2 UK accused of stealing Jackson music from Sony

Two men have been charged in Britain with hacking into Sony Music’s computers and stealing music, the company and British police said Monday. A person familiar with the situation said the hackers had obtained unreleased Michael Jackson tracks.

Sony Music Entertainment spokeswoman Liz Young said the company noticed a breach of its systems in May, “and immediately took steps to secure the site and notify authorities. As a result, the two suspects were arrested.”

She said no customer data were compromised in the attack on the company’s internal music-sharing system.

Sony would not confirm how much music was stolen or what artists were involved. But a person familiar with the situation, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Monday that the suspects were Jackson fans and had taken his music, including unreleased material.

The year after the King of Pop’s 2009 death, Sony signed a 7-year deal with his estate, worth up to $250 million, to sell his unreleased recordings.

Britain’s Serious Organized Crime Agency said two suspects were arrested in May and charged in September with computer misuse and copyright offenses.

James Marks, 26, and James McCormick, 25, appeared at Leicester Crown Court in central England on Friday and pleaded not guilty. They were freed on bail and are due to stand trial in January.

The case is not believed to be linked to Anonymous or Lulz Security – loose-knit hackers’ collectives, broadly sympathetic to the WikiLeaks’ secret-spilling site – who have targeted government and corporate websites around the world.

Last year, hackers targeted Sony Playstation and Sony Online Entertainment networks, compromising personal information, email addresses and the security of millions of users accounts. At the time, Lulz Security claimed responsibility for the hack.

 

Whitney Houston to be buried next to father

Whitney Houston’s final resting place will be next to her father, John Russell Houston Jr.

Houston will be laid to rest at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey, after funeral services this weekend, a source close to the family confirmed. Houston’s father was buried there in 2003.

Fifteen hundred guests are expected to attend the private funeral services including Aretha Franklin, Clive Davis and Stevie Wonder. Houston, who was 48, died in Beverly Hills, the day before the Grammy awards.

The funeral service will be held at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark.

Jackson estate sues former manager over contracts

Michael Jackson’s estate sued the singer’s former manager on Friday, claiming he lined his own pockets by persuading the pop superstar to sign unconscionable contracts in the final year of his life.

The lawsuit against Tohme R. Tohme came after more than a year of wrangling between Jackson’s estate and the former adviser who has claimed he is owed 15 percent of the more than $310 million collected by the estate since the singer’s death.

The lawsuit seeks the return of Jackson’s property and financial records along with damages and a ruling that Tohme is not entitled to any money from the estate.

The contracts involved a refinancing of Jackson’s debt related to Neverland Ranch and a producer’s fee that Tohme negotiated for himself for Jackson’s series of planned comeback concerts in London.

“This lawsuit is necessary to finally put a stop to abuse of fiduciary obligations owed to Jackson and seeks to unwind the self-serving and unconscionable agreements (Tohme) encouraged Jackson to enter into” and to compensate the estate for failing to return Jackson’s property, the complaint states.

Tohme’s attorney Paul Malingagio did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Friday.

Tohme served as Jackson’s manager from January 2008 until March 2009.

Estate attorney Howard Weitzman wrote in a statement that he expects Jackson’s former manager to file his own lawsuit to try to gain money from the estate.

“We believe the facts will show that Mr. Tohme’s claims are meritless and that Mr. Tohme engaged in wrongdoing with respect to Michael Jackson starting early in their relationship,” Weitzman wrote.

The lawsuit states that Tohme forced Jackson to pay him a finder’s fee for introducing the singer to a group that saved Neverland Ranch from foreclosure. That deal earned Tohme more than $2.4 million and was just one of several deals he was involved in that the estate claims improperly benefited the adviser.

Tohme also negotiated a producer’s fee of $100,000 a month for the “This Is It” shows planned in London, although Jackson died before the concert series began.

The legal action also alleges that Tohme improperly signed away the rights to artwork created by Jackson.

Tohme told The Associated Press in July 2009 that he had turned over more than $5 million to Jackson’s estate that the singer had stockpiled to purchase a “dream home” in Las Vegas.

In September 2010, Tohme sought more than $2.3 million from the estate and claimed he was owed 15 percent of revenue from the film “This Is It,” which used footage from Jackson’s final rehearsals.

