Neverland's Lost Boys | vanityfair.comIn Memoriam: Michael Jackson
Neverland's Lost Boys
The King of Pop died yesterday. According to the Los Angeles Times, Michael Jackson passed away at the UCLA Medical Center yesterday afternoon after suffering cardiac arrest at the home he had been renting in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Jackson had been staying at the $100,000-a-month chateau while rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out concerts at London's 02 Arena. The much-publicized shows, which would have been Jackson's first in years, were meant in part to revive his musical career, and in part to rescue his troubled finances. The world will remember two Michael Jacksons. One was among the greatest artists of the twentieth century, who redefined pop music and popularity itself. The other was a troubled soul, a punch line, and a cautionary tale about the perils of that celebrity.
Jackson was only 50 when he died, but behind him trailed one of the longest and most prolific careers in American music. He recorded his first hits in the 60s, as the 11-year-old frontman of a band of brothers, the Jackson 5. From there, his fame only continued to rise, above that of his siblings, as he grew and changed, both musically and physically. His music was intense, danceable, memorable, infectious and inspired. His 1982 record Thriller broke new ground, and is to this day the number-one selling album of all time. He has recorded with such legends as Paul McCartney and his fellow Motown child star Stevie Wonder, both of whom would be honored to be at his side in the musical Pantheon.
He was different from all the other celebrities. He dressed different. He looked different. He even walked different. He did it backwards. And he aged backwards too, or at least he tried to. And that was the great tragedy of his life. His youth had been sacrificed to the music industry, spent in recording studios, and dealing with the trappings of fame. He would spend the rest of his life trying to recapture that innocence, receding into the William Randolph Hearst-like seclusion of Neverland Ranch, seeking for his own Rosebud. He surrounded himself with candy, toys, and other children, with whom he would never have normal relationships. Beginning in the early nineties, accusations of child molestation and troubling reports about his private life would overshadow even his own sublime music.
Radio stations across the country are already playing marathons of his music. What sweeter eulogy can there be?
Annie Leibovitz’s 1989 cover portrait of Jackson.
The latest charges against Michael Jackson—of molesting a 13-year-old cancer patient—are more than a déjà vu of allegations that led to his $25 million settlement with young Jordie Chandler in 1994. Once again, Jackson and his lawyers are saying the motive of the boy and his family is pure greed. But the King of Pop's shield of fame and money is wearing thin. MAUREEN ORTH reveals new information from the star's former business adviser, the ex-wife of his notorious p.i., and other insiders about alleged porn and wine seductions, the forensic search of Neverland, and how both accusers' lives have been torn apart.by Maureen Orth March 2004Michael Jackson refers to white wine as "Jesus juice" and red wine as "Jesus blood." He prefers the juice and usually drinks it out of soda cans so that nobody will know he is consuming alcohol. In and out of rehab over the years for addictions to Demerol and morphine, the King of Pop also habitually gulped down soda cans of wine, particularly when he was on airplanes. On a flight to Frankfurt in 1999, for example, his former business adviser Myung-Ho Lee, who was accompanying him, had to help the staggering Jackson stand up to get off the plane. "He was lying on the floor by the time we landed," says Lee. "I told Security, 'You can't get drunk like that on white wine,' and the security people said that it's not only wine but that he takes pills with it."The incident may be telling, because in January, Michael Jackson was arraigned on seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an "intoxicating agent with intent to commit a felony" between February 7 and March 10 of last year at Neverland, his 2,700-acre ranch near Santa Barbara, which he has converted into a mini Disneyland for kids. The boy in question in the case—a cancer victim who was 13 at the time—alleges that Jackson gave him wine in Coke cans on a flight from Florida in February 2003, right under the nose of the boy's unsuspecting mother. The boy knows Jackson's names for white and red wine, which Lee says "only his inner people know," adding that it "tells you that the boy spent 'quality time' with Michael." The boy and his siblings, however, have said that "all the kids around Michael" knew about Jesus juice, and that he told them, "Jesus drank it, so it must be good."