Michael Jackson Pleads for Money on Tapes
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: Truth Or Fiction
Two Former Advisors File Complaints Against Jackson

Nov. 22, 2005 — - ABC News has obtained phone messages placed by Michael Jackson to a former advisor who has filed a lawsuit against the pop star.

Marc Schaffel is suing Jackson for $3 million dollars, claiming he was unpaid $800,000 for his work on two television specials and $2.3 million in payments and loans over a number of years.

Jackson countersued Schaffel, saying he is the one that is owed money.

On he tapes obtained by ABC News, Jackson is the one pleading for money.

"Hello Marc, it's Michael," one message to Schaffel begins. "Please, please never let me down. I really like you. I love you … Mark, I really need you to get … $7 million for me as soon as possible … Seven, seven and a half, umm, as an advance."

Schaffel says for over two years he was an advisor for and close confidant to Jackson. According to Schaffel, Jackson's bankers placed restrictions on the singer, so the star would use middle men like Schaffel to access his own money and arrange various loans.

ABC News has learned another former advisor to Michael Jackson named Dieter Wiesner filed a civil complaint against Michael Jackson in Los Angeles on Monday for $64 million.

"He uses people like Marc Schaffel and whoever he's currently using to get around the restrictions on his current financing," said Howard King, Schaffel's attorney.

Schaffel said Jackson often required large amounts of cash and sometimes he requested it in code. He said the money supported Jackson's lifestyle.

"You go to a restaurant, you have to close the whole restaurant down for the day, you know, pay for the entire day's receipts in the restaurant so that he can go in and enjoy a quiet meal," Schaffel said.

Schaffel said he once delivered $100,000 to Jackson in an Arby's fast food bag.

"When he wanted large amounts, he would call and say 'supersize them,'" Schaffel said. "The smaller amounts. The bigger ones went in duffle bags."

In 2003, Jackson turned to Schaffel to plan a response to the allegations that Jackson had had an improper relationship with a young cancer survivor. Later, Schaffel was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the California criminal prosecution of Jackson.

Schaffel says he has hundreds of voice mail messages from Jackson from 2001 to 2003 that show the nature of his relationship, including Jackson's darker side.

"Michael will yell at you, Michael will punish you, maybe not let you do something," Schaffel said. Schaffel's relationship ended just before Jackson's most recent criminal problems. Schaffel said he is not surprised that since Jackson's acquittal, Jackson has relocated to Bahrain, because it fits Jackson's pattern of looking for a new friend.

Jackson attorney Tom Mesereau told ABC News, "When the jury hears the evidence, they will know Schaffel isn't owed anything." Mesereau said he would not comment on the content of the tapes and could not comment on the Weisner lawsuit until he had seen it.

Reported by Senior ABC News legal correspondent Chris Cuomo on "Good Morning America."
Copyright ? 2005 ABC News Internet Ventures

Jacko seen in lycra
Mood:  blue
Topic: Truth Or Fiction
Thursday September 15, 2005 10:47 AM)

Michael Jackson is reported to have emerged from hiding with an unusual appearance at a water park in Dubai, wearing a white lycra body stocking.

The pop superstar, who has only been seen once in the public eye once since his acquittal on all counts of child molestation, apparently rented out the entire Wild Wadi centre.

Giving his family and friends a free run of the park, Jackson is reported to have emerged in the lycra suit, which exposed just his nose and eyes.

"He looked even stranger than usual. His body is very skinny and lycra does him no favours," an eye-witness told a UK newspaper.

Jackson is understood to have been living in Bahrain since being cleared at his Santa Maria trial in June.

According to reports, he will soon return to the world of pop with the charity record "From The Bottom Of My Heart", which is set to feature stars such as Jay-Z and Mariah Carey and will raise funds for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Jackson recently explained: "I will be reaching out to others within the music industry, to join me in helping to bring relief and hope to these resilient people who have lost everything."