Un-Comfort Zone

Checking in on the latest from Anthony Pellicano (pictured) trial...as a former gal pal testifies against him

Marc Graser of Variety:

A second staffer, this time former assistant and love interest, Lily LeMasters, took the witness stand Tuesday to testify against Anthony Pellicano in the government's illegal wiretapping and racketeering case against the private detective and four co-defendants.

Just as co-worker Tarita Virtue had done last week, LeMasters identified former LAPD officer Mark Arneson, Beverly Hills cop Craig Stephens and former SBC and Pac Bell field technician Rayford Earl Turner as individuals who provided DMV and criminal records, as well as telephone numbers and wiretaps for Pellicano, in exchange for payment.

The prosecution... focused on proving to the jury that LeMasters had access to illegally obtained documents and interacted with the co-defendants Pellicano used to get them, during her five-year stint working for the Pellicano Investigative Agency.

That was especially true when it came to her dealings with Arneson, who she testified also provided surveillance work for Pellicano and served as a bodyguard to celebrities for the Grammys and Oscars. The two also went on a date once, with Arneson inviting LeMasters to his house in Long Beach for dinner, she said.

LeMasters was uncomfortable in the courtroom and reticent about questions that would clearly hurt Pellicano, but protected under immunity, she fully cooperated in describing how he conducted his business.

As Pellicano's assistant, LeMasters was in charge of the private eye's daily schedule, and opened case files, input DMV and criminal records, as well as information from credit reports on individuals being investigated for clients -- information LeMasters said came directly from Arneson, Stephens and Turner.

The working relationship with Pellicano became more intimate during her five years at the company, when the two wound up dating for more than a year, LeMasters said.

She left the company in 2001, and said she had "no animosity" against Pellicano.

LeMasters said she personally handled faxes of DMV records and criminal histories sent by Arneson and Stephens, and saw rolls of tape of phone numbers provided by Turner. Evidence introduced by Lally included faxes of database searches that included Arneson's name.

In putting together case files, LeMasters wound up reformatting DMV and criminal records to omit the names of "those who worked for" Pellicano, she testified. She also kept Pellicano's phone logs and the office's visitors' logs, again leaving out the names of Arneson, Stephens and Turner at her bosses' request...

Stay Tuned...