On Monday, July 12, John McTiernan pleaded guilty to two charges of making false statements to the FBI and one allegation of perjury for lying to a federal judge in a wiretapping case.
- July 13, 2010
AceShowbiz - "Die Hard" director John McTiernan is facing a year behind bars after pleading guilty to lying to authorities investigating Hollywood private detective Anthony Pellicano in a wiretapping case. On Monday, July 12, the filmmaker entered his plea to two charges of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and one allegation of perjury for lying to a federal judge.
McTiernan's lawyer S. Todd Neal argues that the FBI "ambushed" McTiernan in a bid to get answers. Neal tells the Associated Press, "We continue to believe that the charges against him were developed in an unfair way. The FBI should not be in the business of ambushing citizens with surprise phone calls in which they ask 'questions' for which they already know the answers."
McTiernan had previously confessed to paying Pellicano, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison, to conduct an illegal wiretap on film producer Charles Roven. But he filed to have his guilty plea overturned, claiming he didn't have proper legal representation. Pellicano was found guilty of illegally recording the calls of stars including Sylvester Stallone in 2008 and was sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
