More On L.A. Private Eye Scandal

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APRIL 4--The Los Angeles man accused of threatening a reporter investigating actor Steven Seagal's mob ties, crowed, "I'm famous" upon learning that his intimidation attempt was detailed in Vanity Fair magazine. In a secretly recorded September 2002 conversation, Alex Proctor, the alleged strong-arm man, also told an FBI confidential witness that L.A. private eye Anthony Pellicano initially complimented him on the operation directed at Los Angeles Times reporter Anita Busch. Pellicano, whom the FBI suspects orchestrated the threat, "said it was such a good job, and then he comes back and says it really didn't do anything," Proctor told the snitch. Later in the conversation, Proctor recounted a meeting during which a "nervous" Pellicano noted the law enforcement pressure brought about by the Busch threat: "I said, 'Listen, I'm ready to attack, you know, whatever else you need done.'" Pellicano replied, Proctor said, "Oh, not with all this heat." Proctor replied, "Listen, that's got nothing to do with anything. They don't have you and I together, nobody fucking knows, and even if they knew...they can't prove it because nobody saw." The transcript, which you'll find below, was included in a recent filing made by prosecutors handling the federal case against Pellicano. The surreptitious recording, TSG has learned, was made by one Daniel Patterson, a 60-year-old California man who began cooperating with FBI agents after his arrest in an unrelated fraud scheme. In February, during a closed hearing, Patterson pleaded guilty to three felony counts. Presumably, Patterson's hoping that his cooperation in the Pellicano/Proctor investigation will result in a lesser sentence when he appears for sentencing, now scheduled for July 9. (3 pages)