Steve Bing
Encyclopedia
Stephen Leo "Steve" Bing (born March 31, 1965) is an American
businessman, film producer
, and donor to progressive causes
. He is the founder of the Shangri-La business group, an organization with interests in property, construction, entertainment, and music.
's January 2010 publication of "The Lists 2010" listed him in their "Wealthiest Angelenos" section of the magazine, which estimated his worth at $590 million, coming in at No. 46.
Bing attended the elite Los Angeles Harvard-Westlake private school. Before graduation, he had written (with veteran sitcom writer Arthur Silver) his first screenplay, "Missing in Action
." It became a Chuck Norris
film that had a sequel. Bing dropped out of Stanford University
in his junior year to pursue a career in Hollywood.
, went straight to video. His other, more notable projects include writing Kangaroo Jack
and producing Get Carter
. Bing reportedly invested $80 million in The Polar Express
, an animated film featuring the voice of Tom Hanks
, which earned $285 million globally and was one of the year's top box office successes.
He is also the financier of Robert Zemeckis
' Beowulf
(2007), and the producer/financier of Shine A Light
, a Rolling Stones concert film directed by Martin Scorsese
.
Bing also financed and produced the independently released Jerry Lee Lewis
album, Last Man Standing, pulling together performers such as Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, and Kid Rock to play alongside "The Killer."
has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of his wealth.
Beginning with a $500 contribution in 1993 to support Sen. Frank Lautenberg
, D-N.J., in his bid for re-election, Bing has contributed more than $10.7 million at the federal level to the Democratic Party and its candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics
.
The biggest checks were written in 2002 when he gave a total of $8.2 million to the Democratic National Committee. But he also has given to specific candidates, including Al Gore
, Hillary Rodham Clinton
, John Kerry
, Nancy Pelosi
and Dianne Feinstein
.
Bing was reported to have given at least $49.5 million during the 2006 election cycle in support of Proposition 87
, a California initiative which sought to raise $4 billion in oil production taxes to help develop alternative fuels. Bing also supported several key races in other parts of the country as Democrats fought to win back control of Congress. They included Democratic challenger Bob Casey, Jr.
in Pennsylvania, who unseated conservative GOP incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum
, and Tammy Duckworth
in Illinois, a Democratic Congressional hopeful and an Army National Guard major who lost her legs in Iraq two years ago, who went on to lose to State Sen. Peter Roskam.
Excluding Prop. 87 contributions, in California Bing has written $7.8 million worth of checks since 2000, according to the California secretary of state. He spent $4.25 million in 2005 in a successful effort to defeat Prop. 77, a redistricting initiative sponsored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
. Other beneficiaries include the California Democratic Party ($640,172); Gov. Gray Davis
($675,000); and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
, whose campaign received $750 in 2004.
In October 2008 Stephen Bing pledged to match donations made to the NO on Proposition 8 campaign from October 17–19. If passed, Proposition 8 would "change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California." A new section would be added stating "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Proposition 8 has since passed with a 52-48 vote in the 2008 Election, trumping the May 2008 State Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. The resolution is being challenged in the State Supreme Court.
On the 18 December 2008, the William J. Clinton Foundation
released a list of all contributors. It included Stephen L. Bing, who gave between US$10–25 million.
On August 5, 2009, a 737 private aircraft owned by Stephen Bing and based out of hangar 25 at the Burbank airport in Southern California, was utilized in the return of American reporters Laura Ling
and Euna Lee
who had spent 5 months of a 12 year sentence in North Korea
. Former President Bill Clinton was instrumental in their return, and accompanied the reporters on board Stephen Bing's plane. Bing reportedly covered the cost of the entire flight, estimated to be around $200,000.
Around 2001, he was involved in two separate paternity cases involving models Elizabeth Hurley and Lisa Bonder and their babies.
In 2001, he became British
tabloid fodder after actress, model, and Estee Lauder spokesmodel Elizabeth Hurley
announced she was pregnant and claimed Bing was the father of the baby. Bing denied he was the father and claimed they did not have an "exclusive" relationship. A DNA test proved that Bing was indeed the father. It is not known whether he has any relationship with his son Damian. Damian's godfathers include Hurley's long-time ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant
, Elton John
, and actor Denis Leary
. Hurley married Arun Nayar in 2007. London's Daily Mail
said that Hurley and her friends referred to Bing as "Bing Laden".
