Sep 24, 2007 4:09 pm US/Pacific
'Die Hard' Director Gets 4 Months In Prison
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (CBS) ―
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McTiernan, 56, must surrender himself to authorities by Jan. 15, 2008.
AP
Film director John McTiernan was sentenced on Monday to four months in prison, two years supervised release and a $100,000 fine in connection with the federal racketeering case against celebrity private investigator Anthony Pellicano.
U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer sentenced the director after denying a motion that would have allowed McTiernan to withdraw his April 2006 guilty plea. At that time, McTiernan admitted to making "knowingly false" statements to FBI agents about Pellicano's alleged illegal wiretapping operation.
When asked by the judge whether he had any statement to make prior to sentencing, McTiernan said "No, ma'am."
McTiernan, 56, must surrender himself to authorities by Jan. 15, 2008.
In April 2006, McTiernan admitted to hiring Pellicano to wiretap movie producer Charles Roven in 2000. Roven and McTiernan worked together in the 2002 action film "Rollerball." McTiernan paid Pellicano $50,000 to place the wiretaps, he told the court in April.
McTiernan told the court when he entered his plea that he was lying when he told a person identifying himself as an FBI agent that the only time he hired Pellicano was during his divorce. The conversation took place by telephone on Feb. 13.
During a 90-minute hearing Monday morning, McTiernan's attorneys told the court that at the time of that phone call, their client had just returned from Thailand, was suffering from typhoid fever and had stopped taking medication for his depression. His attorneys further argued that McTiernan was unprepared for the telephone call and was not told that he could consult with a lawyer.
The prosecution opposed McTiernan's motion. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Saunders said the director "admitted that he knowingly lied ... to the agent."
"It certainly does not do anything to put into doubt that ... his statements to the agent were knowingly false."
The judge agreed with the prosecution, finding McTiernan's argument to be "completely lacking" in credibility.
McTiernan's attorneys said they were "gravely disappointed" in the ruling.
"We believed that the law supported our position," said attorney Milton Grimes. "He made a mistake. He's not a danger to society. I just don't see locking a person like this up."
Pellicano, who has pleaded not guilty, stands accused of tapping telephones and bribing police to gain information on celebrities, including Sylvester Stallone.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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