LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Anthony Pellicano, the private detective known as the investigator to the stars, Tuesday was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on charges of possessing practice hand grenades and C-4 plastic explosives.
Federal prosecutors said the materials were allegedly found in Pellicano's safe last month during the course of a separate FBI investigation that reportedly involved alleged threats made to a Los Angeles Times reporter who was working on an article about an alleged organized crime extortion scheme against actor Steven Segal.
"The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department bomb squad was called to handle the materials, which were removed and examined without incident," the U.S. Attorney's office said in a brief statement. "Pellicano was arrested at his office that same day, and he was later released on $400,000 bond."
The FBI said in an affidavit that the explosives were found in a safe in Pellicano's Sunset Boulevard office during the Nov. 21 search, and that the investigator told agents they were material from a past case and that he had forgotten they were there.
Pellicano, 58, who will be arraigned before a federal magistrate on Monday, developed a controversial reputation in Hollywood as a "fixer" who frequently came to the aid of celebrities who found themselves in potential trouble with the police. His client list reportedly includes well-known names such as Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Sylvester Stallone, and Priscilla Presley.
The Chicago native made his first high-profile splash in 1977 when he located the body of Michael Todd, the third husband of Elizabeth Taylor, which had been stolen from a cemetery in suburban forest Park, Ill., ingratiating himself with the movie star.
United Press International was told by a former Chicago mobster turned government witness that in 1999 he had personally shopped around a book and movie proposal in Hollywood that accused Pellicano himself of having masterminded the grave robbery, which allegedly was launched due to the fact that a six-carat diamond ring was rumored to have been buried with the body but a final deal was never made.
Pellicano's association with Taylor led to introductions to other celebrities and eventually to high-powered Los Angeles lawyers. He moved to Los Angeles and set up Pellicano Investigative Agency in 1983.
The felony charge related to the hand grenades carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The misdemeanor charge related to the C-4 carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
