Michael Jackson's Family Calls For Help
06-29-2007
FYI: Friedman : Michael Jackson's Family Calls For Help
The following column by Roger Friedman is published by MJFC solely for the purpose of fans having background information related to the recent official press release (see MJFC news item dated June 28, 2007).
[Jackson`s] Family's Urgent 'SOS' to Lawyer
Michael Jackson’s siblings — including Janet — and his parents are so worried about the failing pop star that they’ve sent out an emergency 911 call.
Sources tell me that the Jacksons are in the process of contacting Thomas Mesereau, the superstar criminal lawyer who won Jackson an acquittal two years ago in his child molestation trial.
The word from the Jacksons is that they’ve met several times as a family and discussed bringing Mesereau in for an intervention to save Michael. Mesereau, who did not return calls to this column, is said to be open to finding out what Jackson’s true mental and health status is at this point. If he doesn’t like what he sees, the Jacksons will ask him to do something formally legal to save their brother’s life.
Jackson, according to insiders, is in perilous health right now. There is talk that his liver is damaged and that he’s been seen vomiting blood, although there’s no confirmation of that. What has been confirmed is that Jackson—whose penchant for prescription meds and alcohol is well known—is depressed, alone, and mixing ingredients instead of making a new album or working.
But it’s the two-year isolation from friends and family that worried the Jacksons enough to consider including Mesereau in the conversation, sources tell me. The culprits are said to be publicist manager Raymone Bain and aide de camp/nanny Grace Rwaramba.
For instance: this column has now learned that Bain has brought Rev. Jesse Jackson on in some kind of executive capacity in Michael’s businesses. Bain and Jesse Jackson have a long relationship, so this is no surprise. But two years ago, Mesereau—sensing trouble—removed Bain and asked Jesse Jackson to leave after he arrived in Santa Maria, California to grandstand at Michael’s trial.
It was Jesse Jackson who two years caused an avalanche in Michael’s finances. Jesse Jackson, sources say, interfered in Michael’s business by attempting to call Bank of America president Ken Lewis to complain that Michael was being “ripped off” in some way over his $270 million. Lewis refused to speak with Jesse Jackson. He was so annoyed by Jackson’s interference that he ordered the banker in charge of the account to sell the loans to Fortress Investments.
The result was a sale and subsequent refinancing that put Jackson another $50 million in the red. Jesse Jackson at the time had convinced Michael that business partners Alvin Malnik and Charles Koppelman’s plan to bail the singer out was no good. But in hindsight, he was wrong. Under the original plan, Jackson would only have sold half his interest in the Beatles’ catalog to Sony. Now, next May, thanks to the Fortress deal, he will have to dispose of all of it.
Source: MJFC / Fox News / Fox411; published by special permission; http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287309,00.html
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