Tohme was credited as Jackson’s personal adviser in the film.

Jackson doc won’t be asked to pay restitution

Prosecutors will not seek restitution against the doctor convicted of killing Michael Jackson after conferring with the singer’s parents and attorneys for his estate and children.

The request for payments from Conrad Murray was withdrawn Wednesday during a brief court hearing, just days before a judge was scheduled to consider how much the former cardiologist should pay to members of Jackson’s family or his estate.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren told the judge handling the case that he was withdrawing the restitution request after speaking with Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and attorney for his father, Joseph. Walgren also consulted with an attorney for the singer’s estate and a court-appointed attorney representing the interests of Jackson’s three children, a transcript of the proceedings shows.

Murray remains in jail after being convicted in November of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to serve four years in jail, but his incarceration will be cut in half due to overcrowding and California’s budget crunch.

Jackson’s estate estimated the singer would have earned at least $100 million if he had performed his “This Is It” concerts planned for London’s O2 arena. Murray might have also been found liable for Jackson’s funeral expenses, which totaled more than $1.8 million. Murray’s attorneys said he had nowhere near the money to pay either amount, and he filed paperwork last month indicating he is indigent.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor ruled that the family was waiving its right to restitution permanently, although two separate cases pending in a Los Angeles civil court seek damages against for the King of Pop’s June 2009 death. Katherine Jackson is suing concert giant AEG Live, which was promoting Jackson’s planned series of comeback concerts, claiming they failed to properly supervise Murray.

Joseph Jackson is suing AEG Live, alleging negligence by the entertainment promoter in his son’s death, and he is suing Murray for wrongful death in the case.

A phone message left for Murray’s attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, was not immediately returned. He indicated during Wednesday’s hearing that he intends to seek bail for Murray while he appeals his conviction, according to the transcript, but was told to put the request in writing.

Michael Jackson house contents sell for nearly $1M

The contents of the home where Michael Jackson lived with his three children just before his death have sold for nearly $1 million at auction.

Darren Julien, president of Julien’s Auctions, was unable to provide a more specific figure as he continued to tally the totals Saturday after the daylong auction, which brought in nearly triple the company’s pre-auction estimate of $200,000 to $400,000.

Among the highlights: A kitchen chalkboard where Jackson’s children wrote “I love daddy,” which sold for $5,000, and an armoire upon which Jackson wrote a message to himself on the mirror that fetched $25,750.

The auction also included furniture, artwork and other items from the rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive, where Jackson lived as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts in London before his death in June, 2009.

The headboard from the bed where Jackson died at age 50 was removed from the auction at the family’s request, but the rug that was beneath the bed sold for $15,360. The estimate had been $400 to $600.

Julien’s Auctions re-created the mansion inside its Beverly Hills showroom and invited fans to fill the space where the bed would have been with a tribute to the late King of Pop. Julien promised to deliver all of the tribute items to Jackson’s children and family matriarch Katherine Jackson.

“Michael Jackson has the greatest fans in the world. I can see why he lived for them,” Julien said. “They came out every day this week to bring gifts. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen as it relates to a celebrity and their fans.”

Julien’s Auctions has conducted auctions for dozens of celebrities, including Cher, Barbra Streisand, William Shatner and Slash.

Jackson commissioned the company to sell the contents of his Neverland Ranch before the auction was called off in early 2009. Julien’s also sold Jackson’s famous “Thriller” jacket for $1.8 million earlier this year.

Judge approves pay bump for Jackson estate execs

A judge approved a pay bump Monday for the executors of Michael Jackson’s estate who turned the debt-ridden singer’s portfolio into a business that has earned hundreds of millions of dollars since his death.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff allowed attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain to bill the estate separately for their professional services, which include entertainment-related legal counsel and use of a recording studio founded by Marvin Gaye.

Attorneys for Branca and McClain sought the change, saying the executors spend an increasing amount of time on Jackson’s estate and have been paying legal expenses to Branca’s firm out of their share of the earnings.

The men agreed in February 2010 to accept 10 percent of the gross entertainment-related earnings of the estate, minus money generated by Jackson’s 50 percent interest in the Sony-ATV music catalog and earnings from “This Is It,” a film compiled from the singer’s final rehearsals.

