Cashing in on Jackson's misery

Bit players crowd their way into media spotlight focused on the King of Pops molestation trial

BY DIONNE SEARCEY | STAFF CORRESPONDENT

April 4, 2005

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A local lawyer is charging TV cameramen thousands of dollars for a prime spot on his roof where they can train their lenses on Michael Jackson walking in and out of court.

Legal experts have come from as far away as New York and Seattle to pontificate for reporters -- and to benefit from free advertising for their firms.

Actor Gary Coleman is also trying to cash in, showing up to crack Jackson jokes on the All Comedy Radio Network.

Even in the throes of a molestation trial, everybody, it seems, wants something from Michael Jackson. That premise is the heart of the defense for the beleaguered star, whose mere presence, his lawyers contend, is enough to cause dollar signs to flicker in the eyes of those nearby.

Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. has said Jackson's teen accuser and his family fabricated the fondling charges to bolster their chances of winning a civil suit. Witnesses testified last week that before they called police to report the alleged crimes, the child and his mother met with a host of lawyers, including Larry Feldman, who helped another boy in the early 1990s obtain millions from the pop star. Today, prosecutors plan to call witnesses who allegedly saw Jackson fondle other boys.

The what's-in-it-for-me aura dogging Jackson hasn't let up since he's been on trial. It even trailed him to the hospital where he was treated for the flu during jury selection. The family of a woman alongside him in the emergency room sued, saying nurses' attention to the singer -- and inattention to her heart problems -- killed her.

Even the county court is profiting, charging media outlets steep daily fees officials say offset costs of handling the influx of reporters. As of last week more than $82,000 had been collected in a process that some news outlets are challenging in a suit.

Business is thriving at Coffee Diem, a quaint coffee house across the street from the court that only weeks ago counted only a few regulars and the occasional juror as its customers.

Inside the courtroom, the spirit of self-promotion is thriving. From the witness stand on Tuesday, Stan Katz, the psychologist to whom the singer's accuser made his initial outcry, mentioned that his book, "The Co-Dependency Conspiracy," was available on Amazon.com. Comedy club owner Jamie Masada, who tended to the accuser throughout the child's cancer bout, told jurors how they could tune in to watch a documentary on his club. On Friday, prosecutors asked Feldman whether he was known as "one of the most successful plaintiff's lawyers around."

"Say it again -- for the press," Feldman replied.

Maureen Orth, who has written extensively about Jackson for Vanity Fair, said it should come as no surprise that people are trying to profit off something as serious as the star's molestation charges. Fans, lawyers, aides and acquaintances have long tried to make a buck off Jackson, who hasn't helped matters by portraying himself as a lavish spender, she said.

"He has uncontrollable spending habits and as a result he's prone to attract people who want to get rich quick," Orth said.

In the documentary "Living with Michael Jackson," the singer is shown selecting objets d'art worth thousands of dollars at a Las Vegas boutique as if it were a grocery store. Jackson has been known to pull over his limousine to pick up fans outside the gates of Neverland and take them on toy-shopping sprees.

Jackson's lawyer has intimated that his own assistants were trying to access his main asset, the rights to a Beatles song catalog. Longtime housemaid Kiki Fournier portrayed Jackson as gullible, saying he too often accommodated characters trying to worm into his world.

Sometimes the attempts at profiteering help Jackson. Geraldine Hughes, a legal secretary in a 1993 suit against Jackson, contacted reporters to rekindle interest in her 2004 book, "Redemption: The Truth Behind the Michael Jackson Child Molestation Allegations." Hughes said she would testify on his behalf.

Sometimes, however, the impact on Jackson is more difficult to gauge. On Tuesday, operators of a racy Web site were outside the courtroom promoting what they claim to be audio of phone conversations between the singer and a friend that proves he's heterosexual.

At the trial, the climate of money-making fuels skepticism. Are jurors taking copious notes because they want to be able to thoroughly evaluate the charges against Jackson? Or do they have book deals in mind? Are police officers saving pedestrians' lives when they set up jaywalking stings on the streets outside the court campus? Or are they using the trial to boost revenue?

"This is my second one today," chirped R. Prescott, a Santa Maria Police officer, as he ticketed a Newsday reporter.

At the office of attorney Michael B. Clayton, situated across the street from the courthouse, everything is for sale: his parking lot, phone lines and roof space, which goes for $2,700 to cameramen angling for a better view of Jackson.

Clayton, a Jackson supporter who estimates he's earned $250,000 from the media since the charges were brought last year, said anyone who criticizes him for making money off the case is just jealous.

"It's not an outrage," he said. "It's business smarts."