Jackson's ex-workers dish dirt
2005-04-10 22:00
Santa Maria - Michael Jackson designed his Neverland ranch as a retreat from the prying world.
But testimony at his trial shows it became a nest of backstairs intrigues among gossiping employees who are now offering stories to bolster prosecution claims that Jackson molested boys.
Jackson's lawyer has effectively worked to confront the witnesses with their own financial motives, portraying them as mercenaries and liars who abused Jackson's trust.
The former employees have admitted they sold out Jackson to the highest bidder, peddling alleged inside dirt on his sex life with ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley and his relationship with child actor Macauley Culkin.
In testimony at Jackson's trial last week, maid Adrian McManus acknowledged that she knew nothing about Jackson's sex life with Presley but nevertheless signed contracts to sell details of "kinky sex" to tabloid magazines.
Media broker
She said employees used a "media broker" to sell gossip because they needed money to finance their multimillion-dollar wrongful termination suit against Jackson.
They lost in court and were ordered to pay Jackson $1.4m.
Another maid acknowledged she got $20 000 from the TV show Hard Copy, with another maid acting as her agent, then sued Jackson saying her son had been molested and won a $2.4m settlement.
Security guard Ralph Chacon, who was part of the employees' suit against Jackson, said he was forced into bankruptcy when they lost.
The defence portrayed his testimony - a graphic account of seeing Jackson perform a sex act on a child - as a way to "get even".
Neverland chef Phillip LeMarque acknowledged he once asked for $500 000 to tell a tabloid that he saw Jackson with a hand up Culkin's shorts.
The actor was well-known in the 1990s as a Jackson companion.
The defence has said the Home Alone star has repeatedly denied anything inappropriate happened, and a spokesperson has said Culkin does not plan to be a part of the case.
'You couldn't have friends'
LeMarque said he did not receive any money from tabloids.
"Everybody was trying to sell our stories," said LeMarque, saying the competition to cash in on Jackson's fame divided the employees.
"You couldn't have friends. Everyone was spying on each other."
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a 13-year-old boy in February or March 2003.
J Randy Taraborrelli, a CBS news analyst and author of the book Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness, said that when he was researching his book 12 years ago, he interviewed many of the Neverland employees now testifying and decided not to quote them because they had financial motives to lie.
"But if you really saw these things, a normal person would call the police; you don't call the National Enquirer."
- AP