Separately but also in 2001, Bing's name appeared in the news when he sued billionaire Kirk Kerkorian
for invasion of privacy. Bing alleged that Kerkorian's private investigators took Bing's dental floss
out of his trash to collect his DNA. At the time, Kerkorian was in a legal fight with his ex-wife Lisa Bonder
, a former professional tennis player, over the amount of child support he would pay, with the billionaire reportedly suspecting Bing (a previous boyfriend) to be the father of the child. After Bing was proved by DNA test to be the father of Bonder's child, Bing and Kerkorian settled their dispute out of court.
The paternity of Bonder's daughter was revealed thanks to the efforts of Anthony Pellicano
, a Los Angeles private investigator (and wiretapper) hired by Kerkorian's lawyer, and also a "friend" to Bing. According to an FBI summary, Pellicano sometimes played Hollywood clients against each other, at one point asking financier (and Bing friend) Ron Burkle for a $100,000 to $250,000 shakedown in order not to be investigated by Michael Ovitz
, another Pellicano client. In a twist to the case, The New York Times reported payments of $335,000 by Bing to Pellicano between June 2000 and August 2002. According to excerpts of recorded calls, Pellicano bragged to Kerkorian's lawyer in April and May 2002 that he was "working for" and "consulting for" Bing in matters related to Elizabeth Hurley
and her son's disputed paternity, which was then in the news. A lawyer for Bing, Martin Singer, called Pellicano's statement regarding Hurley "an absolute lie." (The Daily Mail
reportedly paid a "substantial" settlement to Bing in 2003 after Pellicano's sworn statement that he had "never been engaged by Mr. Bing nor his attorney Mr. Martin Singer to investigate anyone on Mr. Bing’s behalf, including Ms. Hurley.") Following two trials in 2008 in which Bing did not testify, Pellicano was convicted of 78 counts of wiretapping, racketeering, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Pellicano was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered, with co-conspirator Terry N. Christensen, to forfeit $2 million.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and donor to progressive causes
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
. He is the founder of the Shangri-La business group, an organization with interests in property, construction, entertainment, and music.
Early life
At the age of 18, Bing inherited an estimated $600 million from his grandfather, Leo S. Bing, who had made his fortune in New York real estate in the 1920s. The Los Angeles Business JournalLos Angeles Business Journal
The Los Angeles Business Journal, established c. 1979, is a weekly newspaper in Los Angeles, California, which covers general business news. According to the journal's website, it has over 12,000 online subscribers, and a weekly print circulation of 30,000...
Bing attended the elite Los Angeles Harvard-Westlake private school. Before graduation, he had written (with veteran sitcom writer Arthur Silver) his first screenplay, "Missing in Action
Missing in Action (film)
Missing in Action is a 1984 action B-movie directed by Joseph Zito and starring Chuck Norris. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. Colonel Braddock, who escaped a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp 10 years earlier, returns to Vietnam to find American soldiers listed as missing...
." It became a Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
film that had a sequel. Bing dropped out of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in his junior year to pursue a career in Hollywood.
Entertainment industry
Bing has enjoyed success in filmmaking, though his directorial debut, Every BreathEvery Breath
Every Breath may refer*"Every Breath", a song by Tracy Bonham from her 1996 album The Burdens of Being Upright.*Every Breath, a 1994 film starring Judd Nelson and Joanna Pacuła.*"Every Breath", a song from their 2010 album "All We Have Left"...
, went straight to video. His other, more notable projects include writing Kangaroo Jack
Kangaroo Jack
Kangaroo Jack is a 2003 American comedy film directed by David McNally, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Jerry O'Connell, Anthony Anderson, Christopher Walken, Estella Warren and Adam Garcia...
and producing Get Carter
Get Carter (2000 film)
Get Carter is the 2000 remake of the 1971 crime film of the same name, starring Sylvester Stallone in the title role. The film also features Miranda Richardson, Rachel Leigh Cook, Alan Cumming, Mickey Rourke, and Rhona Mitra. Michael Caine, who starred in the original, plays a supporting role...
. Bing reportedly invested $80 million in The Polar Express
The Polar Express (film)
The Polar Express is a 2004 motion capture computer-animated film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the human characters in the film were animated using live action performance capture technique, with the...
