Jackson’s Associates May Face Charges

Prosecutors have been considering possible conspiracy and obstruction charges against several of Michael Jackson’s associates for allegedly threatening the family of the boy who is accusing the superstar of child molestation, according to a source close to the case.

Santa Barbara Dist. Atty. Tom Sneddon could not comment Tuesday because of a gag order in the case, a spokeswoman for his office said.

However, an attorney for two of Jackson’s former employees said that his clients had refused to appear before a Santa Barbara grand jury looking into the accusations. “They’ve been invited, and we declined,” said New York attorney Joseph Tacopina. “We’re sitting tight.”

Tacopina said “there’s been a lot of speculation” that his clients, Vincent Amen and Frank Tyson, would either be indicted by the grand jury or be charged separately in the alleged intimidation of witnesses. The accusations are false, the attorney said.

Tyson has been accused of threatening to kill the younger brother of Jackson’s alleged victim if he revealed to authorities that Jackson had given the boy alcohol, Tacopina said. Amen was accused of holding the family at Jackson’s Neverland estate against its will, he said.

Tacopina said the accusations came from the boy’s mother and were “patently false.”

“I know the evidence and I know the accuser,” he said. “I’ll have no problem taking up the issue of her credibility if and when I’m asked to do so.”

Going after secondary figures in big cases is a frequent tactic for prosecutors, said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at Loyola Law School.

“It’s not uncommon to cast a wide net with the hope that people on the fringe will turn against the main player,” she said.

In the Jackson case, charges of intimidation would also explain why the boy, who was 12 at the time of the alleged molestation, and members of his family last year told Los Angeles County child welfare investigators that no abuse had occurred.

“The district attorney has to overcome the problem that he has a witness who was denying molestation to other authorities,” Levenson said. “One way to explain this is that this witness was under pressure.”

No pressure was exerted by either Tyson or Amen, their attorney said.

Tyson was Jackson’s personal assistant, and Amen worked for Jackson’s production company. Both men are in their 20s.

On Tuesday, the Jackson grand jury met at a sheriff’s facility north of Santa Barbara for its 12th day of testimony. The panel is expected to wrap up its hearings this week.

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Times staff writer William Overend contributed to this report.