—The Daily Collegian Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1993 Dangerous allegations Child abuse accusations against Michael Jackson blamed on extortion attempt By MICHAEL FLEEMAN Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES Michael Jack son's ranch and another of his homes were searched by police investi gating a child abuse allegation that the pop star's security consultant blamed on an extortion attempt gone awry. Police confirmed that a com plaint has been under investigation since Aug. 17, but officials wouldn't elaborate. "We do not want to feed any wild speculation on this matter," Cmdr. David Gascon said. Jackson's security consultant, Anthony Pellicano, said people ',Jackson knew made a false child libuse complaint against the enter tainer after he refused to pay them $2O million. Search warrants were served over the weekend at Jackson's condo :minium in Los Angeles and his 14everland ranch north of the city. The warrants were sealed. "I am confident the department will conduct a fair and thorough investigation and its results will demonstrate that there was no wrongdoing on my part," Jackson said in a statement from Thailand, where he began the first leg of a world wide concert tour yesterday. Answering Machines $29.99 jiv MELIMIIMIII S STUDENT STORE - PENN STATE ROOM 414 E. College Avenue (Across from South Halls) Open 7 a.m. -- 12 midnight "This is Mr. Jackson's personal business and we think it should remain that way." Tara Carraro spokeswoman for Pepsi-Cola International Jackson hired criminal lawyer Howard Weitzman, who defended John DeLorean in a cocaine case in which the former automaker was acquitted. During a brief news conference, Weitzman read the statement from Jackson but refused to answer questions. Pellicano, who appeared with Weitzman at the news conference, said the case was "an extortion gone awry." Jackson gets 25 to 30 such extortion attempts a year, said Pellicano, who has worked for the musician for four years. "He is appalled by this thing," Pellicano said. "We had no intentions to do anything with it, we wanted to see how far they went," Pellicano said. "They made threats that they wanted to go to the district attorney's office and I says, 'Go.' I says, 'Why you waiting?' Leave.. ,e'''''a''n'''''i'''rail amiNg lig • No minimum balance requirement • Up to 10 checks or MAC uses per month •No additional charges for using another bank's ATM • Monthly maintenance fee only $3.00 1 16 E. College Avenue (Across from Old Main) 234-7320 THERE'S NO BANK CLOSER TO OLD MAIN • 2 STATE COLLEGE OFFICES "When we would not pay, a phone call was made to Child and Family Services, which started this inves tigation." Investigators for the county Department of Children's Services had no comment on the case, said spokesman Schuyler Sprowles. Jackson's personal life has long been fodder for tabloids, which have portrayed the entertainer as a strange loner, a man-child obsessed with plastic surgery, children and exot ic animals. During a February TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson said he surrounds himself with children to make up for a friendless, work aholic childhood as a performer with The Jackson Five singing group. In addition to his Bangkok con cert yesterday and one today, Jackson is to perform 15 concerts in Sing apore, Taiwan, Japan, Moscow, Israel, Turkey and the Canary Islands. "We have no reason to believe the allegations are true. This is Mr. Jackson's personal business and we think it should remain that way," said Tara Carraro, a spokeswoman for Pepsi-Cola International, spon sor of the "Dangerous" tour. Jackson's first Bangkok concert drew a sellout crowd of 40,000 at the National Stadium. AThe Student Advantage c Bank ~ _...................,..„........._....---,........ ......„ . ...... i .r..... , , , , T 0j,.,...; i ga t i...xmi0g,, i , ~.......„„:„.,,,,.,..,,,.:,.. .....,.... ----------,.. 1 • - --- ..."...."-- ...........,...... - - ---------Allll\ ~,,,,,„,„,........„.,„.:, .........,........,,,,,,,,,, riggiggiNVE*l4l.. igitnN:••....G.,-. , ....„.....„..,........,........ ...............................-- --------- iEF.',..tRi0,,,,. .."'" . .iiiiiggialnneggitgiNignairlatigfiligilr ----- ----------. &entral BanK ~ }~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~ ~ ate: ~ ~ ~ w ~~~~~ : ~°<:~w _~ ~ # >~~ƒ ~ \~\~~~ a • FREE personalized checks • FREE MAC card Michael Jackson 'NOVO V. ..V• •• Help improve PSU's academic programs plus gain valuable communication and negotiation experience! If you have an outgoing personality, Penn State Telefund may have the perfect job for you! • Hiring now for Fall positions $4.65/hr. PLUS BONUSES Applications available at 112 South Burrowes Street (next to Subway) or call: 863-3935 Checks and MAC Card •• •• O . O . •• O. 1276 N. Atherton Street (Route 322) 238-2620 AP Laser Photo
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