, an animated film featuring the voice of Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
, which earned $285 million globally and was one of the year's top box office successes.
He is also the financier of Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...
' Beowulf
Beowulf (2007 film)
Beowulf is a 2007 American animated fantasy film written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary inspired by the Old English epic poem of the same name. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film was created through a motion capture process similar to the technique he used in The Polar Express...
(2007), and the producer/financier of Shine A Light
Shine a Light (film)
Shine a Light is a 2008 documentary film directed by Martin Scorsese documenting The Rolling Stones' 2006 Beacon Theatre performance on their A Bigger Bang Tour. The Scorsese film also includes archive footage from the band's career and marked the first utilisation by Scorsese of digital...
, a Rolling Stones concert film directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
.
Bing also financed and produced the independently released Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
album, Last Man Standing, pulling together performers such as Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, and Kid Rock to play alongside "The Killer."
Politics
Bing is among the nation's leading donors to environmental causes. According to filings of public campaign contributions, the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of his wealth.
Beginning with a $500 contribution in 1993 to support Sen. Frank Lautenberg
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg is the senior United States Senator from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party. Previously, he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.-Early life, career, and family:...
, D-N.J., in his bid for re-election, Bing has contributed more than $10.7 million at the federal level to the Democratic Party and its candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics
Center for Responsive Politics
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
.
The biggest checks were written in 2002 when he gave a total of $8.2 million to the Democratic National Committee. But he also has given to specific candidates, including Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
and Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
.
Bing was reported to have given at least $49.5 million during the 2006 election cycle in support of Proposition 87
California Proposition 87 (2006)
California Proposition 87 was a proposition on the ballot for California voters for the November 7, 2006 general election, officially titled Alternative Energy. Research, Production, Incentives...
, a California initiative which sought to raise $4 billion in oil production taxes to help develop alternative fuels. Bing also supported several key races in other parts of the country as Democrats fought to win back control of Congress. They included Democratic challenger Bob Casey, Jr.
Bob Casey, Jr.
Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Jr. is the senior U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served as Pennsylvania Treasurer, and Pennsylvania Auditor General. He is the son of former Governor Bob Casey, Sr..He is the first Democrat elected to a full term in...
in Pennsylvania, who unseated conservative GOP incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum
Richard John "Rick" Santorum is a lawyer and a former United States Senator from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Santorum was the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference -making him the third-ranking Senate Republican from 2001 until his leave in 2007. Santorum is considered both a social...
, and Tammy Duckworth
Tammy Duckworth
Ladda Tammy Duckworth was formerly Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and formerly the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran and former U.S...
in Illinois, a Democratic Congressional hopeful and an Army National Guard major who lost her legs in Iraq two years ago, who went on to lose to State Sen. Peter Roskam.
Excluding Prop. 87 contributions, in California Bing has written $7.8 million worth of checks since 2000, according to the California secretary of state. He spent $4.25 million in 2005 in a successful effort to defeat Prop. 77, a redistricting initiative sponsored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. Other beneficiaries include the California Democratic Party ($640,172); Gov. Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
($675,000); and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
, whose campaign received $750 in 2004.
In October 2008 Stephen Bing pledged to match donations made to the NO on Proposition 8 campaign from October 17–19. If passed, Proposition 8 would "change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California." A new section would be added stating "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Proposition 8 has since passed with a 52-48 vote in the 2008 Election, trumping the May 2008 State Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. The resolution is being challenged in the State Supreme Court.
On the 18 December 2008, the William J. Clinton Foundation
Clinton Foundation
The William J. Clinton Foundation is a foundation established by former President of the United States Bill Clinton with the stated mission to "strengthen the capacity of people throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence." The Foundation focuses on four critical areas:...
released a list of all contributors. It included Stephen L. Bing, who gave between US$10–25 million.
