Prosecution Rests in Pellicano Trial

A severed rat head in a mailbox, a dead fish thrown on a car windshield, slashed tires, and hacked computers…just another day in the life of celebrity sleuth Anthony Pellicano, whose wire-tapping trial is currently taking place in Los Angeles.

A federal prosecutor gave closing arguments today in the trial, calling the celebrity sleuth a “well-paid thug,” hired to threaten, intimidate and harass foes of his clients.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Saunders carefully laid out for jurors the evidence presented during the last eight weeks, summarizing dates and times of illegal records searches and alleged harassment by the former Hollywood celebrity sleuth and his co-defendants, notes a Hollywood Reporter story.

More after the jump…

Saunders called the Pellicano Investigative Agency “a criminal organization operated by a very well-connected and very well-paid thug.”

Pellicano, who is representing himself, faces 77 charges of wiretapping and racketeering. Some of those charges were filed against co-defendant Mark Arneson, a retired L.A. Police sergeant, and retired phone company supervisor Ray Turner. All three are accused of running a criminal enterprise that includes running illegal searches on police and phone company computers.

The defense will present their closing arguments beginning Wednesday. Ah, save us all some time and money and just put the guy away now.

Image: Jane Boursaw, 2008