Jackson Back In Legal Spotlight

Former Business Associate's Lawsuit Focuses On Pop Star's Wallet

(AP)  For his part, Jackson claims that Schaffel defrauded him and hid the facts of his allegedly shady past.

"To say that Schaffel is an unsavory character would be an understatement," Jackson's lawyer, Thomas C. Mundell, said in a pretrial filing. "He is a professional swindler and pornographer with a long history of dishonest, immoral and manipulative behavior."

Mundell argued it was Schaffel who convinced Jackson he was the right person to help the pop star produce and release a charity single called "What More Can I Give" in 2001. He said Schaffel was entrusted with handling millions of dollars on Jackson's behalf and keeping records for Neverland Valley Entertainment, a firm set up by Schaffel.

"This case is deceptively simple," Jackson's lawyer said in his trial brief. "Stripped to its essentials, it is an accounting case, albeit one with an overlay of fraud, deception and self-dealing on the part of plaintiff Marc Schaffel."

Rather than owing Schaffel money, Jackson's lawyer said Schaffel owes Jackson funds.

He said that Jackson broke all ties with Schaffel in mid-November 2001 when he found out that Schaffel's "other job" was as a producer of gay pornography.

"Obviously, Mr. Jackson could not afford to be publicly associated with a gay pornographer in connection with the release of a record," the lawyer said.

King said this was part of a "smear campaign" and "mud slinging" which should not be presented to the jury. Conversely, he suggested that Jackson would not want Schaffel to testify "with regard to Jackson's sexual proclivities or intimate details of their conversations."

He said that Jackson continued to work with Schaffel well into 2004.

Jackson's depositions show the singer claimed a poor memory of transactions involving millions of dollars and said he never met his business manager, Alan Whitman.

In a bizarre detail, Jackson maintained he got his spending money by leasing cows that lived on his Neverland ranch. During the deposition there was this exchange between King and Jackson:

Q. "So all your cash, whenever you need cash to shop or whatever, comes from the cows?"

A. "Yes, believe it or not."

Q. "I don't, but that's OK. I don't have to."

A. "I'm telling you."

Q. "OK. So Alan Whitman's office never arranged for you to get cash, correct?"

A. "Not that I can recall because I don't remember talking to Alan. I don't think I have ever met him."

In other exchanges, Jackson said, "I'm foggy about what happened."