...The trip the boy and his family made to Florida coincided with the airing of the British documentary on ABC last year in which Jackson, now 45, told interviewer Martin Bashir that there was nothing wrong with sharing his bed with little boys. It was a very brazen thing for Jackson to admit, given the fact that in Los Angeles in 1994 he had had to pay $25 million to Jordie Chandler and his family in order to settle a civil suit in which Jordie, then 13, charged that Jackson had masturbated and fellated him during their relationship, which ironically also included a trip to Florida. Similarities in Michael Jackson's modus operandi between the latest bizarre scandal and the one that preceded it abound, right down to the tactics of intimidation and the controversial use of the Nation of Islam for security. In 1993 armed members of tough South-Central L.A. gangs, including the notorious Bloods, were transported to Neverland. The employment of these toughs was said to have sent a strong message to Neverland employees who might have considered cooperating in the Jordie Chandler investigation, not to mention the subliminal message it gave out to other boys and their families who might have been thinking of coming forward.When 70 members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department and D.A.'s office, including a team of forensic experts, invaded Neverland last November 18, while Jackson was in Las Vegas, they had already spent five months investigating the child's allegations. Although Jackson was reputedly taken by surprise—cops with search warrants also entered the homes and workplaces of Jackson employees and a private investigator named Bradley Miller—his high-powered and expensive criminal attorney, Mark Geragos, had already been on the case since February, a curiosity in itself, since no criminal charges had been filed.Over the years Jackson has doled out millions upon millions of dollars to lawyers, doctors, accountants, security people, con men, voodoo chiefs, business advisers, members of his bankrupted dysfunctional family, an ex-wife who allegedly threatened to tell his secrets, former staffers on remittance, and the families of young boys he has made his "special friends" all over the world. There is almost never a time when he is free of crisis, and as a result, say many who know him, it has become more and more difficult for him to trust his advisers or not to feel paranoid about something. "He has a lot of skeletons in his closet," says Lee. "Some are real and some are in his mind, which makes him a prisoner of all those around him." The result is often chaos. Jackson has a $200-million-plus bank loan—guaranteed by his half-interest in the Sony/ATV music catalogue, which owns the publishing rights to 251 Beatles songs and many other pop songs—and it falls due in 2005. These days it is difficult to get a straight read on Jackson's finances, other than the cash-flow situation, which is reportedly dire. "Nobody really knows if there is money or not," says Dieter Wiesner, one of his recent managers. The coveted Sony/ATV catalogue is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. However, as I reported in this magazine last year, Sony has the right of first refusal if Jackson is forced to sell his share, and he cannot sell, according to Lee, before October 2005, the 10th anniversary of the partnership. There are reports that Jackson is meanwhile being bailed out by a number of interested parties, including Al Malnik, the flamboyant Miami lawyer who once represented Meyer Lansky. Malnik reportedly put up much of the money to settle two civil suits against Jackson last year —a figure estimated at close to $10 million.In times of trouble in the past, most notably during the first molestation case, Jackson has turned to drugs. Kat Pellicano remembers a very high Michael Jackson in her house in August 1993, nodding out and drinking glass after glass of orange soda. Kat is a former wife of Anthony Pellicano, the private investigator who worked back then for Jackson's attorneys Bert Fields and Howard Weitzman. Fields has been questioned in a current F.B.I. investigation involving Pellicano's use of wiretapping for clients. Pellicano, who is now in jail, was then the muscle the Jackson team used to intimidate potential witnesses against the singer and to accuse Jordie Chandler's father of extortion. After the first molestation scandal broke, "Anthony wanted to get Michael out of the country as soon as possible," Kat says. "When Michael came into the house, my three-year-old daughter asked if he were a boy or a girl. I told her a boy—that some boys had long hair. 'But do they wear makeup?'" That day Kat drove her husband and Jackson to the airport, where they boarded a private jet for Asia. A few months later Jackson checked himself into a London detox center.
@mrjyn
June 26, 2009
In Memoriam: Michael Jackson + Neverland's Lost Boys | vanityfair.com
News from DEA, Domestic Field Divisions, New Orleans News Releases, 06/25/09
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2009
Contact: Special Agent Warren Rivera
Number: (504) 840-1070
Defendants in Mississippi Charged in Multi-Pound
Methamphetamine Conspiracy
JUN 25-- Jackson, Miss - Acting United States Attorney Stan Harris, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Marshall Fisher, Drug Enforcement Administration New Orleans Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jimmy S. Fox III, (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Joel K. Reece, Rankin County (District 20) District Attorney Michael Guest, and Pike County (District 14) District Attorney Dee Bates announce the culmination of a one year joint federal and state investigation targeting a large methamphetamine distribution organization operating in the State of Mississippi and elsewhere.
