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AEG exec testifies he knew Michael Jackson was taking painkillers

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Michael Jackson fans from left, Karlene Taylor, Yvonne Francis, Latrenda White and Jamie Lee, speak out against AEG Live. A jury found Wednesday that AEG Live was not liable in the death of the pop superstar.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Jury foreman Gregg Barden, center, listens to a reporter’s question about their verdict in the civil trial over the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson and three grandchildren against AEG Live in the death of singer Michael Jackson.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos gathers the verdict documents moments before they were publicly disclosed.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Attorneys for Katherine Jackson, Deborah Chang, left and Kevin Boyle listen as jurors are polled following the verdict in the civil trial that lasted for five months.   (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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AEG attorney Marvin Putnam smiles during verdict polling at the conclusion of the Katherine Jackson v. AEG Live civil trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The jury found AEG not liable in Michael Jackson’s death. AEG attorney Jessica Stebbins Bina is at left.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Brian Panish, left, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, speaks with Kathryn Cahan and Marvin Putnam, attorneys with AEG Live LLC ,in Los Angeles County Superior Court in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death trial Thursday in downtown Los Angeles.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Bailiffs are sworn in to protect the jury as Brian Panish, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, waits during the trial in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday. The singer’s family has sued the entertainment firm AEG Live LLC, saying the company negligently hired and supervised Conrad Murray, the doctor who administered the dose of propofol that killed the singer.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Brian Panish, an attorney for the Michael Jackson family, delivers his closing argument to jurors in a packed courtroom in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 24. The promoters of Michael Jackson’s last tour were “so excited” about making huge profits that they hired an unfit doctor to care for the star, his family’s lawyer said.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Marvin Putnam, lead attorney for AEG Live LLC and co-counsel Jessica Stebbins-Bina, listen to closing arguments by Michael Jackson family’s attorney, Brian Panish, in a packed courtroom Sept. 24.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Brian Panish, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, delivers his closing argument to jurors in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live LLC on Sept. 24.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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AEG attorney Marvin Putnam gives closing arguments in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case on Sept. 25.   (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos listens to a rebuttal argument in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case on Sept. 26.   (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson’s former wife and mother of two of his children, leaves Los Angeles County Superior Court after testifying at the trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, against AEG Live.  (Nick Ut / Associated Press)
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Television crews report live outside Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles on the first day of the trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit.  (Joe Klamar / AFP/Getty Images)
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In this file photo dated Sept. 27, 2011, Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson arrives outside Los Angeles County Superior Court to hear opening statement in the involuntary manslaughter trial of pop superstar Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray was convicted and sentenced to prison.   (Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images)
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Singer Janet Jackson, left, Paris Katherine Jackson, Prince Michael Jackson II and LaToya Jackson are seen on stage during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009.   (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Entertainer Michael Jackson announces on March 5, 2009, that he will play a series of comeback concerts at the London O2 Arena in July. Jackson died before the concerts could be held.   (Joel Ryan / Associated Press)
By Corina Knoll
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A high-ranking AEG executive testified Tuesday that he had known for years that Michael Jackson was taking painkillers but wasn’t aware he was abusing them until the pop singer abruptly canceled his Dangerous world tour in the early 1990s to enter rehab.

Paul Gongaware, the co-chief executive of AEG Live’s touring division Concerts West, testified that although he was the manager of the Dangerous tour and knew Jackson was being given painkillers, he didn’t know how serious the problem was until the singer made a public announcement during the tour about his decision to check into rehab.

Gongaware is a defendant along with AEG in a wrongful death suit filed by Jackson’s mother and three children that accuses the concert promotion company of negligently hiring and controlling Dr. Conrad Murray, who gave the singer a fatal dose of the surgical anesthetic propofol and is now serving jail time for involuntary manslaughter.

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FULL COVERAGE: AEG wrongful death trial

Leaning back casually in his chair as he answered questions from the Jackson family attorney, Gongaware said he knew a doctor was medicating Jackson during the Dangerous tour but did not find out why the tour was eventually cut short.

“Didn’t have time,” Gongaware said. “I was just dealing with what was in front of me.”

Gongaware, expected to be on the stand for several days, began working at Concerts West about 1976, before it was a subsidiary of AEG Live. He worked on Elvis Presley’s final tour, which ended with the performer’s death.

PHOTOS: Michael Jackson | 1958-2009

“So you knew what to expect when Michael Jackson passed away, is that right, sir?” Brian Panish asked.

“I kind of knew what was going to happen, yes,” Gongaware answered.

Before Tuesday’s court session began, the appearance of Janet Jackson sent a murmur through the small crowd gathered in the hallway. The singer hugged her mother, Katherine, as fans watched and called out, “Janet, you’re beautiful.”

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Attorneys for AEG objected to the high-profile performer sitting inside the courtroom along with her sister Rebbie.

Judge Yvette Palazuelos ruled earlier that Katherine Jackson — who has attended nearly every day since the trial began four weeks ago — is allowed only one supporter at the trial since most of her family members are on the witness list.

Palazuelos said the issue would be addressed later.

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corina.knoll@latimes.com

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Corina Knoll

Corina Knoll is a former reporter for the Metro section of the Los Angeles Times. She was on the team that investigated corruption in Bell — which led to the paper’s 2011 Pulitzer Prize for public service — and went on to cover the trials of the city’s former officials. She later contributed to the paper’s coverage of the San Bernardino terror attack that won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. As a regional reporter, she wrote features about the San Gabriel Valley and the Westside. During her courts beat, she covered high-profile criminal cases and civil disputes, including the Jackson family vs AEG and Bryan Stow vs LA Dodgers. She and two colleagues investigated sheriff’s deputies whose histories of misconduct landed them on the department’s top-secret Brady list. She left The Times in January 2019. Raised in the Midwest, she is a graduate of Macalester College.

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