Lawyer: Ex-Jackson Workers Won’t Cut Deal

May 6, 8:38 PM EDT Lawyer: Ex-Jackson Workers Won’t Cut Deal By TIM MOLLOY Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The attorney for two former employees of Michael Jackson said Thursday they won’t cut a deal with prosecutors if they are indicted. An indictment unsealed last week in Jackson’s molestation case said the singer and multiple co-conspirators plotted to commit abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. The charges are believed to involve an attempt to intimidate Jackson’s accuser and his family. The names of the alleged co-conspirators were removed from the copy of the indictment released to the public. New York attorney Joseph Tacopina said he believes from news reports and conversations with law enforcement officials that his clients, Frank Tyson and Vince Amen, may be among those who will be indicted. Tacopina said both were invited to testify before the grand jury that heard evidence against Jackson last month. He declined to have them appear. “They didn’t do anything wrong,” Tacopina said. “I just don’t believe this is an open-minded sort of prosecution.” He also said he didn’t want to give prosecutors a “sneak preview of our defense” if his clients are charged. “If someone made the mistake of charging these guys with a crime, we would absolutely be going to trial. There would be no pleas,” he said. Legal experts have said prosecutors might seek to charge Jackson’s associates and then offer them a deal if they agreed to testify against the singer. Tyson, 23, was Jackson’s personal assistant. Tacopina said he believes prosecutors might accuse him of threatening to kill the younger brother of Jackson’s alleged victim if he told authorities Jackson had given the boy alcohol. He said prosecutors may accuse Amen, 24, who worked for Jackson’s production company, of holding the family at Jackson’s Neverland estate against their will. Tacopina said he would not make them available for comment. A message left for Amen with his mother in New Jersey was not immediately returned, nor was a message left with a cousin of Tyson’s, also in New Jersey. Jason Karpf of Tellem Worldwide, a firm handling media inquiries for prosecutors, said he had no information on any future indictments. Prosecutors have declined comment, citing a gag order. The molestations allegedly occurred while the boy, now 14, was staying at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Jackson has pleaded not guilty. :nav Source: [url=http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MICHAEL_JACKSON?SITE=TNOAK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT]http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MICHAEL_JACKSON?SITE=TNOAK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT[/url]