivation for this lawsuit included the multiple physical assaults suffered by Schwartz at the hands of Evan Chandler:
Schwartz v. Chandler
David Schwartz filed a lawsuit against Dr. Chandler for damages—for brain damage, two counts for assault, and two counts for battery.
Mr. Schwartz asserted that on July 9,1993, at Dr. Chandler’s house in Brentwood, Dr. Chandler approached him in a menacing manner with a closed fist and threatened to strike him with his hands and feet. He stated that Dr. Chandler wrestled him to the ground and began to kick him and spat on him.
Mr. Schwartz further asserted that once again while at Mr. Feldman’s office in August of 1993, there was another altercation in which Dr. Chandler punched Mr. Schwartz in his temple, causing him to lose consciousness.
June Schwartz filed a Declaration in support of her husband, Mr. Schwartz and asserted that the Department of Children’s Services interviewed the 13-year old boy in their home. She further stated that since the news of the child molestation had been broadcast worldwide, they had been the victims of people stalking their home, as well as threats and bizarre phone calls from Michael Jackson’s fans. She also stated that her son had suffered physical threats, photos had been taken of them and distributed worldwide, and that one of Michael Jackson’s fans broke into their home.
This case was dismissed on January 29,1996.
I will add an excerpt from “All That Glitters” that describes one of those altercations as soon as I find it! Unfortunately I’m pressed for time now, but I’ll include once I get the chance.
Here is a very strange comment from June: she stated that she received her settlement money from Jackson in October 1993, but that cannot possibly be true because the lawsuit wasn’t settled until January 1994, and payments to Jordan commenced during that summer! This just shows how lopsided her memory really was!
5 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Approximately when did you
6 get settlement money from the settlement with
7 Michael Jackson?
8 A. Oh, I would say approximately October of
9 ‘93.
10 Q. Have you received any settlement money since
11 then?
12 A. No.
Here is a post on the actual terms of the settlement, and a very blanatant omission from the “journalist” who leaked it, Diane Dimond!
Mesereau continued to grill June about the stipulation that she signed, which gave Evan temporary custody of Jordan, and whether or not her attorney Michael Freeman was there to give her legal counsel before she signed it:
13 Q. You mentioned to the District Attorney in
14 Los Angeles a meeting Michael Jackson had with
15 Elizabeth Taylor and Nelson Mandela. Do you
16 remember that?
17 A. Correct.
18 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, I object as
19 immaterial.
20 THE COURT: Sustained.
21 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Do you remember, was
22 Jordie with Michael at that meeting?
23 A. I don’t recall.
24 Q. David Schwartz was also at the apartment
25 that Michael Jackson owned in Century City that you
26 called “The Hideout,” right?
27 A. Correct.
28 Q. And approximately when was that meeting? 5713
1 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, I’m going to
2 object as vague as to time. What meeting?
3 MR. MESEREAU: I’ll rephrase it.
4 Q. When, to your knowledge, did David Schwartz
5 visit Michael Jackson’s home in Century City that
6 you call “The Hideout”?
7 A. It could be late August, early September.
8 Q. Who else was there when you got to the
9 apartment?
10 A. I don’t recall who else was there.
11 Q. Do you remember in your meeting with Mr.
12 Pellicano telling Mr. Pellicano, “Well, it’s Michael
13 Jackson. I know Evan. It could be money. It could
14 be”?
15 MR. SNEDDON: Object as hearsay, Your Honor.
16 THE COURT: Sustained.
17 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Did you ever personally
18 tell Mr. Pellicano that Evan’s concerns could be
19 only about money?
20 MR. SNEDDON: Same objection, Your Honor.
21 THE COURT: Sustained.
22 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Was your lawyer, Michael
23 Freeman, at that meeting with Mr. Pellicano?
24 A. I believe so.
25 Q. Is that the same meeting Bert Fields was
26 present?
27 A. I don’t recall, but possibly. Quite
28 possibly. 5714
1 Q. If your lawyer, Michael Freeman, was at the
2 meeting, you must have been able to get legal advice
3 about what to sign, right?
4 MR. SNEDDON: I’m going to object to that
5 question. Assumes facts and calls for speculation.
6 Can I throw in argumentative, too?
7 THE COURT: The objection is sustained.
8 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Did you ask Attorney
9 Michael Freeman to be at the meeting?
10 A. No. I don’t recall.
11 Q. Do you know how he got there?
12 A. I don’t think he was there.
13 MR. SNEDDON: I’m going to object to that
14 question. She has not said he was there. Assumes
15 facts.
16 MR. MESEREAU: She did. She did.
17 THE WITNESS: I don’t recall him being
18 there.
19 THE COURT: Just a moment.
20 Objection sustained.
21 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Who is Michael Freeman?
22 A. An attorney. My attorney.
23 Q. And when did you first meet Michael Freeman?
24 A. Oh, I don’t recall when.
25 Q. Did he represent you at some point during
26 the time period you’ve described today?
27 A. At some point, yes.
28 Q. And he was your personal lawyer – 5715
1 A. Correct.
2 Q. — is that right?
24 Q. Okay. Do you remember at your meeting with
25 Mr. Pellicano, that Mr. Pellicano said, “This is all
26 extortion”?
27 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, I’m going to
28 object to that question. Calls for hearsay. 5716
1 THE COURT: Sustained.
2 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Now, at the time you met
3 Mr. Fields and Mr. Pellicano, to your knowledge, did
4 Evan have his own attorney?
5 A. I don’t recall.
6 Q. At some point during the time you were
7 represented by Larry Feldman, do you recall Evan
8 also having another lawyer?
9 A. I don’t recall that.
10 Q. Do you recall the name Barry Rothman?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. And where did you first hear about Barry
13 Rothman?
14 A. Before Larry Feldman. That was Evan’s
15 attorney.
June added some much needed levity to the courtroom by joking that she was represented by Gloria Allred for “two seconds”!
16 Q. Now, at some point were you represented by
17 Attorney Gloria Allred?
18 A. Two seconds. For two seconds.
19 Q. It was a little bit more than that, wasn’t
20 it?
21 A. Two hours.
22 (Laughter.)
23 Q. You and Evan and Jordan were represented by
24 Gloria Allred initially, correct?
25 A. Initially.
26 Q. You had meetings with her, correct?
27 A. One or two, yes.
28 Q. And then you went to Attorney Larry Feldman, 5717
1 right?
2 A. He came into the picture, yes.
3 Q. Okay.
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Do you know approximately when Gloria Allred
6 represented you, Evan and Jordie?
7 A. Before Larry Feldman.
8 Q. Do you know approximately —
9 A. No.
10 Q. — what year that was?
11 A. Yes, ‘94.
12 Q. Okay. Were you referred to Gloria Allred by
13 someone?
14 A. No.
15 Q. How did you wind up being represented by
16 her?
17 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, I’m going to
18 object as immaterial.
19 THE COURT: Sustained.
Here is my rebuttal to Allred’s book in which I utterly dismantled her assertions that Jackson was guilty but acquitted due to his celebrity status!
And here is a copy of her termination letter from Evan Chandler and Larry Feldman!
And here’s an excerpt from “All That Glitters”, pages 168-169, in which Ray Chandler describes how and why Allred was terminated in favor of Larry Feldman:
By the conclusion of the meeting, June and Dave, like Evan before them, had no doubts about switching from Gloria Allred to Larry Feldman. The choice came down to either waging an all-out media campaign to pressure the DA to seek a Grand Jury indictment, or conducting subtle, behind-the-scenes negotiations toward a quick, quiet and highly profitable settlement. Avoiding the trauma that a lengthy criminal or civil lawsuit would bring to the entire family, especially Jordie, was a no-brainer.
The pressure from public exposure had already soared beyond anyone’s imagination. It was, as Monique had put it (pardon her French), “A fucking nightmare!” With Gloria Allred fanning the flames it would get even worse. No one needed that.
Allred meant well; no one doubted her sincerity and concern. And had the defendant been other than Michael Jackson, her strategy might have been more appealing. But Larry and Bob’s insights made a lot of sense. Getting a conviction against Michael would be near impossible without a second victim.
It may be said that Gloria was more concerned with the larger issue of child abuse, and that bringing the truth to light via a criminal trial was a nobler goal than getting a lot of money and sweeping the entire affair under the rug. But as Evan commented months later, “The overriding consideration in every decision had to be what was best for Jordie, and Larry’s way was more consistent with that goal. Doing anything that might bring additional fear and anxiety was the last thing Jordie needed. Or any of us.”
Eliminating the horror of worldwide exposure from a protracted trial was not only the best thing for Jordie, it was best for Michael as well. The money it would cost him to settle with his accuser was incidental. Keeping his career intact was what really mattered. Shapiro knew all this from the start. By steering Evan and June toward Larry Feldman and away from Gloria Allred, he was doing everyone a mitzvah, including Michael Jackson.
A “mitzvah”, in the context that Ray Chandler used it in the preceding paragraph, means “ a good deed; an act of kindness performed by or to a Jew”. Here’s an excerpt from a June 16th, 1995 article of Entertainment Weekly magazine titled “Can He Beat It?”, in which Ray Chandler (referred to by his surname Charmatz) echoed those same sympathetic sentiments towards Jackson:
Since August 1993, Jackson has had no contact with the child — now a 15-year-old boy — who made the accusations against him. According to his uncle, Charmatz, the family nearly disintegrated in the months that followed the allegations. The child, who was living with his mother and stepfather until July 1993, moved in with his father and stepmother just before the report became public. Now both his parents have split with their spouses and the teen is living with his stepmother. Charmatz says the boy cut off contact with his mother shortly after the scandal broke.
”It was a ripple effect-the stress was tremendous and still is,” says Charmatz. ”He had a hard time for a while but now that’s died down. He’s doing well in school and he’s normal in the sense that he’s going out with girls and that’s his sexual preference. He’s still dealing with the psychological effects, but he’s stayed a sweet kid.”
