Director pleads guilty in wiretapping case

LOS ANGELES, April 18 (UPI) -- "Die Hard" director John McTiernan has pleaded guilty in a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to lying about hiring a private eye to spy on a film producer.

McTiernan was accused of lying to FBI agents about his 2000 hiring of Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano to wiretap producer Charles Roven, who he worked with on the film "Rollerball," The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

McTiernan entered into a plea agreement with federal authorities Monday, making him the sixth person to plead guilty in the widening investigation of Pellicano and his associates.

It was not revealed why McTiernan hired Pellicano to spy on Roven.

Although terms of McTiernan's plea deal were sealed, the newspaper speculated he agreed to be a cooperating witness in the probe.

In a related case, the ex-wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian has filed an invasion of privacy lawsuit against AT&T, the Times said.

The government's investigation revealed a former AT&T employee helped Pellicano listen in on Lisa Bonder Kerkorian's phone conversations during her dispute with her ex-husband over child support payments.