Jackson Defense Continues Witness Attack

[b]Jackson Defense Continues Witness Attack[/b] By TIM MOLLOY, Associated Press Writer SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Michael Jackson’s attorney on Friday extended his attack on the credibility of a former maid who said she saw the singer kiss and fondle young boys, accusing her of once threatening to testify against the pop star if he didn’t give her millions of dollars. Adrian McManus, a maid at Jackson’s Neverland ranch from 1990 to 1994, testified Thursday in Jackson’s child molestation trial that she saw him kiss and fondle three boys, including one who would later receive a multimillion-dollar settlement from the singer. When she returned to the stand, defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. noted that she had in the past filed a claim against Jackson noting that she could be a “material witness” against him in a civil and criminal trial. “You were essentially threatening Mr. Jackson that you would change your testimony unless you were paid,” Mesereau said. “I’m not familiar with a lot of attorney language so I really don’t know how to answer that,” McManus said. McManus testified she was not seeking money, only justice. “But your idea of justice was millions of dollars,” Mesereau countered. “A simple ‘sorry for what we did to you’ would have been enough for me,” McManus said, but she acknowledged she never asked Jackson for an apology, saying she didn’t know how to contact him. It was not made clear specifically what McManus’ claim was for, but she was among former Neverland employees who sued Jackson in the 1990s and lost. McManus was one of two former Neverland employees who testified against him on Thursday. Former security guard Ralph Chacon said he saw Jackson kiss, fondle and perform oral sex on a boy who later received a financial settlement from the pop star. But Mesereau charged that Chacon was making the whole thing up “to get even” with the singer and portrayed McManus as a thief and a liar. Mesereau accused Chacon of having tried to “extort” $16 million from Jackson in the lawsuit and lengthy trial that the ex-employees lost. They were ultimately ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in a judgment won by Jackson. “After a six-month trial, this is a good way to get even with him, isn’t it?” Mesereau asked Chacon, drawing a strong objection from the prosecution. … But McManus also testified that when subpoenaed in the lawsuit that resulted in the 1994 settlement she did not tell attorneys that she had seen Jackson touching the boy. “I didn’t tell the truth. I said I didn’t see anything,” she said, asserting that she lied “the whole time” under oath. Mesereau also pointed out that McManus and her husband were found in a lawsuit to have defrauded three children of more than $30,500 from their estate and that in the Jackson lawsuit she was assessed $30,000 for stealing a sketch of Elvis Presley that Jackson had drawn and selling it to a tabloid. The former guard also acknowledged he was ordered to pay $25,000 for allegedly stealing Jackson’s property, which he said was only a candy bar, and that at their lawyer’s suggestion, the ex-employees sold a story to a tabloid for $17,000 to fund their lawsuit. Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/michael_jackson