Charmatz says his brother and nephew bear Jackson no ill will: ”They all loved him — that was why it was so hard to come to grips with what was going on. It’s too bad to see his career take the hit it did and we all hope he gets it back. They don’t hold any malice in their hearts toward Michael. I think they understand what’s happened in his life and how he’s an even bigger victim of abuse.”
Oh, so now they consider Michael Jackson to be an even “bigger” victim of abuse? That’s not something you hear very often from the families of REAL child abuse victims!
Here are questions about June’s meetings with Larry Feldman and Robert Shapiro; it was Shapiro’s idea to hire Feldman:
20 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: How many times did you
21 meet with Mr. Pellicano?
22 A. Approximately three times. Three to four
23 times.
24 Q. Do you know where those meetings took place?
25 A. As far as I recall, in his office.
26 Q. Did you travel to his office?
27 A. Yes, I did.
28 Q. Were you there with your attorney, Michael 5718
1 Freeman, ever?
2 A. I don’t think so, no, no.
3 Q. Did you have discussions with Mr. Pellicano?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. Did you ever believe he was your
6 investigator?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. And when was that?
9 A. When we had meetings.
10 Q. When you had meetings with Mr. Pellicano,
11 you had already retained Michael Freeman as your
12 lawyer, hadn’t you?
13 A. I don’t think so, no.
14 Q. What month do you think you first saw Mr.
15 Pellicano?
16 A. In August. Approximately August.
17 Q. The declaration I referred to earlier was
18 signed on August 10th, 1993, correct?
19 A. Okay. Yes.
20 Q. And it’s on Freeman & Golden, Lawyers,
21 stationery, correct?
22 A. I guess so.
23 Q. Would it refresh your recollection if I show
24 you the declaration?
25 A. Thank you.
26 MR. MESEREAU: May I approach, Your Honor?
27 THE COURT: Yes.
28 THE WITNESS: That’s correct. 5719
1 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: (Indicating.)
2 A. Thank you.
3 Q. Have you had a chance to look at the
4 declaration?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And does it appear that that declaration was
7 signed August 10th, 1993?
8 A. Yes, it was.
9 Q. And it’s on Freeman & Golden, Lawyers,
10 stationery, correct?
11 A. Correct.
12 Q. And your lawyer helped you prepare this
13 declaration, true?
14 A. Correct.
15 Q. Was Michael Freeman representing you in your
16 domestic dispute with Evan?
17 A. No. I don’t recall. I don’t recall.
18 Q. When did he stop representing you, if you
19 know?
20 A. Shortly thereafter. Not —
21 Q. Okay. Now, was Michael Freeman representing
22 you when Gloria Allred was representing you?
23 A. I don’t recall.
24 Q. Was Michael Freeman representing you when
25 Larry Feldman was representing you?
26 A. No.
27 Q. Do you recall at one point meeting with
28 Robert Shapiro? 5720
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. And when was that?
3 A. In Larry Feldman’s office.
Mesereau ended his cross examination on a high note! He challenged June about the timing of the police being notified about the Chandler’s allegations against Jackson. Unbelievably, June stated that they did not negotiate for money before going to police, but that’s absolutely what they did! And then she contradicts herself and admits that she never did contact the police about any suspicions against Jackson!
4 Q. How many meetings did you have with Robert
5 Shapiro?
6 A. I don’t recall.
7 Q. Do you know why he was at the meeting?
8 A. I — I think as part of Michael Jackson’s
9 legal team.
10 Q. Who, Robert Shapiro?
11 A. I think so. I don’t recall.
12 Q. Okay.
13 A. It was so long ago.
14 Q. Well, he was there because Michael Jackson’s
15 attorneys were claiming extortion, right?
16 A. I don’t recall.
17 Q. Robert Shapiro was there because he’s a
18 criminal defense lawyer, right?
19 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, excuse me. I want
20 to interpose an objection before the next question
21 comes out. Speculation. She says she doesn’t have
22 any recollection of this, so why Mr. Shapiro —
23 THE COURT: Stop talking. You’re just
24 supposed to give your grounds for the objection.
25 MR. SNEDDON: I’m sorry. Object.
26 Speculation.
27 THE COURT: All right. Overruled.
28 The question — the last question, would the 5721
1 court reporter read it back, please?
2 (Record read.)
3 THE COURT: You may answer.
4 THE WITNESS: Correct.
5 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Do you remember also in
6 your meetings, meeting — excuse me, let me rephrase
7 that.
8 In the meetings you’ve described with Larry
9 Feldman, Michael Freeman, Robert Shapiro, do you
10 also remember a lawyer named Richard Hirsch being
11 present?
12 MR. SNEDDON: Your Honor, I’m going to
13 object as to all those people and compound.
14 THE COURT: It’s vague.
15 We’ll take our break now.
16 (Recess taken.)
17 THE COURT: Mr. Mesereau.
18 MR. MESEREAU: Thank you, Your Honor.
19 Q. Just very briefly, you and Evan hired
20 attorneys and tried to negotiate a financial
21 settlement before you ever talked to any police
22 officer, right?
23 A. No.
24 Q. You were negotiating for money before you
25 ever reported anything to any police officer in Los
26 Angeles, correct?
27 A. Not correct.
28 Q. Do you know the dates you hired your 5722
1 attorneys?
2 A. After we spoke with the police.
3 Q. You’re saying that under oath?
4 A. That’s what I believe, yes.
5 Q. You don’t know that for sure, do you?
6 A. I’m sure.
7 Q. Your negotiations went on long before you
8 ever went to any police officer in Los Angeles,
9 true?
10 A. False.
11 Q. Do you know when you first went to any
12 police officer?
13 A. After the police, after we spoke to the
14 police.
15 Q. It was after you spoke to Larry Feldman on a
16 number of visits, correct?
17 A. Not correct.
18 Q. It was actually Larry Feldman who contacted
19 the police, wasn’t it?
20 A. No.
21 Q. You didn’t talk to any prosecutor in Los
22 Angeles before you retained Gloria Allred, correct?
23 A. Yes. Correct.
24 Q. You didn’t talk to any police officer in Los
25 Angeles before retaining Gloria Allred, correct?
26 A. Can you backtrack a bit? Can you —
27 Q. You retained Gloria Allred before you ever
28 contacted any police officer in Los Angeles, true? 5723
1 A. Not true.
2 Q. Who did you contact in the LAPD before you
3 hired Gloria Allred?
4 A. The police department. LAPD.
5 Q. You didn’t give any police statement before
6 negotiations had already begun to settle the case,
7 true?
8 A. Not correct.
9 Q. Did you call them yourself?
10 A. Did I call?
11 Q. The police yourself?
12 A. Department of Children Services.
13 Q. How about police?
14 A. No. Department of children Services.
15 Q. I’m asking you about the police.
16 MR. SNEDDON: It’s argumentative, Your
17 Honor.
18 THE COURT: Overruled.
19 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: You were negotiating for
20 money —
21 THE COURT: Just a minute.
22 MR. MESEREAU: Oh, pardon me.
23 THE COURT: All right. She did answer it
24 before the objection. Go ahead, Counsel, next
25 question.
26 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: You said you contacted
27 Department of Children Services, correct?
28 A. Yes. 5724
1 Q. That’s not the police department, is it?
2 MR. SNEDDON: That’s argumentative, Your
3 Honor. And assumes facts not in evidence.
4 THE COURT: Sustained; argumentative.
5 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: And you contacted
6 Department of Children’s Services after first
7 talking to a lawyer, true?
8 A. Not correct.
9 Q. In fact, you personally never called the
10 police department, ever, about anything involving
11 Mr. Jackson, true?
12 A. True.
13 Q. When did you first hire Gloria Allred?
14 A. After we spoke to the District Attorney.
15 Q. When did you first hire Larry Feldman?
16 A. After the police were notified, Department
17 of Children’s Services, and Lauren Weis, the
18 District Attorney.
19 Q. Your strategy was to negotiate a settlement
20 before ever contacting law enforcement, true?
21 A. No strategy, sorry.
22 Q. And one of the levers you were trying to
23 hang over Mr. Jackson was bad publicity if he didn’t
24 pay, right?
25 A. Incorrect.
26 Q. Okay. When you talked to Mr. Sneddon, did
27 he ever show you the dates when you contacted your
28 first lawyer in this case? 5725
1 A. No.
2 Q. When you talked to Mr. Sneddon, did he ever
3 show you the dates before any contact was ever made
4 to a police officer?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Do you know when your civil case was first
7 filed?
8 A. I’m not sure of the exact date.
9 Q. Do you know who filed it?
10 A. I’m not exactly sure. Sorry.
11 Q. Okay. Do you know when you first contacted
12 Department of Children’s Services?
13 A. Sometime in August.
14 Q. You don’t know when you hired Gloria Allred,
15 correct?
16 A. Correct.
17 Q. Do you know if Gloria Allred contacted
18 Department of Children Services?
19 A. I don’t know that.
20 Q. Do you know when Evan first hired Barry
21 Rothman?
22 A. I do not know that.
23 Q. He hired Barry Rothman before any report was
24 made to DCFS, correct?
25 A. I don’t know.
26 MR. SNEDDON: I’m going to object. Calls
27 for speculation.
28 THE COURT: Sustained. 5726
1 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: When did you first hire
2 Attorney Michael Freeman?
3 MR. SNEDDON: Object as asked and answered.
4 THE COURT: I believe she said she didn’t
5 know.
6 MR. MESEREAU: Okay. No further questions.
7 THE COURT: All right.
Here’s Ray Chandler’s description of how the police were contacted in August 1993 by Dr. Mathis Abrahms, the psychiatrist that Evan Chandler took Jordan to see after he was ordered by the courts to return Jordan to June, from pages 118-121:
Late in the afternoon of August 16, Michael Freeman informed Barry that he had filed a motion for a court order to have Evan return Jordie lo June, and that a hearing was set for the following morning. It was the first Barry had heard of it.
