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Cop testifies in wiretap case
09/04/2008 14:05 - (SA)
Los Angeles - A former Beverly Hills police officer testified on Tuesday that indicted private investigator Anthony Pellicano paid him about $10 000 to illegally access criminal databases.
Craig Stevens estimated that Pellicano asked him for police reports, criminal histories and driving records as many as 100 times after they met in the early 1990s through their daughters.
"Did he pay you for this information?" asked Assistant US Attorney Kevin Lally.
"Yes," Stevens said.
Pellicano and four other co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to using wiretaps and other tactics to dig up dirt to help clients in legal and other disputes.
Celebrity witnesses have included Chris Rock, Garry Shandling and Keith Carradine.
Stevens said he did not know how Pellicano used the information from the databases.
'I screwed up'
He is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud and four counts of unauthorised access of protected computers to commit fraud. He now works as a grocery clerk.
Stevens resigned form the Beverly Hills Police Department two years ago, "because I had screwed up and got myself into a regrettable situation," he said.
He testified that he decided to cooperate with federal authorities because his relationship with Pellicano was weighing on him as he battled an alcohol problem.
"I was drinking myself to death," Stevens testified. "I couldn't take the lies anymore. I had to do something."
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South Africa
