ANTHONY PELLICANO - PELLICANO GRANTED PERMISSION TO DEFEND HIMSELF

PELLICANO GRANTED PERMISSION TO DEFEND HIMSELF

Celebrity private eye ANTHONY PELLICANO has been given permission by a US federal judge to defend himself in court against accusations of wire-tapping. The 62-year-old is alleged to have breached the privacy of Hollywood stars like SYLVESTER STALLONE and KEITH CARRADINE in order to make threats and blackmail people. Pellicano, who's accused of bugging phones and bribing police officers to perform background checks on 60 people, said on Friday (05JAN07) he's too poor to pay a lawyer to represent him in court. His former solicitor, STEVEN GRUEL, claims he hasn't been paid by Pellicano. NICOLE KIDMAN has also been questioned as part of the investigation, after voice recordings of the actress speaking to ex-husband TOM CRUISE were found when Pellicano's offices were first raided in 2002. The trial will begin on 22 August (07), after US District Judge DALE FISCHER pushed the start date back in November (06) to give the FBI more time for investigation.