Accompanying the motion was a declaration from June stating that Evan had coerced her into signing the change of custody agreement of July 13 (agreeing not to take Jordie out of Los Angeles County without Evan’s consent). Allegedly, Evan threatened she would never see Jordie again if she didn’t sign.
If Freeman knew that Pellicano had negotiated the agreement and that Fields had supposedly advised June to sign it, he certainly did not inform the court about it. The judge would be more inclined to accept June’s claim if he believed that June had been bamboozled into the agreement without the advice of counsel.
To support his request for a court order, Freeman submitted a declaration by the well-known and respected Fields that was sure to impress the judge. Fields began his declaration by informing the court that he had graduated from Harvard Law School and then spent two years in the Air Force before starting in private practice.
Fields described himself as an “an intermediary” who “carried messages between June and Evan’s attorney, Barry Rothman. Fields avowed that he did not represent June, but that he called her only to “convey” Evan’s request that Jordie be allowed to stay with him for a “brief visit.” Fields then stated that June didn’t trust Evan, but that Rothman had given his word as a fellow attorney and it was because of that that June decided to let Jordie see his father.
Fields’ description of his role was remarkable, as much for what it failed to say than than what it did say. Fields had not only given June advice, he failed to advise the court about the true reason for the custody battle over Jordie: allegations of child molestation against his client, Jackson.
In a phone conversation the night before Freeman’s request was to be heard in court, Barry counseled Evan that unless he was willing to walk into the courtroom and accuse Michael of molesting Jordie, he didn’t have a prayer of winning; June had legal custody and that was all she needed to get Jordie back. “How long will I have?” Evan asked. “One, maybe two days.” “What if I refuse to give him back?”
“If you don’t give him back the sheriff will come take him. And he may arrest you, too.”
Accusing Michael of molestation was a can of worms Evan did not want to open. He doubted anyone would take Jordie’s word over Michael’s, especially if June took Michael’s side. And she’d have to; otherwise she’d be implicating herself. But it was Jordie’s fears over the prospect of going to court that weighed heaviest on Evan’s mind.
At the same time, Evan knew that as soon as June had Jordie back in her cluthces she’d be on a plane to join Michael, who was already out of the country. Evan believed with absolute certainty that if Jordie went on tour with Michael he’d suffer severe psychological damage.
I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t,” Evan lamented to Barry. What if I take him out of California and hide for a while? Maybe that’ll buy you some time to come up with the necessary appeals.”
“Appeals!” the attorney exclaimed. “Are you nuts! You’ll be a fugitive in the eyes of the law. You’ll end up in jail and guarantee June permanent custody. You can forget about any appeals.’
Confused and saddened, Evan thanked Barry for all his help and hung.
“What’s the matter. Pops?” Jordie asked. He’d been standing next to his father while he talked to Barry.
“They’re going to make you go back tomorrow, Jordie. Barry says I have no choice.”
“Uh-uh! No way! I’ll run away first.”
Buoyed by his son’s feistiness, Evan made him a promise. “If that’s the way you feel, then I’m with you. But we’ve got one move left. If it doesn’t work, then we’ll go.”
For the past six weeks the two sides had gone back and forth, each trying to outmaneuver the other in what Evan called “the chess game from hell.” Now he found himself checkmated. “They left me no choice. The only move I had left was to kick over the table before they took the king.”
Evan dialed the number. “Do you remember me,” he asked. “I’m one who came to your office and told you about my son.”
“Yes,” Dr. Abrams replied. I remember very well.”
It was the one thing Evan had tried so desperately to avoid. Once he supplied the names, the psychiatrist would have no choice but to file report with the authorities, who would then assume full control.
“The thought of placing Jordie in the hands of a government agency was frightening,” Evan commented. “Almost as frightening as returning him to June and Michael.”
Evan took a few seconds to think before embarking into the unknown; then he took a deep breath. “My name is Evan Chandler. My son’s name is Jordie Chandler. The adult male is Michael Jackson. Can you help me? Please!”
Other than the knowledge that Michael had touched jordie’s penis, Evan had never asked his son about the sex. But Dr. Abrams would, and Evan hoped he would be convinced of the truth and be willing to appear at the court hearing the following morning as an expert witness. “I’m sorry,’ Dr. Abrams said. “I can’t see him today. But don’t worry; bring him in first thing in the morning.”
Evan and Jordie arrived at the psychiatrist’s office at nine the next morning. Dr. Abrams began by advising Jordie that their discussion could become embarrassing and that it was his choice as to whether he wanted his father to remain in the room. Evan shuffled out and took a seat in the waiting room.
An hour later, anxious and bored, Evan idled his way down to the coffee shop in the lobby, ate breakfast and went back upstairs to wait. Another hour and another trip to the coffee shop. Eleven o’clock. Walking the halls. Back downstairs. Around the block. Back to the waiting room. “What the hell are they doing in there?” Evan wondered. “I could have told my whole life story by now.”
Ten minutes after noon, Jordie finally emerged. “Hey, Dad, can we get something to eat?” His favorite question.
Evan was startled. He expected Jordie to come out heavy-hearted, but the boy seemed exuberated, almost whimsical. “Are you okay?” Evan asked, wrapping his arms around the boy.
“Yeah, Pops. Let’s go, I’m starved.”
“He was a different boy,” Evan recalled, “and I knew immediately that no matter how long a road might he ahead, he was going to be okay.” Holding back the tears, Evan thanked Dr. Abrams profusely.
“So what do we do now?” he asked.
“You’ll have to wait,” the doctor replied. “Under the law, I can’t tell you anymore.”
“Can you at least tell me if you believe him?”
“Oh yes. There’s no doubt.”
Father and son went to eat, but never talked about the interview. Except once. “You know, Dad,” Jordie said, briefly lifting his mug from a plate of French fries, I’m really glad I talked to Dr. Abrams.”
And so was Evan. Because two hours earlier, while Jordie was still relating his lurid tale to the good doctor, the court ordered the boy returned to June within forty-eight hours. Barry’s associate, who attended the hearing, assured the judge her client would comply.
And here is Geraldine Hughes’ thoughts on the matter, from pages of “Redemption”, pages 86-88:
To recap… when the court ordered Dr. Chandler to return the custody of the boy to his former wife, June Schwartz, and denied his request for a restraining order against Michael Jackson, Dr. Chandler took the 13-year old boy to see the psychiatrist who reported the child abuse charges against Michael Jackson. It is important to note that Dr. Chandler would not have done this had Michael Jackson paid him the money; since after paying him the money in the settlement, Dr. Chandler dropped all charges against Michael Jackson. Could this have been the plan that Dr. Chandler referred to in his recorded conversation with Mr. Dave Schwartz? It appears that once the money was paid, it brought an end to the child molestation allegations by Dr. Chandler.
In the recorded conversation between Dr. Chandler and Mr. Schwartz, Dr. Chandler admitted out of his own mouth that he had a plan and that things were going according to a certain plan and all he had to do was make a phone call. He also revealed that he had hired people to, “move against Jackson.” He admitted that he had paid them to do it. He further admitted that the plan wasn’t just his. He stated that after making a call, someone was going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can do it. This was the profile that Dr. Chandler painted of Mr. Rothman who was, at that time, guiding Dr. Chandler every step of the way before, during and after the child molestation allegations.
The definition plan is: To devise, scheme, plot, intend, a method devised for doing something or attaining an end.
The definition of extortion is: To obtain from a person by force or undue or illegal power or ingenuity.
The definition of ingenuity is: Skill or cleverness in devising… Inventiveness. An ingenuous device.
Another incriminating statement that Dr. Chandler admitted in his own words was, that he had been rehearsed about what to say and not to say. This means that someone else was advising him and giving him instructions.
What exactly was Dr. Chandler referring to as his plan? False child abuse charges, however, are well known for being a scheme, device or plot, especially during a custody battle between parents. It is reported as the number one tactic in child custody battles. Again… remember, Dr. Chandler took his 13-year old son to the psychiatrist on the same day that he was ordered to return the child back to his mother. I am familiar enough with the court structure to know that it would not have denied Dr. Chandler’s restraining order and custody request if there was any mention of sexual abuse anywhere in his court papers. The Court would have protected the safety of the child if it had any information that the child was being harmed in any way whatsoever, no matter who the offense was levied against. There would not have been any hesitation on the part of the Court to grant Dr. Chandler’s request for custody and a restraining order, had the issue of sexual abuse been brought out in his paperwork. He had already made a claim of sexual abuse against Michael Jackson at the time of presenting his opposition paperwork, however, remember, there was no mention of sexual abuse in his opposition papers filed with the Court. Any other attorney with that knowledge beforehand would have used the sexual abuse issue as a primary basis for requesting custody and a restraining order. In this case, however, Dr. Chandler and Mr. Rothman failed to bring sexual abuse charges to the Court’s attention even though, at that time, the accusation was already made to Michael Jackson’s attorneys and investigators.
Instead of returning his 13-year old son to his former wife, pursuant to the court order, Dr. Chandler rushed his son to the psychiatrist where the child molestation allegations were made. This tactic of Dr. Chandler’s was completely overlooked and unmentioned by millions of experts, Americans, tabloids, and the news media around the world. Why didn’t anyone notice the timing of these two events as a possible clue that, taking the boy to a psychiatrist was all a part of the plan that Dr. Chandler had made previously referenced?
Although the reporting of the child abuse allegation was of greater concern to Mr. Rothman and Dr. Chandler, they did not count on June Schwartz’s attorney filing the Ex Parte papers requesting the immediate return of her son. This Ex Parte hearing required them to show up in court within 24 hours of receiving notice of the hearing, and, having an explanation as to why her motion should not be granted. Every diabolical scheme has a quirk in it. Well, I believe this was the quirk in Dr. Chandler’s and Mr. Rothman’s plan. June Schwartz had just thrown a wrench in her former husband’s and Mr. Rothman’s supposed perfect plan. They had to think quickly to counter the unexpected flaw to get back on track. They had to come up with a counter move that would offset hers. Because an Ex Parte hearing requires the case to be heard on shortened notice to the parties involved, it does not give the opposing party much time to figure out their rebuttal.
