Jacko Accuser's Lawyer To Beat It?

DECEMBER 1--Three weeks after filing a "recovered memory" lawsuit on behalf of a man who claims he was sexually assaulted by Michael Jackson in 1984, a New Orleans lawyer has asked a federal judge to allow him to withdraw from the case. In the below motion, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Stephen Murray stated that "circumstances have arisen which necessitate" him dropping Joseph Thomas Bartucci, Jr. as a client. Since the specific reasons for his withdrawal "are highly sensitive in nature," Murray requested permission to file a separate sealed motion describing those reasons. That sealing request was approved yesterday by Judge Eldon Fallon. While Murray does not want to publicly detail why he's seeking to so quickly ditch Bartucci, TSG will venture a guess that he's come to the conclusion that his client is nuts and/or full of shit. Bartucci is pictured at right in a mug shot taken after a 1996 stalking arrest. (3 pages)