by Diane on February 15, 2010
The Face of Domestic Abuse?
Inside a cozy courtroom in Aspen, Colorado this week I came face to face with Carlos Irwin Estevez as he appeared to face multiple domestic abuse charges. I said hello. He remained silent.
This is a man whose past is littered with complaints from the women in his life. One of his ex-wives alleges he became absorbed in pornography, abused alcohol and street drugs and threatened her safety. Several of his past female companions worked in the porn industry and he once shot a girlfriend in the arm. He’s been in and out of rehab for cocaine abuse and court ordered probation violations but still he keeps popping up on law enforcement’s radar. So far he’s avoided prison time.
On this day Estevez was dressed in somber black, including his skinny tie and horn-rimmed glasses. He was memorable for what he wasn’t wearing. He’d left his trademark smirk and cocky bad boy attitude back home in Los Angeles where he makes a multi-million dollar living as an actor…. [click to continue…]
by Diane on December 28, 2009
Number One Threat - Terrorism
W ith the year end celebrations mostly behind us it’s time to look ahead. 2010 is just days away and as I do every year here’s my wish list for a year filled with better news on the crime and justice beat.
My top wish is for everyone to truly understand the threat anti-American terrorism still holds for our country. To highlight that I wish the upcoming trials in New York for the 9-11 terror suspects would be televised. Just as the Watergate hearings enlightened America … [click to continue…]
by Diane on December 14, 2009
Let's Talk About Crime!
It’s time again to give you a say on what you read in this space. Your recent letters have ranged from praise to rage – on crime and justice topics as diverse as prison reform, child molesters and crime statistics. Some of you dislike this column so much you can’t wait to read it every week just so you can write me with a complaint.
I like that.
If my words do nothing more than open your mind about important national topics then I’ve done my job. It doesn’t matter if you agree with me or not. It’s social enlightenment and dialogue I’m after… [click to continue…]
by Diane on November 30, 2009
Alamo - Guilty - 175 Years in Prison!
On this Thanksgiving weekend I want to tell you about a group of young people who are giving thanks for the first time in their lives. This year they are extremely thankful that their tormentor, the self proclaimed preacher Tony Alamo, has finally been brought to justice.
In U.S. District Court in Texarkana, Arkansas the 75 year old Alamo was recently sentenced to 175 years in prison on charges of engaging in sex with minor members of his so-called “church.” One of the five brides identified was just 8 years old. My sources, escapees of the church, tell me there were many more Alamo brides.
Alamo’s real name is Bernie LaZar Hoffman. He was a phony from the get-go. Back in the early 70’s he and his wife, Susan, dreamed up the “Alamo Christian Ministries” to rescue drugged out homeless people from the streets of Hollywood. They gave the unfortunates a cot to sleep on, food to eat, a rousing sermon and an odd job or two to perform as payback. City fathers donated money to show appreciation for the more tourist friendly streets. [click to continue…]
by Diane on November 2, 2009
TV Dad Jon Gosselin
I got the opportunity recently to spend time with two of America’s most talked about Dads: Jon Gosselin, of the “Jon and Kate plus Eight” television show and Richard Heene, the man behind the recent so-called Balloon Boy Hoax.
Let me just say: Long gone are the TV Dads like Fred MacMurray in “My Three Sons” or Hugh Beaumont from “Leave it to Beaver.”
I went to court with the Gosselins in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania – twice – as they tried to hash out … [click to continue…]
by Diane on October 5, 2009
How Many Young Girls Were There?
Don’t be distracted by the recent debate over whether fugitive movie director Roman Polanski should return to America and do time for sex crimes.
Don’t let ill-informed daytime talk show hostesses convince you it wasn’t really a crime.
Don’t get distracted by Hollywood types who claim the deed was done more than 30 years ago and poor Polanski has been through enough in his life. After all, they argue, Polanski lost family in the Holocaust and his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was brutally murdered by Charlie Manson’s gang.
Don’t let the media convince you that angry prosecutors, stung by an HBO documentary on the case, suddenly sprang to life to go after a case they’d abandoned. That’s been proven to be malarkey and structured around a former DA who now he admitted he lied about influencing the judge in the original case.
All of that is beside the point. This case boils down to a few simple questions. [click to continue…]
by Diane on August 10, 2009
Back on American Soil
Who among us wasn’t moved to tears by the recent video of journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling as they stepped back on to American soil after having been held captive by the North Koreans for 140 days? Lee bounded down the steps of a private jet at the Burbank, California airport on Wednesday, her arms outstretched to her tiny 4 year old daughter, Hanna, her eyes locked on her husband. Ling pumped her arms in the air as she descended, then fought back sobs when she spotted her husband and her family on the tarmac.
