Joe Francis
© Bay County Jail-Panama City, Florida

Related Links

0

Celebrity Good & Bad Behavior

Two weeks ago, it was Celebrities vs The Law. This week, it seems more like celebrities beating the Law (in Paris’s case), a dash of the Law fighting each other for the rights of the living body of one celebrity (in GGW Joe Francis case) or the Law not even going after a case (in Lohan’s case).

Not to mention the battle over how bad a movie or book Sahara was being solved in court, Jesse James almost getting run down by a mad woman in a car and someone owning sickening paintings by Michael Jackson.

More cases of Celebrity Good Behavior vs. Bad Behavior.

The Sahara Bad Movie / Bad Book Battle is over

It seems the ongoing court battle between writer Clive Cussler and production studio Crusader Entertainment over the disastrous Sahara movie has finally come to an end and the winner is…

Nobody, depending on which camp you believe by their statements after the fact. Both sides are claiming victory so I’m going to go out on a limb and yell “Draw”.

After eight days of deliberation, a Los Angeles jury ordered the author to pay Crusader Entertainment $5 million in the production company's breach-of-contract lawsuit against Cussler, who Crusade claimed overstated his book sales to secure a huge payday for the movie rights to two of his adventure novels featuring the character Dirk Pitt.

The jurors ruled that Cussler breached "an implied covenant of good faith" by badmouthing the film before it hit theaters, which Crusader accused him of doing because the writer was peeved that he didn't get more of a say in the final screenplay.

However, the jurors also said that Crusader wasn’t in the right here because they owe Cussler 8.5 million dollars for the second book they bought the rights to but never made into a sequel movie.

Cussler’s camp:

"I think that Cussler is the winner," his attorney, Bertram Fields, told reporters after the verdict was announced. "If the judge upholds what the jury has done, he gets a net gain of $3 million." (Minus Fields' fee, of course.)

"I'm relieved that it's over, and now we can go home," Cussler said, accompanied by his fiancé Janet Horvath.

Crusader’s camp:

"It's a massive vindication not only for Crusader and all the people who made the film, but for the industry as a whole," Putnam said.

I didn’t think the movie was all that bad just because of Steve Zaun’s humor but oh well, apparently this was very ugly behind the scenes.

The Law is fighting over custody of Girls Gone Wild ‘Francis’

Francis has been serving time in Florida’s Panama City lockup but apparently he’s on the move, by transport, to Nevada where he was indicted on federal Tax evasion. The Florida prosecution petitioned Francis to stay in jail in Florida but U.S Federal Judge Smoak (the same man who put him behind bars for contempt of court) okayed him being transferred to Nevada.

Florida’s State Prosecutors:

"We are disappointed that Judge Smoak did not grant our petition for a writ of habeas corpus," State Attorney Steve Meadows said in a statement, adding that Francis will still have to face the music in Florida after he's done dealing with the federal charges.”

"We have made certain that detainees are lodged against Francis for our local charges. According to law, the defendant should not be released from custody in Nevada or elsewhere but will be returned, in custody, to Florida upon completion of the proceedings in federal court. Mr. Francis will not escape accountability for his actions in Florida by attempting to proceed to Nevada."

This transportation process isn’t a pretty one, they stop at a lot of jails for night time sleeping and more pickups and drop offs along the way but they are saying that Francis will be in Nevada by Tuesday.

On the same coin, Francis is happy to be out of Florida because apparently it wasn’t suiting him very well there.

According to court documents obtained by The Smoking Gun, Francis had told a state-appointed therapist that he had considered committing suicide if he had to remain in the Bay County facility because he had been confined to a cell in lockdown "shackled...[and] surrounded by other inmates" who were "all murderers."

"I started freaking out and screaming—I couldn't breath—I don't think I can handle this on a long-term thing. I'm not a criminal," Francis said, according to the report filed by psychiatrist Ronald Markman.

Not sure why being in Nevada is going to be all that much better for Francis…when he is facing incredibly worse charges there by the US Government.

He could face up to 10 years in Prison and a $500,000 fine for evading the IRS on hiding an additional $15 million in offshore bank accounts and deducting 20 million in bogus business expenses.

Not to mention, the LA District Attorney also wants him for another charge on sexual battery.

This guy seems to be in a lot of hot water. As soon as he somehow makes bail, I’m calling it, he’s going to try to leave the country.

Hilton drops appeal and gets a lower sentence for “Good Behavior”.

I already said this weeks ago when people were hoping the spoiled brat would hopefully get attacked or two in jail. I said at most she would put in a cell by herself or a cell for traffic violators and she would probably serve her 45 days still the center of attention with plenty of stories to tell.

Apparently, it’s much easier for her then that.

On Wednesday, Whitmore confirmed that Hilton would serve about 23 days of her sentence in a "special needs housing unit" at the Century Regional Detention Center in suburban Lynwood, California.

The 12-cell unit is separate from the general inmate population and is reserved for police officers, celebrities, public officials and other high-profile figures, Whitmore said. Like her fellow prisoners, Hilton will be allowed out of her cell for at least an hour a day to shower, watch TV, make phone calls or participate in outdoor recreation.

Whitmore said the hotel namesake's sentence was reduced for good behavior, which authorities determined by considering a variety of factors, including that she showed up for her most recent court date.

Good behavior? Wtf?

For showing up in court on time?

When this was announced, her attorneys dropped the appeal and the “seeking of pardon” from the Governator Arnold.

Since this has been announced, her mom, Kathy Hilton has since gone on The View and did a reversal on the whole “outrage” she publicly displayed in court towards the judge, the verdict and the prosecutors. She has said this could be a good “thing” by showing all those people who look up to Paris and now know there are consequences behind unwise actions.

