Holden Sex Case Fallout: Searching for Deep Pockets

Tales of politics, strange bedfellows and people who say the darndest things.

Political wife Michelle Holden already has copped a plea and is on probation for having sex with her 15-year-old male baby-sitter. End of story, right?

No such luck. Now come the civil lawsuits and the never-ending search for the deep pockets.

First the baby-sitter sued Holden, whose husband, Chris, sits on Pasadena’s City Council. The boy’s lawyer, Leo Terrell, told reporters that he wants to know how much the Holdens’ house is worth; how much insurance they have; how much they paid her lawyer. He wants them to show him the money.

“There is no money,” quipped her lawyer, the ever-irreverent Mark Geragos. “I feel sorry for Leo. I got there first.”

Meanwhile, Geragos has filed suit on behalf of Michelle Holden’s father-in-law, Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden. The Superior Court complaint seeks unspecified damages from the county and a sheriff’s lieutenant who, Nate Holden claims, invaded his privacy and trampled on his constitutional rights by trying to extort money from him.

The elder Holden, who represents Los Angeles’ 10th District, says a shakedown occurred during a meeting last Aug. 26 at the Green Street restaurant in Pasadena.

At the meeting, Holden charges, the ranking sheriff’s official told him somebody had put out a “hit” on him and his son. The “problem” would go away if he paid “certain sums of money,” Holden claims. The scandal with the baby-sitter also would go away if he paid off certain witnesses, Holden alleges he was also told.

The district attorney’s office is investigating. There was no immediate response from lawyers for the county, which rejected Nate Holden’s claim earlier this year.

JUST THE FAX: Steven H. Sanberg might have trouble writing his congresswoman these days. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs) has obtained a temporary restraining order keeping him at least 100 yards away because he allegedly sent threatening faxes to her office and followed one of her interns.

He denies threatening Bono, who was elected to the seat after her husband, Sonny Bono, died in a skiing accident.

At issue is one particular missive, a handwritten note allegedly sent by fax to Bono’s office. Poorly punctuated, it read, in part: “No conditions Lunch at your home Please! or I’ll (bleep) you all.”

It’s the second restraining order she’s obtained against Sanberg, 44. Stay tuned for a hearing Aug. 23.

THE DARNDEST THING: Two women who claim they came up with the original idea for the rekindled series “Kids Say the Darndest Things” are suing CBS for $1 million, alleging that network honchos stole their idea after rejecting their pitch.

Producer Sherry A. Weinman, of Los Angeles, and publicist Amy Harris, of Atlanta, claim they first approached CBS with the idea for a kids’ show called “Small Talk” in March 1996. The show was patterned after the popular “Kids Say the Darndest Things” feature of entertainer Art Linkletter’s 1960s “House Party” variety show.

The women suggested that Bill Cosby or Robin Williams host the show, and registered their idea with the Writers Guild. They heard nothing further from CBS. Nearly a year later, CBS announced its new show with Cosby as host.

According to the Los Angeles Superior Court suit, a year after the pitch and eleven days before CBS broadcast its “Kids Say the Darndest Things” special, the women received a letter thanking them for their proposal. “Unfortunately, it does not coincide with our programming needs at this time.”

Well, duh.

“It is notoriously difficult for independent producers to gain credit for their efforts in the predatory world that is Hollywood,” attorney David Burke said in court papers. He added, “Original ideas are routinely stolen by large entertainment companies, and independent producers--short on resources and loath to initiate action against the very companies they ultimately hope to do business with--find it next to impossible to vindicate their rights.”

No immediate comment from CBS.