Ex-Aide Raided Accounts, Spector Alleges

Phil Spector, the celebrated pop music producer facing trial on a murder charge, is suing his former personal assistant, claiming that she improperly siphoned off hundreds of thousands of dollars from his varied accounts.

Spector is seeking unspecified damages from Michelle Blaine. The suit also names Blaine business associate Nori Takei as a defendant. Neither Blaine nor Takei could be reached Friday for comment.

The suit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims that Blaine has been a financial agent for Spector in recent years and used that access to tap into his accounts, including a transfer of $425,000 that Spector claims Blaine used to fund a film production company.

Spector, famous for his “wall of sound” recordings, rose to wealth and fame as the producer behind hits such as “You Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “Be My Baby” and “The Long and Winding Road.”

In recent months, he has been in the headlines as the defendant accused of murder in the slaying of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot in the face at Spector’s Alhambra mansion in February 2003.

Blaine is the daughter of Hal Blaine, a drummer who played on dozens of hits and worked with Spector as a member of his “Wrecking Crew” studio collective, a group of musicians who played some of the most successful pop hits of the 1960s.

The veteran musician, contacted Friday in Palm Desert, rebuked the claims made by his old boss, calling the suit “nonsense.”