JOHN MCTIERNAN - MCTIERNAN INDICTED ON NEW CHARGES

MCTIERNAN INDICTED ON NEW CHARGES

Moviemaker JOHN MCTIERNAN has been indicted by a federal grand jury on counts of perjury and lying to investigators in a Hollywood wire-tapping case.
The Die Hard director was formally charged on Friday (17Apr09), two months after he was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea about his association with convicted private detective Anthony Pellicano.
MCTiernan had previously confessed to paying Pellicano, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison, to conduct an illegal wiretap on film producer Charles Roven.
But he filed to have his plea overturned, claiming he had been jet-lagged and under the influence of alcohol at the time.
MCTiernan is now facing two charges of making false statements to the FBI and one allegation of perjury.
His attorney, S. Todd Neal, insists the latest legal development is "really nothing new", claiming the new charges have simply been filed by prosecutors in response to MCTiernan's refusal to stick to the previous plea agreement.
He says, "The prosecutor has taken one count and tried to expand it into more charges in a new indictment. There seems to be retribution because John refused to play ball the way the prosecutors wanted and because we were successful on appeal."