Ex-Milli Vanilli Member Charged in Attacks, Threats

Robert Pilatus, a member of the disgraced pop group Milli Vanilli, was charged with nine misdemeanor charges on Wednesday stemming from attacks and threats he allegedly made against Hollywood residents.

The city attorney’s office filed multiple counts of assault, as well as a probation violation, against Pilatus, 31, of North Hollywood, for incidents that occurred on Dec. 21 and last Sunday, said Deputy City Atty. William Sterling.

Pilatus is accused of trying to break into a car parked in the 900 block of South Van Ness Avenue and threatening to kill the owner when he was discovered. The owner knocked Pilatus down with an aluminum baseball bat when he saw him trying to get into the car.

On Dec. 21, Pilatus struck a man in an apartment on Whitley Avenue several times with the metal base of a lamp after the victim asked him to leave, Sterling said. Pilatus is also accused of calling the man the next day and threatening to kill him.

Pilatus has been on probation since October, when he pleaded no contest to one count of auto tampering. He now faces one count each of battery, auto tampering, attempted trespassing, prowling, threatening a crime victim, assault with a deadly weapon, making a terrorist threat, causing great bodily injury and making a threatening telephone call.

In 1990, Pilatus and former partner Fabrice Morvan were stripped of the best new artist Grammy after admitting they never sang a word on their debut album, “Girl You Know It’s True.”