On August 23, 1993, I was watching TV in the conference room while on break at Mr. Rothman’s office. There was a special news break referring to Michael Jackson. That’s when I, and the entire world, learned of the child molestation allegations that had been made against Michael Jackson. I am sure that from the world’s point of view this news report came as a complete shock. I was shocked for a different reason. I knew instantly while watching the news report that the child abuse allegation against Michael Jackson was false. I had no doubt whatsoever of Michael Jackson’s innocence from the very beginning of this ordeal.
Under redirect examination, Sneddon attempted to do damage control by questioning June about her meeting with the Child Abuse Unit of the Los Angeles Police Department on August 7th, 1993. June inadvertently stated that it was Jordan who made the report about his alleged abuse, but in fact it was Dr. Abrams! And the date is wrong, because the police weren’t notified until August 17th, 1993, so perhaps June glanced at the date too quickly before answering the question:
9 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
10 BY MR. SNEDDON:
11 Q. Mrs. Chandler, do you know whether or not in
12 Los Angeles, that the Los Angeles Police Department
13 has sworn peace officers attached to the Child Abuse
14 Unit in the Department of Child Services?
15 A. Correct.
16 Q. Sorry?
17 A. Yes, I do.
18 Q. Were those the people that you talked to
19 when you were interviewed?
20 A. Yes, they were.
21 Q. And do you have a recollection at this
22 present time as to specifically when in August you
23 interviewed with them?
24 A. Specifically, no.
25 Q. Would it refresh your recollection if I
26 showed you a document about that interview?
27 A. Yes.
28 MR. SNEDDON: May I approach, Your Honor? 5727
1 THE COURT: Yes.
2 THE WITNESS: Okay. Thank you.
3 Q. BY MR. SNEDDON: Does that refresh your
4 recollection?
5 A. Yes, it does.
6 Q. With regard to — I’m sorry, to when you
7 were interviewed by members of the Los Angeles
8 Police Department?
9 A. Yes, it does.
10 Q. And what was the date on that?
11 A. 8-7-93.
12 Q. Now, let’s go back, if we can. And just to
13 clarify, you were not the one who originally
14 contacted the — made the report?
15 A. Correct.
16 Q. Do you know who did, of your own knowledge?
17 A. Of my knowledge, it was Jordan Chandler, my
18 son.
Next, Sneddon asked June to confirm that the reason he met with her and her attorney a few days prior to her testimony is because they needed to speak with Larry Feldman about the confidentiality agreement of the 1993 settlement, in order to make sure that she could testify (which of course she could because it is illegal and unenforceable for a civil contract to preclude someone’s involvement in a criminal case)
19 Q. Now, let’s go back for just a second.
20 Mr. Mesereau asked you about a meeting on Saturday
21 involving your attorney and myself. Do you recall
22 that?
23 A. Yes, I do.
24 Q. And was there also another person that was
25 present with us that I brought along?
26 A. Yes.
27 Q. Do you remember the person’s name?
28 A. No, I don’t remember his name, but he was a 5728
1 detective.
2 Q. With the sheriff’s department?
3 A. With the sheriff’s department.
4 Q. So he was also present during that entire
5 meeting?
6 A. He was — absolutely, yes.
7 Q. All right. Now, he also asked you about
8 conversations that you and I had on the phone. Do
9 you recall that?
10 A. Correct.
11 Q. And that we had talked a couple of times on
12 the phone?
13 A. Correct.
14 Q. And with regard to those conversations, the
15 first conversation we had, do you recall the
16 substance of that conversation?
17 A. That I would be subpoenaed and for —
18 testifying.
19 Q. And did I indicate to you that I wanted to
20 talk to you, to do an interview with you?
21 A. That we would be speaking later on, yes.
22 Q. Okay. And did you — did you have to check
23 with somebody to make sure that was okay because of
24 the confidentiality agreement?
25 A. Yes.
26 Q. And who was that?
27 A. Larry Feldman.
28 Q. So is that one of the phone calls that you 5729
1 had with Mr. Feldman, was to make sure —
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. — to make sure it was okay for you to talk
4 to me?
5 A. Correct.
Next, Sneddon moved on to the incident in New York where Ray Chandler claimed that Jackson became upset when he learned that June’s brother discovered that he and Jordan Chandler were sleeping in the same beds, and June testified that the story that she was told about Jackson breaking the lamps because he was practicing karate was untrue, but Mesereau’s objection was sustained by Judge Melville before June could tell Sneddon what her version of the story really was:
6 Q. Now, Mr. Mesereau asked you about some
7 countersuit that Michael Jackson alleged against you
8 and members of your family. Do you recall that
9 question?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Did you ever pay a penny to Mr. Jackson in
12 any lawsuit to settle anything?
13 A. No. No.
14 Q. Now, you indicated that these two children
15 from New Jersey that you mentioned, the Cascios, do
16 you remember the name of the restaurant in New
17 Jersey that they allegedly owned?
18 A. Aldo’s Restaurant.
19 Q. You talked with Mr. Mesereau about the
20 incident that occurred in New York where the lamps
21 got broken and the karate kicks and all that?
22 A. Correct.
23 Q. Okay. Did you subsequently learn that the
24 version of what happened was not truthful?
25 MR. MESEREAU: Objection; leading.
26 THE WITNESS: Correct.
27 THE COURT: Sustained. The answer’s
28 stricken. 5730
1 Q. BY MR. SNEDDON: Did you subsequently — can
2 you tell us how you eventually — let me put it this
3 way: Did you ultimately learn other information
4 about that incident?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. You personally?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. And did you determine from that information
9 that the original version wasn’t correct?
10 A. Correct.
Let me remind everyone again of how her daughter Lily told her about that she was playing around when she told her about the incident; here’s an excerpt from June’s cross examination:
25 Q. Now, you said there was an incident in a
26 room in New York, right?
27 A. Correct.
28 Q. And did you actually see what happened? 5707
1 A. No.
2 Q. When did you learn what happened in the
3 room?
4 A. In the morning I saw lamps, two lamps were
5 broken.
6 Q. Okay. And Michael told you he had kicked
7 the two lamps, right?
8 A. My son said that Michael Jackson did a
9 karate kick and kicked the lamps.
10 Q. Actually, Michael told you that, too, didn’t
11 he?
12 A. I don’t recall.
13 Q. Would it refresh your recollection to show
14 you what you said to the District Attorney?
15 A. Thank you. Yes.
16 MR. MESEREAU: May I approach, Your Honor?
17 THE COURT: Yes.
18 THE WITNESS: Correct.
19 Q. BY MR. MESEREAU: Have you had a chance to
20 look at that page?
21 A. Yes, I have.
22 Q. Does it refresh your recollection —
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. — about what you said?
25 Michael told you he kicked the two lamps
26 practicing karate, right?
27 A. Correct.
28 Q. And he said he would pay for it, right? 5708
1 A. Correct.
2 Q. And you said to him, “Lily told me a
3 different story,” right?
4 A. Correct.
5 Q. But Lily told you they were just playing,
6 correct?
7 A. Correct.
In an another attempt to prejudice the jury, Sneddon asked June if Jordan had ever showered at the guest cottages at Neverland, or in her hotel rooms while travelling with Jackson, and she said no. But just because Jordan Chandler took showers in Jackson’s bedroom and hotel rooms, it doesn’t mean that he took showers together with Jackson!
11 Q. We talked a little bit in your direct
12 examination about the change-in-custody agreement
13 that Mr. Jackson asked you to sign. Do you recall
14 that?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Okay. And you said you did sign it?
17 A. I did.
18 Q. Now, after having signed that document, did
19 you ever get custody of your child back?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Mr. Mesereau asked you about your son Jordan
22 and about some things you may or may not have seen
23 with regard to taking showers. And I want to ask
24 you a few questions about that, okay?
25 A. Yes.
26 Q. During the time that you were — you stayed
27 at Neverland Valley Ranch, and your son slept in Mr.
28 Jackson’s room – okay? – did you ever see your son 5731
1 come back to the guest cottages to take showers?
2 A. No.
3 Q. During the time that your son was in Monaco
4 and stayed in Mr. Jackson’s room for several days in
5 a row, did you ever see your son come back to take
6 showers in your room?
7 A. No.
8 Q. During the time that you were in Florida and
9 Mr. Jackson and your son spent the time together and
10 he was sleeping in Mr. Jackson’s room, did you ever
11 see your son come back to your room to take showers
12 or to clean up?
13 A. No.
14 Q. And if I were to ask you that same question
15 with regard to baths – okay? – would there be any
16 different answers?
17 A. No.
18 Q. Or with regard to seeing your son getting
19 dressed in the morning, would there be any different
20 answers?
21 A. No.
Here are more questions about the meeting at Jackson’s hideout apartment:
22 Q. Now, with regard to the meeting that Mr.
23 Mesereau talked about, where you were at the
24 hideout, Mr. Jackson’s hideout, the Century City
25 place — in Century City? I don’t know where it is.
26 A. Yes, it is.
27 Q. And we’re talking about the evening that you
28 described where Mr. Pellicano was talking to Jordan 5732
1 downstairs and you were upstairs with David
2 Schwartz.
3 A. Correct.
4 Q. You told us that lasted about 45 minutes?
5 A. Yes, it did.
6 Q. Do you recall whether or not Mr. Jackson was
7 present during that conversation?
8 A. I don’t recall him being there.
9 Q. Now, if I show you your statement that you
10 gave to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office,
11 might that refresh your recollection to that event?
12 A. Yes.
13 MR. SNEDDON: May I, Your Honor?
14 THE COURT: Yes.
15 MR. SNEDDON: Page 90, Counsel.
16 THE WITNESS: Thank you.
17 Q. BY MR. SNEDDON: Does having seen that
18 statement refresh your recollection as to whether or
19 not Mr. Jackson was present with Mr. Pellicano
20 during Jordan’s conversation or interview?
