Pellicano Case Cited in Child Support Battle

The former wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian asked a Superior Court judge Wednesday to dismiss Kerkorian’s attorney from her child support case because he has been indicted in the ongoing federal probe of private investigator Anthony Pellicano.

In court papers, Lisa Bonder Kerkorian also asked for a $25,000-a-month increase in the current $50,000 monthly child support payments for the couple’s young daughter, Kira.

The request comes the day after Kerkorian’s lawyer, Terry N. Christensen, pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired with Pellicano to wiretap Kerkorian’s former wife three years ago during a fierce child custody battle.

A 40-year-old former tennis pro who was married to Kerkorian for one month, Lisa Bonder Kerkorian originally sought $320,000 a month in support from her husband to pay for private jet flights, hotel accommodations, horses and parties for her then 4-year-old daughter, whose paternity was in dispute.

Multimillionaire film producer Steve Bing later sued Kirk Kerkorian for allegedly hiring someone to dig through his trash for dental floss to prove -- through DNA evidence -- that he was Kira’s father.

The federal indictment alleges that Bonder Kerkorian was wiretapped numerous times beginning March 15, 2002, when an unnamed attorney called Pellicano and told him to contact Christensen about “going after” the wife’s attorney, Stephen A. Kolodny. Kolodny had referred Christensen to the state bar for possible discipline for contacting Bonder Kerkorian without her attorney present.

Pellicano allegedly told Christensen about conversations Bonder Kerkorian had with her lawyer and a mediator in the divorce case. Discussing the wiretap April 27, 2002, federal authorities allege Pellicano told Christensen: “There is no way, except with my unique techniques, that you would know this.”

In response to Bonder Kerkorian’s request, lawyers for the billionaire said there was no reason to replace Christensen as the attorney in the case or to modify child support.

“There are no grounds, let alone urgency, to justify disqualifying Mr. Christensen and his firm,” Kerkorian’s attorneys wrote.

Judge Robert Schnider put the matter over until March 15.

In their own court request, Christensen’s attorneys have opposed transferring the Pellicano case from U.S. District Judge Robert M. Takasugi to the courtroom of Judge Dale S. Fischer.

Last week, Assistant U.S. Atty. Daniel Saunders, the lead prosecutor in the Pellicano investigation, filed a notice in the case that the indictment of the private eye and other alleged accomplices was related to a federal case before Judge Fischer involving defendant Daniel Nicherie.

Nicherie, who was among those indicted with Pellicano, had earlier been accused by the federal government of defrauding a business partner. And it was in connection with that case, Saunders argued, that Nicherie and his brother engaged in wiretapping with Pellicano.

But Christensen’s attorneys argued that the Nicherie case does not qualify as a related case because it arose out of an alleged fraud, not a wiretapping conspiracy.

The effort to keep Takasugi as the judge involves more than his time on the case. While Judge Fischer has a reputation for being fair, Takasugi has far more years on the federal bench and is considered a favorite among defense attorneys.

“Terry Christensen’s attorneys want the friendliest venue possible, and they would rather have Judge Takasugi hear the case because he will put the government through its paces,” said Laurie L. Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, attorneys for wiretap victim Erin Finn have filed a federal lawsuit against SBC Communications, alleging the phone company is responsible for the actions of employees accused of helping Pellicano wiretap phones.

The suit says that SBC broke the law by conspiring and/or intentionally recording and divulging phone conversations of thousands of wiretap victims.

SBC “either knew that this was going on ... or they simply didn’t have safeguards in place to protect their customers,” said Brian Kabateck, Finn’s attorney.

The plaintiff is asking the court to certify the suit as a national class action that includes everyone whose calls were allegedly secretly heard or recorded by Pellicano with the help of two SBC employees.

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Times staff writer Greg Krikorian contributed to this report.