Three years for top L.A. attorney linked to Pellicano
A prominent Los Angeles attorney was sentenced today to three years in federal prison and fined $250,000 for conspiring with Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano to wiretap billionaire Kirk Kerkorian’s ex-wife. Terry Christensen was found guilty by a federal jury in August.
A former Century City attorney known for his hardball litigation tactics, Christensen represented Kerkorian in 2002 in a contentious child support battle that grabbed tabloid headlines. Prosecutors said Christensen hired Pellicano to wiretap Kerkorian’s ex-wife, Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, who was seeking $320,000 in monthly child support for her then 4-year-old daughter, to gain an edge in the high-stakes legal battle.
Christensen’s attorneys contended their client never knew of the wiretapping and was being used by Pellicano, whose roster of celebrity clients included the father of Bonder Kerkorian’s child.
--Joanna Lin
Photo: Christensen speaks to the media in late 2003. Pat Crowe II /Associated Press.