The exclusions are huge revenue generators for the estate – the Sony-ATV catalog includes publishing rights to music by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and other stars. The executors also have been excluded an interest in Jackson’s music, which has sold briskly since his death June 25 at age 50.

Since then, the estate has earned more than $310 million.

Branca and McClain have been earning closer to 7 percent of the estate’s entertainment-related earnings, as the estate has become a “massive entertainment business enterprise,” court filings state.

Branca and McClain said they are spending more time developing Jackson projects than anticipated, including music, video games and a touring Cirque-du-Soleil show that will eventually become a Las Vegas fixture.

Under the deal approved Monday, Branca’s firm Ziffren Brittenham LLP will now receive 3 percent of entertainment-related income generated by Jackson’s estate.

Estate attorney Howard Weitzman said the firm was performing work that would cost more than $2 million a year if it was being handled by another firm, and court filings state that a traditional entertainment estate would include additional managers and attorneys who would receive up to 30 percent of the estate’s overall revenue.

There was no estimate for how much McClain’s billings may be. He bought and restored Gaye’s former Los Angeles studio in 1997, christening it Marvin’s Room, and Jackson and other top singers have recorded music there.

The estate benefits Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and the singer’s three children, Prince, Paris and Blanket. They received an initial $30 million payment on the estate’s proceeds earlier this year.

Attorneys for Katherine Jackson and the children had no objection to augmenting the compensation for Branca and McClain. Meg Lodise, who represents the children’s interest, said, “It is quite clear that what they’re proposing is going to be fair to the estate.”

Weitzman told Beckloff that the estate has recently resolved creditors’ claims worth at least $11 million and is working to resolve any other valid outstanding debts. Jackson died with an estimated $400 million in debts, but renewed interest in his music and career have fattened the estate’s accounts, which listed $90 million in cash on hand in a September court filing.

 

Jackson doctor seeks court-paid lawyer for appeal

The doctor convicted of killing Michael Jackson asked a court Tuesday to appoint a publicly funded attorney to handle his appeal because he cannot afford to hire counsel.

Dr. Conrad Murray filed an amended notice of appeal stating he is indigent and unable to pay for an appellate lawyer to try to overturn his involuntary manslaughter conviction.

The 58-year-old cardiologist intends to argue his case before the California 2nd District Court of Appeal, based in Los Angeles.

Murray’s filing states that a court-appointed attorney would decide how to frame the appeal after reviewing transcripts and rulings from the case.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that felony convicts have a constitutional right to assistance of counsel.

A jury convicted Murray last month in Jackson’s June 2009 death. Murray is expected to serve roughly two years in jail, half of the four-year sentence that Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor handed down on Nov. 29.

Murray’s had sought to present evidence to jurors about Jackson’s finances, details of his deal for a series of comeback concerts, and information about other doctors treating the pop superstar. But the judge refused and stated the trial would be about Murray’s care of the singer.

The Houston-based doctor had been giving Jackson nightly doses of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid. The drug is normally given in hospital settings with extensive monitoring equipment, but testimony showed Murray had only basic equipment and left Jackson’s bedside on the morning of his death.

Pastor has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 23 to decide whether to order Murray to pay any restitution to Jackson’s family or reimburse them for funeral expenses, which totaled more than $1.8 million.

Jackson’s estate estimated the singer would have earned at least $100 million if he had performed his “This Is It” concerts planned for London’s O2 arena.

Murray will lose his medical license. He remains in a single-man cell in the Men’s Central Jail, which is the address he listed on his appeals filings.

 

 

Michael Jackson fans leave tribute at auction site

Karen Jackson and Kiki Stafford were moved to tears as they walked among the items that surrounded Michael Jackson in his final days: The Victorian baby grand piano, the wooden armoire where Jackson had written a note to himself on the mirror, the kitchen chalkboard where his children inscribed the message, “I love daddy.”

Jackson, 57, and Stafford, 47, were among dozens of Michael Jackson fans who got an early look at items that will be sold at auction from the singer’s final home – and left behind tributes to the King of Pop.

Julien’s Auctions announced last month that it would sell the contents of the sprawling home where the singer died in 2009. On Sunday, the company invited Jackson fans to preview its exhibit of the home’s art and furnishings before it opens to the public Monday. Fans were also invited to leave pictures, cards, flowers, notes and other handmade trinkets that will be delivered to the Jackson family.

