The Los Angeles Times reports (Greg Krikorian and Chuck Philips):
Attorneys allege that a 35-year veteran of the federal agency included false information in an affidavit.
…In requesting the search, [FBI agent Stanley] Ornellas contended that Pellicano hired an ex-convict to try to frighten two journalists out of writing unflattering stories about actor Steven Seagal. In one of the incidents, then-Los Angeles Times reporter Anita M. Busch found a dead fish and a red rose on the punctured windshield of her car below a note that read: "Stop!"
The affidavit suggested Seagal had been implicated in the scheme. The actor was never charged, and federal authorities have privately told reporters they have no persuasive evidence against him, although the FBI has not publicly cleared him.
The defense says Ornellas failed to disclose false statements by the ex-convict. An informant taped the ex-convict saying he shot a bullet through Busch’s windshield and left a fish in a plastic pan on the reporter’s car.