On August 5, 2009, a 737 private aircraft owned by Stephen Bing and based out of hangar 25 at the Burbank airport in Southern California, was utilized in the return of American reporters Laura Ling
Laura Ling
Laura G. Ling is an American journalist, working for Current TV as a correspondent and vice president of its Vanguard Journalism Unit, which produces the Vanguard TV series. She is the sister of Lisa Ling, who is a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, National Geographic Explorer,...
and Euna Lee
Euna Lee
Euna Lee is a South Korean-born American journalist who has worked for Current TV since 2005. Lee and fellow journalist Laura Ling were detained in North Korea after they crossed into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from the People's Republic of China without a visa...
who had spent 5 months of a 12 year sentence in North Korea
2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea
On March 17, 2009, North Korean border guards detained two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were working for the U.S. independent cable television network Current TV, after they crossed into North Korea from the People's Republic of China without a visa. They were found guilty of...
. Former President Bill Clinton was instrumental in their return, and accompanied the reporters on board Stephen Bing's plane. Bing reportedly covered the cost of the entire flight, estimated to be around $200,000.
Personal life
Bing has attracted attention for dating some of the world's most beautiful women and for being involved in high-profile lawsuits.Around 2001, he was involved in two separate paternity cases involving models Elizabeth Hurley and Lisa Bonder and their babies.
In 2001, he became British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
tabloid fodder after actress, model, and Estee Lauder spokesmodel Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
announced she was pregnant and claimed Bing was the father of the baby. Bing denied he was the father and claimed they did not have an "exclusive" relationship. A DNA test proved that Bing was indeed the father. It is not known whether he has any relationship with his son Damian. Damian's godfathers include Hurley's long-time ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, and actor Denis Leary
Denis Leary
Denis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
. Hurley married Arun Nayar in 2007. London's Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
said that Hurley and her friends referred to Bing as "Bing Laden".
Separately but also in 2001, Bing's name appeared in the news when he sued billionaire Kirk Kerkorian
Kirk Kerkorian
Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian is an American businessman who is the president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian is known as one of the important figures in shaping Las Vegas and, with architect Martin Stern, Jr...
for invasion of privacy. Bing alleged that Kerkorian's private investigators took Bing's dental floss
Dental floss
Dental floss is made of either a bundle of thin nylon filaments or a plastic ribbon used to remove food and dental plaque from teeth. The floss is gently inserted between the teeth and scraped along the teeth sides, especially close to the gums. Dental floss may be flavored or unflavored, and...
out of his trash to collect his DNA. At the time, Kerkorian was in a legal fight with his ex-wife Lisa Bonder
Lisa Bonder
Lisa Bonder-Kreiss , was a professional tennis player from Saline, Michigan....
, a former professional tennis player, over the amount of child support he would pay, with the billionaire reportedly suspecting Bing (a previous boyfriend) to be the father of the child. After Bing was proved by DNA test to be the father of Bonder's child, Bing and Kerkorian settled their dispute out of court.
The paternity of Bonder's daughter was revealed thanks to the efforts of Anthony Pellicano
Anthony Pellicano
Anthony Pellicano is a former high-profile Los Angeles private investigator who recently served a sentence of three and a half years in federal prison for illegal possession of explosives, firearms and homemade grenades, and who was arrested on February 4, 2006, on unlawful wiretapping and...
, a Los Angeles private investigator (and wiretapper) hired by Kerkorian's lawyer, and also a "friend" to Bing. According to an FBI summary, Pellicano sometimes played Hollywood clients against each other, at one point asking financier (and Bing friend) Ron Burkle for a $100,000 to $250,000 shakedown in order not to be investigated by Michael Ovitz
Michael Ovitz
Michael S. Ovitz is an American talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as President of the Walt Disney Company from October 1995 to January 1997....
, another Pellicano client. In a twist to the case, The New York Times reported payments of $335,000 by Bing to Pellicano between June 2000 and August 2002. According to excerpts of recorded calls, Pellicano bragged to Kerkorian's lawyer in April and May 2002 that he was "working for" and "consulting for" Bing in matters related to Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
and her son's disputed paternity, which was then in the news. A lawyer for Bing, Martin Singer, called Pellicano's statement regarding Hurley "an absolute lie." (The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
reportedly paid a "substantial" settlement to Bing in 2003 after Pellicano's sworn statement that he had "never been engaged by Mr. Bing nor his attorney Mr. Martin Singer to investigate anyone on Mr. Bing’s behalf, including Ms. Hurley.") Following two trials in 2008 in which Bing did not testify, Pellicano was convicted of 78 counts of wiretapping, racketeering, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Pellicano was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered, with co-conspirator Terry N. Christensen, to forfeit $2 million.