Anthony Pellicano
Anthony Pellicano has been sentenced to three years in prison for threatening a Los Angeles Times journalist.
The shamed Hollywood private investigator and his associate Alexander Proctor pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday (23Oct09) after they were accused of intimidating reporter Anita Busch, who was working on a story about Steven Seagal's possible links to organised crime, reports the Associated Press.
The actor denied hiring Pellicano and wasn't charged in the case.
Proctor is alleged to have placed a dead fish with a rose in its mouth on Busch's car, put a bullet-sized hole in her windshield, and wrote a note saying 'Stop' in 2002 - all on Pellicano's orders.
A judge threw out a conspiracy charge against the pair, but sentenced them to the maximum three years in prison - and Busch is relieved the seven-year-long ordeal is finally over.
She says, "It's been a long time... for this to come to justice. I'm very glad to know that people can't threaten journalists in this country and get away with it."
An investigation into the harassment of Busch led to a wider probe into Pellicano's activities after officials searched his office and found evidence of illegal listening devices.
He was convicted of wiretapping stars including Sylvester Stallone in two trials last year and began a 15-year sentence behind bars in December (08).