Hollywood Private-Eye Trial Begins

The illegal wiretapping and racketeering trial of Hollywood private detective Anthony Pellicano kicked off yesterday with a celebrity-studded witness list that sounds more like a casting call than a legal action, the Guardian reports. Sylvester Stallone, Farrah Fawcett and Chris Rock are among 127 possible prosecution witnesses. Studio heads and celebrity divorce lawyers could also testify in the long-awaited case.

Pellicano, who is representing himself, is accused of illegally tapping the phones of his clients' enemies. The clients "would pay a premium fee to discredit, and in some cases destroy, their adversaries," charged the prosecutor in his opening statement. If found guilty on all counts, the man who liked to call himself the "Ultimate Problem Solver" could face a centuries-long sentence. (More Anthony Pellicano stories.)