Conspiracy Payoff Alleged in Jackson Case
July 14, 2004 -- Prosecutors in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson have evidence he paid massive amounts of money to five associates, and they contend these were payoffs for aiding in a conspiracy to silence Jackson's alleged victim and his family, ABC News has learned.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges that include felony conspiracy with 28 overt acts involving child abduction, false imprisonment, and extortion. The conspiracy charge against Jackson refers to his alleged attempts through associates to quiet the alleged victim and his family.
The alleged victim in the case is believed to be a cancer survivor, now 14 years old, who spent time at Jackson's Neverland ranch and appeared in the British documentary Living With Michael Jackson, which was broadcast on ABC last year. Sources tell ABC News the five Jackson associates who received money have all been named as unindicted co-conspirators by Tom Sneddon, the district attorney for Santa Barbara County, Calif.
The prosecutor alleges the five Jackson associates played various roles in surveilling the alleged victim's family, taking the boy and his siblings out of school and making them virtual prisoners of "The King of Pop" after the documentary aired.
Sources tell ABC News the unindicted co-conspirators are Vinnie Amen and Frank Tyson, who both worked for Jackson at Neverland; Jackson financial advisers Dieter Wiesner and Ron Konitzer; and Mark Shaffel, a video producer who, sources have previously told ABCNEWS, dealt with the alleged victim's family after they appeared in Living With Michael Jackson.
According to sources, prosecutors say they have evidence Tyson got $1 million in cash from Jackson and that the four other associates received hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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