Los
Angeles
(Reuters):
John
McTiernan,
director
of
''The
Hunt
for
Red
October''
and
''Rollerball,''
was
charged
with
lying
to
the
FBI
in
the
Hollywood
wire-tap
investigation
surrounding
celebrity
sleuth
Anthony
Pellicano.
McTiernan,
who
also
produced
and
directed
''Die
Hard
3,''
became
the
14th
defendant
to
face
charges
in
a
far-reaching
federal
case
that
has
become
a
major
Hollywood
scandal
and
threatens
to
spill
the
motion
picture
community's
secrets.
The
55-year-old
filmmaker
was
charged
with
a
single
count
of
making
false
statements
to
federal
agents
and
ordered
to
appear
in
court
on
April
17.
His
attorney
could
not
immediately
be
reached
for
comment.The
two-page
charging
document
accuses
McTiernan
of
lying
to
the
FBI
when
he
told
agents
during
an
interview
yesterday
that
''he
had
no
knowledge
of
any
wiretapping
conducted
by
Anthony
Pellicano
and
had
never
discussed
wiretapping
with
Anthony
Pellicano.''
''In
fact,
as
defendant
McTiernan
well
knew,
he
had
hired
and
paid
Anthony
Pellicano
to
conduct
a
wiretapping
of
Charles
Roven
and
Anthony
Pellicano
had
discussed
with
defendant
McTiernan
his
interception
of
Charles
Roven's
telephone
calls
and
the
information
that
Anthony
Pellicano
had
obtained
from
that
wiretap,''
the
court
papers
say.
The
documents
do
not
elaborate
on
the
eavesdropping
but
Roven
is
a
Hollywood
producer
who
worked
with
McTiernan
on
the
film
''Rollerball.''
Prosecutors
declined
to
comment
on
the
charges.
Pellicano,
who
has
worked
for
some
of
the
biggest
names
in
Hollywood,
was
charged
in
a
110-count
racketeering
and
conspiracy
indictment,
which
alleges
he
illegally
wiretapped
and
obtained
the
confidential
records
of
performers,
journalists
and
business
executives.
He
has
pleaded
not
guilty
to
the
indictment,
which
was
unsealed
just
before
he
completed
a
30-month
term
in
federal
prison
for
firearms
violations.
The
former
private
detective
faces
up
to
20
years
behind
bars
on
each
of
the
racketeering
charges.
Among
those
whose
privacy
he
is
accused
of
breaching
through
wiretaps
or
illicit
database
searches
were
entertainers
Sylvester
Stallone,
Garry
Shandling,
Kevin
Nealon
and
Keith
Carradine.
Terry
Christensen,
a
partner
in
a
law
form
that
has
represented
such
entertainers
as
Barbra
Streisand,
Elton
John,
Sean
Connery
and
Kim
Basinger,
was
indicted
on
charges
of
hiring
Pellicano
to
eavesdrop
on
the
ex-wife
of
his
longtime
client,
billionaire
Kirk
Kerkorian.