Right. I just know that those people would be facing more severe consequences without special treatment, lowering of sentences, and special housing units.

Somehow, this is all one big joke and Paris is going to get the last laugh over everyone whom has ever served time for the same mistakes. Over the rest of America, in other words.

What a bunch of BS.

Insufficient evidence, according to prosecutors. They’ve rejected a felony theft complaint lodged against the actress by a woman who claimed Lohan stole clothing from her home while she was away.

The victim claimed that Lohan was invited over to the woman's apartment by a housesitter, who was seen giving the Georgia Rule star a clear bag full of clothes that she handed off to her driver to take to the car.

To bolster her claim, the plaintiff produced paparazzi photos supposedly showing Lohan clad in her stolen garments.

However, upon reviewing the matter, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office found several holes in the alleged victim's story.

For one thing, a plaid shirt she claimed Lohan had stolen did not match the one the actress was wearing in one of the photos submitted as proof of the theft. For another thing, the photo in question was published on a Website a week before the time period in which the alleged heist supposedly took place.

Meanwhile, the house sitter also stood up for the actress, telling authorities that the bag of clothing she gave the actress contained only "items meant for and given by her to Lohan."

In a rejection notice filed last week, prosecutors determined that Lohan couldn't "be shown to have been seen either taking or to have been later in possession of missing items.

Meh. This lady was trying to get famous or get some money. I seriously doubt Lohan would steal clothes from her house.

Sandra Bulllock’s stalker almost kills her husband, Jesse James

We could have no more of Monster Garage thanks to some crazy woman whom was stalking Jesse Jame’s wife, Sandra Bullock.

Marcia Diane Valentine was arrested last month for allegedly trying to hit the actress' husband, Monster Garage host Jesse James with her car was charged Thursday with felony assault and stalking and is expected to appear at West Justice Center in Westminster next Tuesday for arraignment.  

The crazy stalker told investigators that she has seen every one of Bullock's movies, was picked up by the county sheriff's department on Apr. 23, a day after purportedly giving James an unpleasant surprise in the driveway of his and Bullock's Sunset Beach home.

According to the actress Sandra, James noticed Valentine's silver Mercedes parked outside and when he went out to take down her license plate number, Valentine "got angry" and unsuccessfully tried three or four times to run him down, right in front of his missus and one of his sons.

Described by police as a "longtime stalker" of Bullock's, the Huntington Beach resident was taken into custody on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and then released after posting a $25,000 bond.

Authorities said it wasn't the first time Valentine had been found lying in front of the couple's garage door, nor was it new for her to become belligerent with James when he tried to approach her.

Bullock obtained a temporary restraining order against Valentine on May 1 and made a cameo in court on May 11 to get the order extended—and to point out just how stalker-like Valentine had behaved on at least five other occasions.

After the actress testified that Valentine had tossed woven palm fronds accompanied by "weird signs" and "pieces of animal fur" over her gate and left similar stuff in a neighbor's yard, a judge ruled that there was "clear and convincing evidence" to label Valentine a stalker and ordered the 56-year-old woman to stay at least 500 yards away from Bullock, James and his three children for three years. She is not allowed to make any attempt to contact the family, either.

Why these people get stalked is beyond me. Actors, Actresses and people inside Hollywood are the same as everyone else (outside of Law prosecution-see the Paris fiasco above).

Crazy people everywhere.

Michael Jackson firesale auction will occur in Las Vegas

…And he won’t be battling it after all seeing how he’s getting nothing from it. Apparently to solve previous bankrupt cases between outside parties (not Michael Jackson) and cases between other Jackson family members in 2002, Henry Vacaro, was awarded a warehouse full of Jackson family belongings.

The plan was to auction the stash word around 50 milllion dollars or at least 1,000 items from the confiscated stash at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Café & Casino Hotel on May 30-31.

Instead, Jackson attorney Gregory Cross appeared in the courtroom to tell Gonzalez that Jackson and Universal Express had reached an agreement to settle a suit the Gloved One filed Apr. 27. Terms were kept confidential, although a lawyer for Universal Express indicated some contested items were removed.

The singer had sought a temporary injunction to halt the auction as well as punitive damages against Universal Express, a luggage transportation firm based in Boca Raton, Florida. The company received a cache of 20,000 Jackson family items from Henry Vacaro, a New Jersey construction owner and onetime Jackson partner, as part of a bankruptcy case last year.

The lot featres stage costumes (including one of Michael's signature sequined jackets), musical instruments, sketches and personal notes, handwritten lyrics for the Jackson 5 hit "ABC," early black and white photos of family members, a bullet-proof vest Michael wore in the 1980s, his platinum award for the 1979 single "Rock with You," gold records (including one for Thriller) and a 1987 contract for the purchase of Neverland.

Richard Altomare, CEO of Universal Express, did not comment on Friday's development. However, he earlier told the New York Post that if Jackson pressed his legal action, Altomare would include some potentially embarrassing memorabilia withheld from the auction, notably "salacious" artwork that could dredge up memories of the Moonwalker's 2005 child-molestation trial, which ended in his acquittal.

"There are a couple of paintings Jackson made of children, of boys—naked. And there are some of his whitening creams, some sex aids...some of the old records in his sealed [sexual molestation] court case," Altomare said.

"This is stuff we have kept from the auction out of respect to Mr. Jackson. The guy has troubles. We all have skeletons in the closet and, if Michael hadn't put up a fuss, I might have quietly, discreetly, just given it to him. I'm a gentleman...but if he pisses me off, I may end up auctioning them."

Man, they could have Michael Jackson by the balls (I hear some comedians going “What…” with that last word) if they really do have paintings by Jackson on that one.

That’s going to do it for this edition of Superficial Slobber. See you later, Maniacs.