Posted by APRIL 7 2005 (4:45 PM ET) — More fallout from Ralph Chacon’s testimony has been reported. Among the things attorney Tom Mesereau brought out on cross-examination that that Chacon told his former landlord, Linda Allen, that he was going to be a “star witness”. Mesereau asked Chacon if he remembered telling Allen that he was going to make $2 million to $3 million dollars as a result of this situation. There was a definite tone that Mesereau was going to provide evidence, possibly through calling Allen, that Chacon was in this from the beginning for money. Mesereau also revealed that Chacon added things to his account of allegedly witnessing “molestation”. According to a report from MSNBC’s Jennifer London, Mesereau asked Chacon, “It seems to me you seem to remember more details of the alleged molestation every time you talk to the authorities.” Chacon admitted under defense questioning that there were new things he told the police that he supposedly “recently remembered.” Yeah, right. Some observers have pointed out that memory normally doesn’t improve over the span of 10 years; it usually gets fuzzier not clearer. Thus these recently remembered acts are already suspicious, they say. But that’s not all. In a sworn deposition given previously by Chacon, he said he thought Jackson should “compensate him for life”. This was brought out by Mesereau, of course. More info as we get it.
APRIL 7 2005 (2:47 PM ET) — Ralph Chacon has completed cross-examination after being completely leveled by Tom Mesereau on the stand. Adrian McManus, another member of the Neverland Five, has taken the witness stand to make allegations against Jackson. McManus was again part of that $60 M wrongful termination lawsuit that they lost against Jackson. She was also a member of the group that got countersued by Jackson. She too talked to a tabloid first and didn’t call the police. She was also one of the former employees who were found to have stolen personal items from Neverland and sold them to the tabloids. Not only did McManus have to pay her share of $1 million in legal fees to Jackson, that the judge awarded, but she also had to pay Jackson $35,000 in damages for stealing and selling information and material to those tabloids. Earlier, we learned that Chacon had to pay Jackson $25,000 on top of his share of the $1 million in legal fees awarded to Jackson. According to reports, there was also a section of the cross-examination where Mesereau asked Chacon if he had ever told anyone Jackson wasn’t a child molester. Chacon denied it on the stand. But Mesereau asked a question possibly foreshadowing future witness(es) who may be called by the defense saying Chacon told them that Jackson did not molest anyone. Chacon was also asked about telling other people that Michael Jackson should take care of him (Chacon) for the rest of his life. More info as it becomes available. Any details about McManus’s cross will also be posted.
APRIL 7 2005 (2:15PM ET) — As expected, in a very short period of time, Jackson attorney Tom Mesereau completely destroyed Ralph Chacon’s credibility on the stand today, after he claimed he witnessed molestations in progress that he didn’t stop or report to the police. According to reports, under cross-examination Mesereau brought up the fact that Chacon was one of 5 employees that sued Jackson for a whopping $60M in a wrongful termination lawsuit and lost. Not only did they lose, but they lost big time in a countersuit Jackson filed against them. The judge in that $60M civil case not only awarded Jackson $1 million dollars in legal fees and court costs, but there was a judgment against Chacon for malice and fraud perpetrated by him and others against Jackson. According to reports, Chacon was ordered to pay not only his part of that $1 million, but had to pay Jackson $25,000 for that fraud and malice judgment. As a result, Chacon had to file for bankruptcy. Further, Mesereau revealed that Chacon and other former Neverland employees met with their attorney with a tabloid reporter from “Star” magazine. It appears to be the defense’s contention that these people, including Chacon, went to the tabloids to get negative publicity against Jackson in hopes of forcing Jackson to settle that $60M lawsuit, instead of taking them to court. Obviously that didn’t work. You can check out Savannah Guthrie’s report about his cross here: :camera Court TV: Guthrie talks about Chacon cross April 7 2005 More info as we get it.
APRIL 7 2005 (12:53 PM ET) — Former security guard Ralph Chacon is on the stand testifying about alleged incidences he claims he witnessed against the 1993 accuser. Chacon never picked up the phone and called the police after these alleged acts he claims to have witnessed. A little background information about Chacon is required here. He is a part of a group of five former employees who reportedly sued Jackson for wrongful termination. He was also one of the ones who were found to have stolen personal items from Jackson’s Neverland ranch and sold them to tabloids. He, too, sold his alleged “witness” story to the tabloids without going to the police. He lost the lawsuit against Jackson and lost a countersuit Jackson filed against him and the others. As a result, Chacon was ordered to pay Jackson $25,000 in damages with the jury finding that he acted with malice. And this is only the information we know about thus far. When cross-examination of Chacon begins, we’ll let you know. Stay tuned for up-to-the-minute updates at the following: http://forums.mjeol.com/showthread.php?t=5460