21 A. Yes, it does.
22 Q. And was he?
23 A. Yes, he was present.
24 Q. You told the jury that it’s been 11 years
25 since you’ve had any conversations with your son
26 Jordan, correct?
27 A. Correct.
28 Q. Is that by your choice? 5733
1 A. No.
June became visibly upset when she testified that she had not seen her son in 11 years, but told the court that she would be OK. She ended her redirect-examination by stating that she regretted ever trusting Jackson:
2 Q. You told the jury that as a result of the
3 conversation with Mr. Jackson in Las Vegas where he
4 urged you to trust him – okay? —
5 A. Yes. I’ll be okay. Thank you.
6 Q. — that during that conversation in Las
7 Vegas where Mr. Jackson urged you to trust him, do
8 you recall that?
9 A. I do.
10 Q. Do you regret ever doing that?
11 A. Very much so.
12 MR. SNEDDON: Nothing further.
Mesereau had to negate the impact of that last statement, so under recross-examination he came out swinging against Evan Chandler to prove that he was the ringleader in the 1993 extortion plot, and June was a willing participant. June developed a severe case of amnesia, and couldn’t remember any details regarding Evan’s hiring of Barry Rothman, the negotiations that took place prior to the police being notified, and other important facts:
15 BY MR. MESEREAU:
16 Q. Briefly, do you recall Evan hired counsel
17 in June to start negotiating with Mr. Jackson?
18 A. No, I don’t recall.
19 Q. Do you recall being in any meetings with
20 Evan and his counsel in June to try and settle the
21 matter?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Do you recall Mr. Pellicano making
24 settlement offers to Evan on your behalf in June?
25 A. No, I don’t.
26 Q. Do you recall any contact between Evan and
27 lawyers in May?
28 A. No. 5734
1 Q. Okay. You never discussed that with Evan at
2 the time?
3 A. No.
4 Q. Didn’t you have a lot of — we’re talking
5 about 1993. Didn’t you have a lot of contact with
6 Evan at that point about hiring counsel?
7 A. No.
8 Q. And weren’t you in a dispute with Evan at
9 that point over custody?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Okay. And when did that dispute begin, if
12 you know?
13 A. In August of ‘93.
14 Q. But you had had problems with Evan for
15 months before that, had you not?
16 A. Not — not terrible.
17 Q. And you don’t know when he hired his
18 attorney?
19 A. No, I don’t. No, I don’t.
20 MR. MESEREAU: Okay. No further questions.
21 MR. SNEDDON: Nothing further, Your Honor.
22 THE COURT: All right. Thank you. You may
23 step down.
24 THE COURT: Call your next witness.
25 MR. AUCHINCLOSS: People call Dwayne
26 Swingler.
Now that we’ve finished June’s testimony, let’s highlight some of the major discrepancies between her testimony and Jordan’s “interview” with Dr. Gardner, as well as Ray Chandler’s numerous interviews while promoting “All That Glitters”:
1. Ray Chandler stated Michael Jackson “took” Jordan’s numbers (implying that he requested or even demanded it), but June Chandler stated that she offered it to Jackson.
2. Jordan stated that his phone calls with Jackson lasted as long as 3 hours, but June testified that they were no longer than one hour and a half, and that she was always present.
3. Jordan stated that the trip to Vegas lasted for a week, but June testified that it lasted only for 2 or 3 nights.
For more examples of additional discrepancies, please read this post on the Vindicate MJ blog.
Here’s an interesting, but surely untruthful excerpt from Diane Dimond’s “Be Careful Who You Love”, page 320. She writes that her former Court TV colleague Savannah Guthrie had this weird exchange with June Chandler:
The lives of so many people have been so profoundly affected by this self-anointed King of Pop— for both good and ill. His family, his staff, employees of the music industry, merchants and vendors who did business with him, and the families of children who came into his sphere. Some of them feel it was the opportunity of a lifetime to be near Michael Jackson, others lament the fact that their lives forever changed for the worst because of him.
Three days after the verdict was announced, June Chandler got on a Continental Airlines flight in Los Angeles and flew east. It was early in the day and she was accompanied by an elderly person in a wheelchair.
During the flight, Chandler exchanged glances with my Court TV colleague Savannah Guthrie, who had covered every day of the trial and was on her way home to New York. They did not speak during the flight. But at the baggage carousel at Newark Airport, Savannah introduced herself and noted June Chandler’s beautiful face had a permanently pained, almost anguished expression. They made small talk. Finally the question: What did Mrs. Chandler think of the jury’s decision? When she answered, her voice had a hint of resignation mixed with a warning tone.
She simply said, “He will do it again.”
Michael Jackson is not guilty by society’s decree. As always, he is the captain of his own future. It is up to him what his life becomes from this point forward.
Yeah, whatever. By the way, Jackson was not a “self-anointed” or “self-proclaimed” ANYTHING! The title of “King of Pop” was first coined upon Jackson by the MEDIA during the Thriller era, and the photo below of a newspaper article from 1984 proves it:
Also, in case you’re wondering what Evan Chandler’s physical, mental, and financial health after his second lawsuit against Jackson was dismissed in 2000, here’s what Ray Chandler had to say on page 248 of “All That Glitters”:
The results of the lawsuit dealt a heavy blow to Evan. Before the Prime Time Live interview he wanted only solitude and anonymity, but once he decided to fight, his goal was to a have a public airing of the entire scandal once and for all. He wanted Michael and the media to be shut down forever from calling him an extortionist.
Evan poured himself into the battle, working night and day to help his lawyers build their case. He became obsessed and put his entire life on hold, neglecting his health and his family in his quest to clear his name.
Evan rationalized his actions by believing that the lawsuits were a temporary detour, and that once they were over, life would be better than it had ever been — that he would have all the time in the world to spend with his children.
But life did not become better than it had ever been. It became much worse. Evan lost the lawsuits, his health and his family. The last two through no one’s fault but his own. But whatever faults Evan may have, whatever demons possess him, one thing he has never been and will never be, is an extortionist.
Today, Evan is alone and penniless, living as a recluse from the world around him. He remains close to only one person, Jordie. His son, now an adult, has in many ways become his father’s father, supporting him both financially and emotionally. Jordie is forever grateful that his father rescued him from Michael Jackson.
As for Jordie himself, it hasn’t been easy, and it may take many more years for him to find full closure. But Jordan Christopher Chandler is a happy healthy, heterosexual young man who has lived through an unprecedented ordeal and survived with flying colors. Of all the main participants in this sordid tale, Jordan is the only one who has escaped with his character and dignity intact.
Jordan and Evan’s relationship took a dramatic turn for the worse when Evan tried to MURDER Jordan in August 2005! According to these court documents, Evan hit Jordan from behind with a 12.5 pound plate, maced him in the eyes, and then choked him! Jordan filed for a permanent restraining order afterwards; here are the court documents:
The final close to the sad and tragic 1993 extortion plot was Evan Chandler’s suicide in November 2009. He blew his brains out, and this proved that blood money never bought him happiness!
For more information on Evan Chandler’s extortion of Michael Jackson, here are a list of posts about the 1993 case.
An overview of the case:
http://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/jordan-chandler-fancia-sneddon/
Victor Gutierrez’s involvement in the case:
A summary of Sneddon’s sleazy and vindictive tactics against Jackson:
A 3 part detailed summary of the case:
http://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/history-vs-evanstory-the-1993-allegations-part-1/
http://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/history-vs-evanstory-the-1993-allegations-part-2/
http://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/history-vs-evanstory-the-1993-allegations-part-3/
Proof that Jordan Chandler’s description of Jackson’s penis did NOT match!
A two part series on Jackson’s settlements with the Chandlers and Francias, and how they were NOT signs of guilt on his part:
For even MORE information, here is an exhaustive list of posts about the 1993 case: http://vindicatemj.wordpress.com/category/the-1993-case/
Here is the PDF of “The King of Pop’s Darkest Hour” by Lisa Campbell: Michael Jackson King Of Pop’s Darkest Hour
Here is an interview with Mary Fischer from November 2003, in which she defended her 1994 GQ article:
Summary of June Chandler’s Testimony:
1. June Chandler is the ex-wife of Evan Chandler, and the mother of Jordan Chandler, Jackson’s 1993 accuser. She testified that she received a phone call from her then husband Dave Schwartz, telling her to go to his Rent-A-Wreck business to meet Michael Jackson, whose car had broken down nearby. This refutes Sneddon’s assertion in his court pleading that June and Jordan were already there when Jackson arrived. After arriving, she offered Jackson her phone number; Jackson didn’t ask her for it, and his first phone call to the Chandlers was a month or two after their initial meeting. June estimated that Jackson called Jordan “8 to 10 times” during between May 1992 and February 1993 (an average of one call per month!), and Jackson did not invite the Chandlers to Neverland until February 1993, nearly 9 months after meeting them.
2. June testified that during their first three trips to Neverland, she, Jordan, and Lily all slept in the guest cottage, thus refuting the notion that Jackson deliberately separated young boys from their parents and forced them to sleep with in his bedroom. On the third visit, Jordan asked for permission to sleep in Jackson’s bedroom, but June refused to allow it. She didn’t disclose why she refused Jordan’s request, and (surprisingly!) Sneddon didn’t ask her, but it’s obvious that it wasn’t because she felt her son would be in danger if he slept in Jackson’s bedroom, because if she felt that way then she wouldn’t have been at Neverland in the first place!
3. In March 1993, during a trip to Las Vegas, June discovered that Jordan had slept in Jackson’s bed after watching the horror movie The Exorcist, and she told Jordan not to sleep in his bed again. Jordan told this to Jackson, and according to June, Jackson cried as he tried to reason with her that it was OK for Jordan to sleep in his bed, and that she was putting “barriers” in their relationship. This back and forth conversation lasted for around 40 minutes, and afterwards she changed her mind and allowed Jordan to sleep in Jackson’s bed whenever he wanted to. (I personally believe that Jackson cried because he truly believed that June’s initial decision was based on mistrusting him, as if he would ever harm Jordan, not because he just wanted to force Jordan to sleep in his bed, because he never did force Jordan or any other child to do that.)