“This means a lot, because we don’t have a place to go” to leave things for the family, said Christine Tucker, spokeswoman for the Official Michael Jackson Fans of Southern California. About 25 members of the fan club spent the weekend making and delivering glitter-covered cards and handmade Christmas ornaments for the tribute at Julien’s Auctions.

“He inspires us to create. We make these beautiful things and we want his kids and his mom to see it,” she said.

Karen Jackson stayed up all night working on her creation: A charm-covered chain anchored by a metal “M” that includes tiny photos of Prince, Paris and Blanket.

“I’ve been working on this for a year,” she said. “I hadn’t finished it because I didn’t know how to get it to them.”

Darren Julien, president of Julien’s Auctions, said he sought permission from the Jackson estate to include fans in the auction exhibit, and family matriarch Katherine Jackson requested that he deliver any handmade items from fans to her.

“They put their hearts into it because they want the kids and Mrs. Jackson to see how much love they have for Michael,” Julien said. “Michael Jackson has played such an important part in our careers and lives, and this is a fun way to give back. This is Michael’s VIP reception.”

Julien’s Auctions was commissioned to sell the contents of Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in April, 2009. The company sold Jackson’s “Thriller” jacket for $1.8 million over the summer and his signature spangled glove for $350,000 in 2009.

For the auction of items from Jackson’s rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive, Julien’s Auctions re-created the home’s various rooms inside its Beverly Hills showroom. There’s a formal dining room anchored by a long table and 10 carved chairs, an elegant living room with damask sofas, and several bedrooms – including the one where Jackson died.

The headboard of that bed was removed from the auction at his family’s request, so fans filled the space where the bed would have been with their tribute.

“Team MJ San Diego loves Michael Jackson,” one note spelled out in foil letters. “We miss you,” read another. Fans also left flowers and plush toys, drawings and letters.

“I’m glad the headboard’s not there,” said Stafford, who left behind a poem she’d written about Jackson.

Among the lots available for sale, fans were most interested in photographing the armoire with Jackson’s handwritten message (expected to sell for at least $6,000) and the chalkboard note from his children (expected to fetch more than $400).

Other items for sale include carved wooden tables, antique statues and various framed paintings.

Julien said he wanted Jackson’s fans to be part of the exhibit “not because they’re going to buy anything, but to honor his legacy.”

Fans are welcome to add to the tribute throughout the week, he said. The exhibit of items from 100 North Carolwood Drive is free and open to the public. The auction will be held Saturday.

Michael Jackson doctor files appeals notice in LA

The doctor sentenced to four years behind bars for causing Michael Jackson’s death has filed a notice that he intends to appeal the conviction.

Conrad Murray signed a one-page document that was filed in Los Angeles on Friday seeking all records and transcripts from the case. The filing does not indicate the basis on which Murray will argue to overturn his conviction or sentence.

The 58-year-old was sentenced Tuesday to four years in jail for his involuntary manslaughter conviction, but the term will be automatically cut in half.

Murray’s challenge will be heard by a state appeals court in Los Angeles, assuming he files an opening brief at a later date.

Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor blasted Murray’s conduct on Tuesday, calling him a disgrace to the medical profession.

 

 

Jackson doctor called suicidal after verdict

The doctor convicted in the overdose death of Michael Jackson was sentenced to the maximum four years behind bars Tuesday by a judge who denounced him as a reckless physician whose actions were a “disgrace to the medical profession.”

Dr. Conrad Murray sat stoically with his hands crossed as Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor repeatedly chastised him for what he called a “horrific violation of trust” while caring for Jackson.

However, Pastor conceded his sentence was constrained by a recent change in California law that requires Murray to serve his sentence in county jail rather than state prison.

Sheriff’s officials later said Murray will serve a little less than two years behind bars while housed in a one-man cell and kept away from other prisoners.

“This is going to be a real test of our criminal justice system to see if it’s meaningful at all,” District Attorney Steve Cooley said.

Cooley said he was considering asking the judge to modify the sentence to classify the crime as a serious felony warranting incarceration in state prison.

The judge was relentless in his bashing of the 58-year-old Murray, saying he lied repeatedly and had not shown remorse for his actions in the treatment of Jackson. Pastor also said Murray’s heavy use of the powerful anesthetic propofol to help Jackson battle insomnia violated his sworn obligation.