After being captured at the Chinese-North Korean border during an assignment about human trafficking the journalists, employees of former vice president Al Gore’s Current TV, were subjected to a swift trial and were each sentenced to 12 years of “hard labor.”
It’s wonderful these two women are now home. But at the risk of sounding like a killjoy may I just say … [click to continue…]
by Diane on July 27, 2009
Brains Reveal Secrets
Imagine the hushed, sterile atmosphere of an autopsy room. A body arrives and a team of forensic experts quietly gets to work to try to determine cause of death. Scientific evidence is gathered to determine whether a crime was committed to cause the death, whether it occurred from natural, unavoidable causes or if it was death by suicide.
In many cases, such as that of retired NFL quarterback Steve McNair, the cause of death is pretty obvious. McNair, was found sprawled on his condo’s couch, shot twice in the head and twice in the chest. Nearby was the dead body of his 20 year old mistress, a gun underneath her. It was quickly ruled a murder/suicide.
But other deaths are not so clear cut. Take the case of 50 year old infomercial scream-seller Billy Mays … [click to continue…]
by Diane on July 19, 2009
Christmas Time With "Uncle Arnie", Who Now Says He's the Real Daddy of Two
As I’ve already reported in this space the mystery sperm donor for Michael Jackson’s two oldest children, 12 year old Prince Michael and 11 year old Paris Katherine, is Jackson’s dermatologist for the last 25 years.
Now, the London Daily Mirror reports the beleaguered Dr. Arnold Klein, already in the cross hairs of a joint DEA/LAPD investigation into whether he illegally wrote prescription drug orders for Jackson, plans to jump into the official custody battle for the kids. According to this report Klein has told friends he wants to take a DNA test and prove once and for all he is the Baby Daddy.
No word on whether Dr. Klein would also want to take custody of 7 year old Blanket whose parentage is still a mystery. In nearly every instance judges like to keep siblings together. My question is why Klein’s sudden interest in playing Daddy? Does he think law enforcement might ease up on him if he’s suddenly responsible for children?
QUOTES FROM THE LONDON DAILY MIRROR :
“Now the 64-year-old millionaire has told friends that he IS the biological father, he wants to bring them up and he is consulting lawyers about his options. A custody application filed with Los Angeles Superior Court in which Klein formally acknowledges he is Prince Michael and Paris’s father would be one of the most sensational developments yet in the entire Michael Jackson saga.
Klein’s intervention threatens to throw into total chaos the custody deal that was pending between the children’s biological mother, Debbie Rowe, and Jackson’s mother Katherine. A well-placed source, who is close friends with one of Klein’s inner circle, told the Sunday Mirror yesterday: “Arnie is planning to fight for custody of Prince Michael and Paris. “He says he can prove he is their father with Debbie.” via Michael Jackson’s doctor to stake custody claim on his kids saying: ‘I’m the daddy’ – mirror.co.uk.”
Now that Dr. Klein apparently plans to fight for custody. Boy, this could really get ugly. And the kids are the real victims.
The End Result of Confidential Sources
Every investigative journalist must rely on confidential sources. Their inside information is the only way truth leaks out from government, institutions, corporations or celebrity entourages. And every good investigative journalist will tell you that what a single source says is never enough. You take the information from the source but then you must confirm it in other ways before making it public. Confirmation can come from other inside sources, from public documents, from sworn testimony – from all sorts of corroborating subjects. My most visible investigative efforts have come from my work looking into entertainer Michael Jackson. My work began in 1993, with the first allegations of child molestation against Jackson, were renewed in 2003 when a second young boy’s claims caused the story to erupt again and culminated when I covered the Jackson’s criminal trial in 2005. I wrote a book about my findings. All this work flowed from those brave enough (yes, brave enough) to come forward to reveal what they thought was important information. Some said they were sick at heart that children were being molested, some told me they feared for Jackson’s physical safety because of his addictions to drugs and alcohol, some were members of law enforcement and child protective services upset that the system was bending to celebrity worship. Since Michael Jackson’s death I’ve been flooded with e-mails, both admiring and attacking, about this body of work. I’ve been astounded that some angry Jackson fans continue to demand I give up my sources. They feel that what I’ve been reporting over all these years cannot possibly be true because I haven’t revealed the genesis of the information. In the forward to my book, “Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case,” I take special pains to thank all those countless sources of information I’ve had on the Jackson story. I wrote, “To all my sources over the years; you helped me understand the nuances. I couldn’t have asked for better navigators over difficult waters. A reporter’s work is only as good as her sources. Most of you were seeking truth as was I.” So to all those Jackson fans who continue to write in, adamant that I reveal where I’ve gotten my information: It’s not going to happen. 