4. June was then asked to recount the times when she invited Jackson to stay at her residence in 1993. Let me repeat that: she invited Jackson to stay at her residence! Jackson didn’t beg her to let him visit, she invited him! That’s indicative of how comfortable she was around him! She testified that Jackson would spend the night, leave in the morning when Jordan went to school, and then return in the afternoon after Jordan got home.
5. June was asked to describe a conversation that she had with Wade Robeson’s mother in which she became concerned after being told confidential information (she wasn’t allowed to disclose what was said to her by Joy Robson).
6. During a trip to New York in May 1993 for her brother’s wedding, June confronted Jackson again about the nature of his relationship with Jordan. Her brother told her his thoughts on the situation, but she was not allowed to disclose what he said, although she did testify that Jackson was “upset” that she wanted her son back.
7. When asked by Sneddon about Evan Chandler’s feelings regarding Jackson’s relationship with Jordan, June testified that Evan left a voicemail on her answering machine explaining how he felt (she wasn’t allowed to disclose what was said, but I included an excerpt of it from Ray Chandler’s book). After playing this message to Jackson and his attorney Bert Fields, they decided to hire Anthony Pellicano, a private investigator, to preemptively counter a possible extortion attempt against Jackson by Evan Chandler. She was present during his interview with Jordan Chandler, in which he denied any and all abuse against Jackson, although she wasn’t in the room with them.
8. She was present during Pellicano’s interview with Jordan Chandler, in which he denied any and all abuse against Jackson, although she wasn’t in the room with them.
9. When asked about the lawsuit that was filed against Jackson by Larry Feldman in 1993, and June contradicted herself by stating that she participated in it as a representative of Jordan, and she supported him, but did not “ask” for any financial compensation! What the hell was the purpose of the lawsuit if she didn’t expect to be compensated?
10. June denied ever writing any books, granting any interviews, or doing anything to make money off of the 1993 incident, and Sneddon subsequently ended his direct examination.
11. Under cross examination by Thomas Mesereau, June was grilled about the stipulation that she signed in July 1993 that allowed Jordan Chandler to stay with Evan for a one week visitation. In 1993, she signed it under penalty of law stating that the only reason she agreed to it was Evan’s threat that Jordan wouldn’t be returned to her if she didn’t sign it, and NOT because Jackson or his attorneys forced her to, as she insinuated under direct examination.
12. Mesereau then questioned June about a request for a $4 million dollar loan that Dave Schwartz made to Jackson. June denied that Schwartz ever made that request, but Ray Chandler stated in his book “All That Glitters” that
13. June Chandler couldn’t recall Dave Schwartz’s lawsuit against Jackson, claiming that Jackson “interfered” with his business, nor could she recall Evan Chandler’s second lawsuit against Jackson, which was filed in 1996.
14. Next, Mesereau questioned June about her knowledge of Jackson’s lucrative endorsement deals and ownership of the Beatles catalog. This was to show the jury that Jackson was a financial lottery ticket for the Chandlers, who filed their frivolous lawsuit against Jackson to get a piece of the pie! The fact that Larry Feldman was threatening to ruin Jackson’s music deals speaks volumes!
15. Also, does anyone honestly believe that June and Larry Feldman didn’t discuss the current Arvizo case when they spoke a few days prior to her testimony? I surely don’t believe her, especially given the fact that Feldman admitted earlier in the trial that he spoke to Dr. Stan Katz about the case, which the defense used as a reason to have a mistrial declared, although Judge Melville ultimately ruled against it.
16. When June was asked about any meeting she had with prosecutors prior to testifying, she was actually honest and admitted that she and Sneddon discussed what questions she would be asked, and what answers she would give.
17. Mesereau needed to dispel the prosecution’s assertion that Jackson’s only reason for spending the night at June’s home was to be close to Jordan, so he had her confirm that she and her entire family routinely ate dinner with Jackson, not just Jordan.
18. Mesereau pivoted to the topic of Neverland and children who hung out there, in order to give the jurors the correct impression of Jackson’s interactions with them. June testified that the reason Jordan asked to sleep in Jackson’s bedroom (and not the other way around!) during the third visit is because there were so many other children (boys AND girls) who hung out in his bedroom.
19. Mesereau questioned June regarding the dissimilarities between Jordan Chandler’s and Macaulay Culkin’s looks; he wanted to refute the media myth that Jackson had a certain “type” of boy, and that many of his “victims” looked alike.
20. Mesereau had to remove the negative impression that the jury received from Sneddon’s direct examination about June’s confrontation with Jackson outside of his hotel room. June and Jackson’s conversation was put into proper context by Mesereau, and June confirmed that Jackson was upset because he thought that June didn’t trust him (which confirms what I suspected all along.)
21. June testified and confirmed that in 1993, she told LA District Attorney Gil Garcetti that Evan Chandler told her that “the relationship with Michael was a wonderful means of Jordie not having to worry for the rest of his life”, but she wasn’t allowed to speculate about what she thought Evan meant by that comment.
22. When asked about the movie script that Evan Chandler co-wrote with Jordan, June testified that she thought that Evan spent too much time writing the script, and not enough time with Jordan.
23. Here’s a very interesting remark from June that shows exactly how comfortable she was around Jackson: she recalled stating in 1993 that Jackson was such a Peter Pan-like figure that everybody wanted to be around him, including her daughter Lily! And she would have allowed Lily to be around him if she was older!
24. Ray Chandler wrote in his book “All That Glitters” that Jackson broke two lamps inside of his hotel room in New York City out of anger because June’s brother and sister-in-law found out that Jordan was sleeping in his bed. He stated that Jordan initially denied this, but his younger sister Lily told June the truth, and after the allegations became public, Jordan admitted that Lily told the truth. However, under cross-examination, June testified that Lily told her that she was just playing when she told her that Jackson intentionally broke the two lamps.
25. Mesereau questioned June’s decision to not mention Jackson, Pellicano, or Bert Fields in her sworn declaration in 1993 (which gave temporary custody of Jordan to Evan), yet tell the jury during direct examination that they pressured her into signing it. She also mentioned that she wanted Evan to pay Jordan $5,000 dollars for his work on the script, but Evan refused to do so.
26. Mesereau ended his cross examination on a high note! He challenged June about the timing of the police being notified about the Chandler’s allegations against Jackson. Unbelievably, June stated that they did not negotiate for money before going to police, but that’s absolutely what they did! And then she contradicts herself and admits that she never did contact the police about any suspicions against Jackson!
27. During redirect examination, Sneddon questioned June about where Jordan showered, bathed, and changed clothes during their trips with Jackson, and June testified that he showered and changed clothes in Jackson’s room, which is true, but they never showered TOGETHER, which is what Sneddon tried to insinuate.
28. June became visibly upset when she testified that she had not seen her son Jordan in 11 years, but told the court that she would be OK. She ended her redirect-examination by stating that she regretted ever trusting Jackson.
29. Mesereau had to negate the impact of that last statement, so under recross-examination he came out swinging against Evan Chandler to prove that he was the ringleader in the 1993 extortion plot, and June was a willing participant. June developed a severe case of anmensia, and couldn’t remember any details regarding Evan’s hiring of Barry Rothman, the negotiations that took place prior to the police being notified, and other important facts. After this line of questioning, Mesereau ended his recross-examination, and Sneddon also had no further questions.
To be continued…
lynande51
sanemjfan
thetis7
Michael Jackson Vindication 2.0 
Amen and amen xx
I had this sent to me from jennifer batten:
Was this Roger Friedman show during the trial or after MJ died?
Roger Friedman was putting out info during trial , that he had gotten from Frank Cascio, I think
Quick question..Did Jordie and his mom ever reconcile?
When flip-flopping Roger Friedman was on Joy Behar’s show – he stated that they had reconciled, but who knows!
Harvey Levin said they reconciled after Evan died..He likes to make it out like they all lived happily ever after , and are just fabulously wealthy but Harvey is Jewish and so was Evan..So was Feldman, Dickerman,Katz,
I wouldnt be surprised if he was friendly with some of these people also.
Harvey and those twits at TMZ also like to spin MJ in as negative of light as possible. I can remember during the Conrad Murray trial, one of the idiot lawyers who works there said Conrad Murray walked around town like an innocent person so therefore, they didn’t believe he was guilty. As the trial progressed they did change their tune (I mean how can you dispute his guilt) but I remember thinking that was the dumbest thing I had ever heard someone say.
I believe it was after MJ died.
Actually Michael did want to change Neverland into an Amusement Park. He wanted to open it and move. He had been looking at homes in Miami and in Beverly Hills before the allegations ever came up. Prior to that he spent most of his time on the road or in a rented Townhouse in NYC. I have the lease for the Townhouse. I do believe Dieter when he talked about that. I think they were moving in a different direction and Michael wanted out of all that.
When he was married to Lisa they divided their time between NYC where they had an apartment in the Trump Towers and her home in Hidden Hills in Los Angeles.
He knew what the first allegations did and he knew how the press painted Neverland in a negative light. He just waited too long and the Arvizo’s showed up.
The thing is if you read a transcript of his interview with Ed Bradley you get a pretty good idea of how he really thought of Gavin. He talks about all of these sick children and how he has brought them out there. To him Gavin and his family were never going to be permanently in his life he thought of him as one of those kids.
So then the next question is how does that fit in to Sneddon’s portrayal of Michael as a pedophile? I mean what did he do? Did he show them porn on Gavin’s new computer then send him away for the next two and a half years from August 27th,2000 until February 6th of 2003 as part of this elaborate and never before heard of grooming process? That is probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
I have been meaning to write a post about something that I found out from reading through the evidence. I think I can put together just exactly how it was the Gavin was chosen to be in the Bashir hit piece.