“It should be made very clear that experimental medicine is not going to be tolerated, and Mr. Jackson was an experiment,” Pastor said. “Dr. Murray was intrigued by the prospect and he engaged in this money for medicine madness that is simply not going to be tolerated by me.”

Pastor also said Murray has “absolutely no sense of fault, and is and remains dangerous” to the community.

The judge said.one of the most disturbing aspects of Murray’s case was a slurred recording of Jackson recovered from the doctor’s cell phone.

“That tape recording was Dr. Murray’s insurance policy,” Pastor said. “It was designed to record his patient surreptitiously at that patient’s most vulnerable point.”

Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan contended that nothing said during the hearing would have changed the judge’s mind about the sentence.

Michael Jackson’s family told Pastor in a statement read earlier that they were not seeking revenge but wanted Murray to receive a stiff sentence that served as a warning to opportunistic doctors.

It included elements from Jackson’s parents, siblings and his three children.

“As his brothers and sisters, we will never be able to hold, laugh or perform again with our brother Michael,” the statement said. “And as his children, we will grow up without a father, our best friend, our playmate and our dad.”

The family told The Associated Press after the sentencing that they were pleased with the results.

“We’re going to be a family. We’re going to move forward. We’re going to tour, play the music and miss him,” brother Jermaine Jackson said.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a six-week trial that presented the most detailed account yet of Jackson’s final hours but left many questions about Murray’s treatment of the superstar with propofol.

The jury heard the recording of Jackson during the trial but defense attorneys never explained in court why Murray recorded the impaired singer six weeks before his death.

“We have to be phenomenal,” he was heard saying about his “This Is It” comeback concerts in London. “When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, `I’ve never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. I’ve never seen nothing like this. Go. It’s amazing. He’s the greatest entertainer in the world.’”

Before sentencing, lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff attacked Jackson, as he and his team frequently did during the doctor’s trial. “Michael Jackson was a drug seeker,” he said.

Murray did not directly address the court. After sentencing, he mouthed the words “I love you” to his mother and girlfriend in the courtroom.

Murray’s mother, Milta Rush, sat alone on a bench in the courthouse hallway after the sentencing.

“My son is not what they charged him to be,” she said quietly. “He was a gentle child from the time he was small. “

A probation report released after sentencing said Murray was listed as suicidal and mentally disturbed in jail records before his sentencing.

However, Murray’s spokesman Mark Fierro said a defense attorney visited the cardiologist in jail last week and found him upbeat.

“That time is behind him,” Fierro said. “He’s a resilient man.”

Murray was not interviewed by probation officers.

Jackson’s death in June 2009 stunned the world, as did the ensuing investigation that led to Murray being charged in February 2010.

Murray told detectives he had been giving the singer nightly doses of propofol to help him sleep as he prepared for the series of comeback concerts.

Propofol is supposed to be used in hospital settings and has never been approved for sleep treatments, yet Murray acknowledged giving it to Jackson then leaving the room on the day the singer died.

Murray declined to testify during his trial but did opt to participate in a documentary in which he said he didn’t consider himself guilty of any crime and blamed Jackson for entrapping him into administering the propofol doses. His attorneys contended throughout the case that Jackson must have given himself the fatal dose when Murray left the singer’s bedside.

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors cited Murray’s statements to advocate for the maximum term. They also want him to pay restitution to the singer’s three children – Prince, Paris and Blanket.

The amount Murray has to pay will be determined at a hearing in January.

“Anything over a couple of dollars, he’s not going to be able to pay anyway,” Flanagan said.

Murray was deeply in debt when he agreed to serve as Jackson’s personal physician for $150,000 a month, and the singer died before Murray received any money.

Prosecutors said the relationship of Jackson and Murray was corrupted by greed. Murray left his practices to serve as Jackson’s doctor and look out for his well-being, but instead acted as an employee catering to the singer’s desire to receive propofol to put him to sleep, prosecutors said.

Murray’s attorneys relied largely on 34 letters from relatives, friends and former patients to portray Murray in a softer light and win a lighter sentence. The letters and defense filings described Murray’s compassion as a doctor, including accepting lower payments from his mostly poor patients.

“There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected,” defense attorneys wrote in their sentencing memo.