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Two Santa Monica offices searched in Jackson case
NEWS-PRESS STAFF REPORT
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department investigators reportedly
searched the Santa Monica offices of charter plane company Xtra
Jet and of Air Apparent, a Los Angeles travel agency, apparently
in connection with the Michael Jackson child molestation case.
Both firms were searched Thursday and Friday, according to cable
show "Celebrity Justice."
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Chris Pappas declined Saturday to say
whether a search warrant was executed, citing Santa Barbara County
Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville's gag order prohibiting
all parties involved in Mr. Jackson's case from commenting.
But an Xtra Jet employee did appear to have some knowledge of it,
declining to comment but at the same time asking where the story
broke.
During the search, Xtra Jet reportedly agreed to turn over flight
records and a passenger profile describing Mr. Jackson's flight
preference for Kentucky Fried Chicken. A flight attendant told authorities
she would serve him wine in soda cans, according to previous reports
by the cable show.
A Vanity Fair article reported that Mr. Jackson allegedly gave
children wine in soda cans, which he called "Jesus juice."
Investigators were reportedly interested in Xtra Jet's record of
a trip to Florida taken by Mr. Jackson's accuser and his family,
right around the time that Martin Bashir's "Living With Michael
Jackson" documentary aired, according to Celebrity Justice.
Mr. Jackson's lawyers sued Xtra Jet in November following the discovery
of a video recording of the pop star's flight to Santa Barbara to
answer child molestation charges.
The secret cameras placed on the charter plane are now at the center
of a formal criminal federal grand jury probe.
Mr. Jackson's travel agent, Cynthia Montgomery, claims the singer
has yet to pay for the flight, and she in turn sued him last month
for the $18,000 she says she fronted for the flight.
Investigators also seized information from Air Apparent, Mr. Jackson's
travel agency, including various flight records. Calls to the firm
Saturday were not returned.
In December, the entertainer was charged with seven felony counts
of committing a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 and two
felony counts of administering an intoxicating agent to commit child
molestation. Some of the counts are special allegations, which if
proved mandate a prison sentence.
This is the latest in a series of raids that have been conducted
by local investigators since the singer's Neverland Valley Ranch
was searched in November. On that same day, sheriff's investigators
searched the West Hills home of a videographer on the Jackson TV
special and the Los Angeles offices of a film company.
In January, the Sheriff's Department searched the Calabasas home
of F. Marc Schaffel, a former associate of Mr. Jackson.
Two years ago, Mr. Schaffel executive-produced the singer's star-studded
benefit single "What More Can I Give," a Sept. 11 song
that became a too-hot property when the producer's ties to the gay
pornography industry surfaced. The singer's advisers reportedly
asked Sony Music to drop the single after that disclosure.
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