The Arvizo’s say and everyone presumes that Michael chose Gavin to show how he had helped him through the cancer. They said it was unplanned and Janet said that she knew nothing about the filming. But there is another story and that is that Bashir chose him over Dave Dave. Aphrodite Jones said that in an interview. But how would Bashir know about Gavin unless Michael had told him?
I have the answer. Gavin testified that he went to Neverland twice with Chris Tucker or at least he does in his Grand Jury testimony. He went once when his whole family and Jay went along for Chris and Azja’s sons birthday in September just a few days before the filming of his portion of LWMJ was shot.
They were there for several days in June of 2002 with Chris and his son just to get away Michael wasn’t there, but Bashir was. I found it in one of the porsecution documents that lists all of the stuff they collected as evidence. The 600 series was from the security office and it was the Neverland gate logs. There they are together on the same day June 25th I believe. MJ wasn’t there? Did Bashir talk to Gavin? Was this Bashir’s agenda all along to make Michael look as bad as he possibly could? I think it was.
Then there are three months before they shoot Gavin with Michael in September? Did he meet with the Arivzos before and talk to Janet about getting Gavin on the show? Is that why she didn’t want to join Michael in the lawsuit against Granada and ITV in the UK? Had she in fact signed to have Gavin in the program unknown to Michael? You know they never searched anywhere she lived were there papers somewhere that she didn’t want anyone to see?
Here is a link and the log showing that Bashir was there in June is on page 60 it is item 614 and it is June 21st.
Click to access 080904pltoppdftmotaffwarevid.pdf
From Evvy Tavasci’s declaration to the UK attorney’s for Michael we know that Bashir signed that confidentiality agreement on June 20th,2002.Then he didn’t filmt Michael and the beginning of the program until July 30th,2002. He goes to Vegas to film Michael there. He comes back and films Gavin on September 26th, 2002. Then he goes to Berlin and then finally close to the end of January of 2003 is when he films Michael in Miami at the Turnberry. Following Miami, and actually all along he denies Hamid access to his footage and would not meet with Michael as they had agreed saying it was “a gentlemens agreement”. Sounds just like what he did to Diana when he got her to bare all in exchange for documents against someone in her family that he had falsified. This man is also directly responsible for shortening Michael’s life.
Lynade, I think it’s pretty obvious that Bashir’s intention all along was to paint MJ as a child molester. He insinuated throughout the film that Michael was a pedophile. i.e. calling his relationship with children “the most disturbing aspect of his life story”, accusing him of having an “obsession” with children, calling his friendship with Gavin “the most disturbing moment of the past 8 months”, saying that their friendship made him “very uneasy”, saying that meeting Gavin was “bothering” him, and the list goes on. Jamie Masada mentioned in his testimony that he was very disgusted with Bashir for including Gavin in his film and for just thrusting him into the spotlight without notice. Bashir wanted to paint MJ as a pedophile, so he made sure to include the footage of Gavin and put his own negative twist to it because he knew that it would grab the attention of viewers and cause a firestorm, especially in light of the previous allegations. That is why he felt the need to bring up Gavin for the second time during the Miami interview. He did not stop to think about this boy or what emotional effect exploiting him like this would have on him and his life. All he cared about was furthering his own career.
There is no way Neverland could be an amusement park due to zoning laws, the neighbors would go nuts, etc. It had to be a private residence. Well, after the 93 settlement, he is on with LMP and Diane Sawyer on 20/20 and says ‘I love NL, I am NL, I will always have NL.” I am not saying he didn’t look for other homes in other places but I do take note of what he said here. He and LMP did soend time at NL for sure. She talks about it and he proposed in the library, etc., etc. There are videos of them there as well. I am not saying they didn’t spend time at her house, etc., but they did spend time at NL. Also, in Moriarty’s Defending a King book, she says T. Mez says he had to talk MJ into leaving NL. T. Mez says MJ was reluctant to leave b/c it meant so much to him. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that he loved NL, but after barages of search warrants tore the place up over a decade time span, he took T. Mez’s advice. There was a report (don’t know if it’s accurate) that Jack Wishna wanted him to go back to NL in 07-08 and he said no way. I am not clear how he felt about it at the end. He did not ever sell it or let it go into bankrupcy so maybe he was trying to save it for his kids?
Re Gavin and Bashir. Maybe you are right that Bashir saw Gavin and dreamed up the plan then in early 02 to set MJ up. Could very well be. I want to read your post about that–sounds very interesting and worthwhile to go into the history of how Bashir selected Gavin and set the whole thing up. It really was entrapment!
Bashir would have rejected Dave Dave b/c he was not cute and not believable as a person MJ would ‘go for.’ If MJ suggested Dave Dave that shows he was taking Bashir at face value that he wanted to interview a child MJ had helped. Dave Dave would have been the PERFECT child for that. But if your purpose to to show that MJ is a pedophile, then Dave Dave won’t work, but Gavin would and did. I despise Bashir.
As far as Gavin …Mr Sneddon would have us all believe that what Gavin said to child services ,Ed Bradley , his principal and even Bashir was a lie.’
He wants you to believe that he started grooming Gavin as soon as he met him , because a cancer patient looks so much like JC ,he coudnt resist .
So he put porn on the computer , made some remarks with his children in the room, avoided the kid for I dont know how long ( which is what Gavin said on the stand) , then after Bashir,MJ wants to get him drunk, which nobody has ever accused him of either..
Brings him to Neverland, .
MJ is supposed to show them porn again, but own witness , says they found the porn and MJ walked in and took it away..
.
Gavin goes on about it in direct examination with Sneddon, with MJ says “Franks stinking ass and being livid and grabbing it all and putting it away”
Then MJ is supposed to decide he might as well bring it back out again , a few days later according to Gavin…..( because he isnt going though enough torture)
But of course on the stand , he starts to say “me and MY……….. I mean Michael..”
Couldnt remember if it was him or his brother who took it out or Michael.
That shouldnt be too hard to remember, since it would be the only instance that MJ might have ever shown them magazine and the kid cant remember….
The same with the wine cellar story ..
The lies about making funny phone calls on the plane.
The lies about the phone records of how they ended up calling MJ after the Bashir piece…
EVERYTHING this kid said was BS
Sneddon HAD to have known ,
And Sneddon KNEW Mj did good works because he had to acknowledge it in his opening statement…
.Bashir saw all the children that came and enjoyed Neverland..
The fact that Bashir met Dave Dave and KNEW what kind of man MJ really was and put this hit piece together anyway , is just incredible to me…
He didnt call childrens services with his concerns , he put the kids face all over the world.
Because he knew this kid was no victim..
I dont know how these people live with themselves..
None of these people in law enforcement wondered why Bashir, who is a parent himself , didnt pick up the phone and call authorities .
He is so disgusted by MJ behavior, he lets this kid continue to hang out with MJ when he suspects he is molesting him..Give me a break..
They KNEW MJ was a good person..
I look at Feldman and wonder what this rich successful lawyer went ahead with this crap knowing his client is a freaking LIAR.
How can these people actually put someone on trial and facing time in jail, when they know it is BS…..
Does Feldman really need another couple of million dollars ?
It is disgusting
I have also wondered if the Arvizo ever collected any money for Gavin being put on air without her consent.
Makes you really wonder if she signed off on it .
I will have tp go back and reread her testimony to see if Mesereau asked her about it..
And I hate to say it, but I dont think any of these care one bit.
I dont think any of them have a conscience.
They are just kind of annoyed he died and people are looking into this stuff…
I feel it’s very clear that June was just as enamored with being with Michael as kids were. If she invited her into her home and had no problem with him sleeping there for days at a time, I think she was truly hoping something would happen between the two of them. I don’t doubt for one second Evan was hoping the same thing. They all saw Michael as a cash cow and when he didn’t comply with Evan’s demands and started backing away from him, that’s to me when the trouble started brewing.
Sneddon tried to make it look as though Michael always had sinister motives, but did you see June’s answer when Mesereau asked her why she was in Jackson’s room and she said, “I’m his mother so I’m allowed to be in Michael’s room.” That says it all right there. All parents were allowed to be in Michael ‘s room. Why on earth do people refuse to put two and two together and see what all of these people were after.
I just saw a tweet that Rebbie’s husband passed away yesterday. Of course, one of the tweets was by Stacy Brown. As I was looking at what he had tweeted in addition to the piece he wrote recently in the New York Post about Paris, while trashing her father and the trash piece he wrote about Janet’s future wedding, I noticed he has had several “discussions” with muzikfactory2. I don’t understand why anyone would talk to him. I truly don’t know how he looks at himself in the mirror with the Diane Dimond approach he has toward Michael. It’s so sad to me. But anyone who loves Michael that could talk to Stacy Brown (they might as well talk to Maureen Orth or Diane Dimond) just because he loathes Jermaine as much as they do is not doing Michael any justice in my mind.
She may have hoped something would develop, but did Michael give her any realistic idea of this? I would think not, especially when Lisa Marie had come into his life around the same time. I would think she would notice that Michael was not ‘coming on’ to her in any way, if she had a connection to reality, that is.
I don’t think anyone in the Chandler family had a connection to reality.
Well, one thing I noticed there were a hell of a lot of LAWYERS around, circling like vultures–Rothman, Shapiro, Feldman, Fields, Cochran, Weitzman, Freeman, Allred, etc, etc., seems like everyone smelled $$$$ and the more conflict, the more lawsuits, the more lawyers. There were more lawyers than defendants!
Yes, I agree the memory problems were legion, but to be fair, it was 12 or 13 years earlier and when someone is on the stand in court, they could be nervous and tense (I would be). Of course, if they know they are going to be questioned about it, why not review the freakin’ dates and facts? To me, the Chandlers and Arvizos are a disgusting group of people with no honor and no shame. I do have a bit of sympathy forJune, however, in that she previously had full custody of her son and then lost it due to signing that stipulation (which IMO was a HUGE mistake and Fields should never have recommended it, and I think it may be true what she said the Michael wanted her to sign b/c he was worried about a lawsuit and thought if Evan got Jordan for a week he would calm down. This was a major misreading.) Michael was playing with fire when he entered the lives of these unstable (if not outright crazy) people, like Evan and Janet.
There were lots of lawyers and they all were friendly….Even just reading the transcripts , everybody seems to know each other , in a social way also.
When you look at Mesereau getting the Fiedler award , there are well known lawyers behind him….
I think that is one reason , Cochrane suggested Mesereau .Because he is excellent , but he doenst really socialize with those groups,,,He is working in the poorer community ..I dont think he runs with that crowd,,
I have the frozen in time seminar with Carl Douglas going on about all the face time in front of the camera and the billable hours and how he got a great car out of that case..He is like a jerk, at a cocktail party running his mouth, …..And THIS is who was supposed to be MJ lawyer looking out for him!!.He embarrassed himself in my opinion..Between the greedy , camera struck lawyers on MJ side and the ambitious prosecutor, this was easy pickings for a shark like Feldman.He is probably still smirking over it.
I wouldnt be surprised if MJ encouraged her to sign that paper either, just because he is a person who tended to panic,
But she did have representation.And she knew Evan alot better then MJ .She knew what he was capable of obviously…
.
She was looking to latch onto fame and fortune and lost her son .A million or so dollars cant make up for that,at least not to me..Ironic that the son ended up with the lions share and didnt want to split with his parents.
An entirely greedy and double crossing family.
If June was nervous ,in court,… it was only was when she was confronted by Mesereau., because Sneddon was giving her slow pitches.
Look at the picture of her walking in..She isnt nervous , She seems to have a slight smirk and is enjoying the spotlight ……, in her pale yellow suit that was chosen to compliment her completion.,,,The understated jewelry… That outfit was very well chosen to portray her as a class act .
Most mothers demeanor would be different if they were about to confront the man that drove a wedge between them and their child.
And they wouldnt give a cr@p what the Casio restaurant was named as Lynette said..These dates and legal actions would be burned in your brain because you would be replaying it over and over again.
Because you lost your son over this stuff..
I would have spent whatever money I got fighting for custody but
from what Roger Friedman said, she managed to pull herself together and upgrade her home in a stylish neighborhood…
This was the perfect storm , as you said..A hell bent DA,.. enabling extortionists and the press protected by shield laws because LA is in the entertainment business.
I wish he had left Ca, and moved anywhere else .He might have been better off, but I think he was stubborn and didnt think he did anything wrong.
Most people , if guilty , wouldnt write a song about a DA and stay within his jurisdiction….He found that out the hard way …
Actually most people ,guilty or innocent wouldn’t stay in Sneddons vicinity because he is obviously power crazed and on a mission to take him down..,,Wish he considered that before he wrote that song and stuck around…but he never foresaw a situation like the Arvizo.
Just shows his innocence that he didnt move away…, ,
I agree, nannorris, Michael was stubborn and innocent too. The thing is he loved Neverland, just loved it, even after the first raids in 93. It was his home. I think Michael underestimated the power of CRAZY (as in ‘Mad Dog” Sneddon, the media mafia, and people like Arvizos and Chandlers). I think he never could have imagined people would sit around discussing in a courtroom how he broke a couple of lamps!! In all seriousness, there is something out-of-this-world NUTS about the whole scenario. It is like the Salem Witchcraft 1692-93 outbreak where there was a hysteria that involved accusing all kinds of respectable people of witchcraft and putting them to death on the basis of DREAMS of a few young girls (called ‘spectral evidence’). Later, it was acknowledged by all to have been a huge delusion and tragedy. As a prominent church leader said, “We walked in a cloud and could not see our way.”
One day people will see that the same thing happened to Michael.
Well I hope it is soon..I agree with Lynette about all the security that was in place , people of the caliber, to have been accepted ,by the police dept and yet the DA ,supposedly believes. people .who could have walked away and made as much as a WAITRESS at dairy queen………
the big question is WHY
Because they wanted to ..
It was such an opportunity for everyone to climb to the top of the heap on MJ back..
I worked in a courthouse and it was the same mentality
These people are stuck in boring jobs and you have this exciting case and you are on the clock..an unlimited clock
And by the way they are all related to each other in some way
Sneddons wife was employed by the school dept and I can assure you the guy in charge of the school dept brother, or relative worked at the courthouse .
This is politics….
I notice the press in that community STILL tries to cover for Zonen ..
Imo the reason nothing happened in 93 was because the police were somewhat ..not under the control of the DA office,
These 2 offices that were supposed to have been independent of each other MERGED in 2003 imo
I have hopes that this will go mainstream which is why , as much as I disliked the Sullivan book, when it came to the accusations , it was better then most.
You know nan it’s interesting that people forget that Michael had security in his room at all times. Mike LaPerruque gave a statement that he was always in the room with MJ.Mike or Jimmy Van Norman said he slept in a small room or a closet when he was on the road with Michael and sometimes even slept in the same room because they were worried about him. It was the same with Wayne Nagin and with Bill Bray. These guys are actually retired or part time LAPD or LASD. Even Mike said in his statement that if he thought Michael was a molester he would have taken him down himself,as a matter of fact I think he said the hard way;)
The head of security in 2003 during the raid was Violet Silva even she was a graduate from a criminal justice program. Brian Barron had to quit after the raid to keep his job with the Santa Maria Police Department and because Sneddon had asked him to become an informant after the raid (I have never figured out it that is illegal or not but I think it is because it is entrapment). How do they explain that for about 10 bucks an hour all of these guys overlooked what Chacon and Abdool say that they saw all the time.Then explain the two people that MJ hired that weren’t police officers being the ONLY ones that claim to have seen anything. It is just too ridiculous.It’s like people blaming him for locking up while at the same time having a maid that was the only one with a set of keys? Is Adrian McManus a better Cop than Brian Barron? Miss works in a jewelry store? I don’t think so.
He was being set up from the beginning of the Chandler relationship the way I see it now knowing that June had separated from Dave right when Michael started talking to Jordan on the phone. She and Evan both thought that they could get money from him and when he wasn’t giving it to Evan then they concocted this story. Some of the most ridiculous things are said by these people like Evan’s biggest concern was not that Jordan was molested. It was that everyone thought he was an extorionist. We have some of the most incredible things being said by the Chandler’s and yet some people chose to believe it.
Oh by the way I can answer June’s question for her. The reason that Shapiro was called in was because Rothman had hired him for his defense attorney when they filed extortion charges against him and Chandler.Funny she doesn’t remember that.I tell you that is one of the strangest memories that I have ever seen. She remembers the name of the Cascio’s Restaurant but doesn’t remember being accused of extortion or the dates that she got money? Does that seem reasonable because inspite of it being “so long ago” she can remember that detail but not the bigger details like “yes I was accused of extortion”? That is just not believable, sorry.
Oh and by the way Brett’s father was with them the entire time that he was on tour with Michael. He took a long vacation that government workers can take in Australia after they have worked there for awhile, I forget what it’s called now but there is a special word for it. He was as much a friend of Michael’s as the rest of the family was.
Ok, I can see that Michael wanted to see how a family lived, a regular, normal family. And I think he founnd that family in the Cascios. But the Cascios were a family with a functioning marriage at the center, and that helped to provide a stable home so the kids turned out pretty balanced. On the other hand, both the Chandler and Arvizo families were dysfunctional and the marriage was not working and the parents were at odds and in conflict (divorce, separation, custody fights). Getting involved with those types of families was the problem b/c Michael just got drawn into the drama, the battles, and maybe made it all worse b/c money came into the mix, and greed.
California law just added to the chaos with its Shield Law and the laws that made it possible to accuse someone of child sex abuse but not have to testify in a criminal case as a child victim, but have the right to an expedited trial and to bring in Prior Acts. I hate the phrase ‘perfect storm,’ but it seems this is what happened here in 93-94 and again in 03-05.
On bullet 27 , when Sneddon is talking about where JC would shower and change clothes……Of course he would do that in the room he was sharing at the time.
June Chandler testified herself , she would bring his clean clothes in to MJ room.She wasnt expecting him to shower in her room..
I noticed Sneddon, who always has his mind in the gutter, didnt ask her if MJ showered at her house when he slept over for a week or whatever..
You might think if he was brazenly doing other things there, he would get naked in a shower,even alone, at her house, but it sounds like he wouldnt..,,So MJ probably didnt even clean up at her house, he left and cleaned up..
Sneddon also didnt bring up where Ralph Chacon said they supposedly showered .You might think he would have asked June if JC ever said he showered by the arcade ,,,,,but he didnt even mention it to remind the jury……….. because I think Sneddon knew this was all baloney..I really do.
Sneddon tries to make it out like MJ has some tiny bedroom , that they are crammed into, and June tries to conveniently forget how huge it is.
And how her brother and his wife was taking a tour of the house and just walked in his bedroom , shows what an open door policy he had..
Same with hotel rooms.He isnt staying at the Budget Inn.He has a master suite with security all over the place.
If Mesereau considered her their star witness, then they had no star witness..
Interesting to me why Evan, according to Ray, would be living penniless when you supposedly got your son all that money.
I would think a son would be generous to the man that saved him from being abused., even if he was running through money, and nuts.
..
Evan hit JC with a barbel,from behind, and was equipped with mace to disable him even more , as he choked him……
Last episode we know of , Evan attacking someone , he used his bare hands , this time he incorporated some other weapons..sounds pre meditated to me..
But if JC was going for a restraining order , and they live together,, he is actually throwing his penniless DAD out on the street , and he wants to stay in the condo?
When he could easily afford to leave and buy another?
This must have been a hateful situation brewing for quite a while..
And thanks for that excerpt from DD book. I had heard that June had said that to Savannah , but didnt know the details.
I cant believe June would be pushing anyone around in a wheelchair.Sounds totally out of character for her , to me….wonder who that was , ? maybe her next husband ? lol
But anyway, I am sure she did have a pained look on her face, because she was exposed in court , naturally she isnt going to admit guilt , so she still was laying at MJ feet.
What a crew..