Members of this organization imported into and distributed up to 50 pounds of methamphetamine per month during the course of this conspiracy. Until today, this organization was the largest identified methamphetamine distribution enterprise operating in the State of Mississippi. It was a highly structured criminal organization that has a demonstrated history of violence to facilitate its drug trafficking activities.
On June 23, 2009, teams of state, local, and federal law enforcement officers arrested numerous defendants and executed multiple search warrants at locations in Walthall, Lincoln, Pike, Marion, Hinds, and Rankin Counties. Related enforcement operations were also conducted in Florida and Alabama today.
The arrests were the result of a joint investigation between the DEA Jackson Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Enforcement Group, and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. Also participating in the investigation were: the Lincoln, Marion, Pike, Rankin, and Walthall County Sheriff ’ s Departments, the Brandon, Pearl, Richland, Florence and Ridgeland, Mississippi Police Departments, Hinds County (District 7) District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith, and Marion County (District 15) District Attorney Hal Kitrell. U.S. Marshal Nehemiah Flowers and the U.S. Marshal Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Force were also recognized for their assistance in arresting those indicted as part of the operation.
As a result of this investigation agents seized numerous pounds of methamphetamine with a street value exceeding 1.5 million dollars. Also seized were 5 vehicles (two of which had hidden compartments), 2 stolen motorcycles, 2 stolen 4-wheelers, over 50 firearms at least one of which is believed to be a fully automatic assault rifle, and 3 silencers. Additional arrests/indictments are anticipated as this investigation continues.
Acting U.S. Attorney Stan Harris praised the cooperative efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement. Harris noted that methamphetamine is one of the most highly addictive of all narcotics, and its production and distribution rank among the most destructive criminal enterprises in the State of Mississippi.
DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Mississippi Joel Reece stated that, “T his investigation and subsequent arrests of these individuals resulted in the complete dismantlement of a sophisticated drug trafficking organization responsible for the distribution of significant quantities of methamphetamine into Mississippi. This success can be attributed to an outstanding partnership between DEA and our state and local counterparts combined with guidance and aggressive prosecution from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, and the aforementioned District Attorneys. ”
MBN Director Marshall Fisher stated that “ this violent organization has operated with impunity for some time, and is responsible for distributing multi-pound quantities of Mexican methamphetamine over a significant period of time. We believe the arrests and successful prosecution of this entire organization will significantly impact the availability of this highly addictive illicit narcotic in the state of Mississippi.
Fisher added that “ this investigation has been a team effort from its initiation. The tireless efforts of agents and prosecutors in this investigation have resulted in what may be the most significant blow to methamphetamine distribution in the history of Mississippi drug enforcement. To have simultaneous multi federal and state charges in so many different areas of our state is an indicator of the significance of the accomplishments in this investigation. ”
As in any criminal case, a person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The charges filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
The Case of the Missing Demerol 3 DEA Resources, Microgram Journal, Volume 1, January-June 2003-Osmolality - A Novel and Sensitive Tool for Detection of Tampering of Beverages Adulterated with Ethanol, -Butyrolactone, and 1,4-Butanediol, and for Detection of Dilution-Tampered Demerol Syringes
Theft of Demerol and other controlled substances by health care professionals is a recurring problem across the U.S. In June 1989, the author (working at the toxicology lab of St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, New York) received a call from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding a Demerol theft investigation. A number of patients at a local hospital were complaining that they still had pain even after receiving their Demerol injections. Toxicology studies suggested that they had not in fact received any Demerol, implying diversion/theft by a nurse or other health-care professional. Hundreds of nurses were working at any one time, and they often worked on different nursing stations. To identify a suspect, the case agent systematically switched all nurses' floor schedules over several days. This process demonstrated that the patient complaints only occurred when a certain nurse was on duty. The case involved 75 mg Demerol syringes. The agent reasoned that the Demerol was being removed and used by the nurse, and a unknown liquid placed back in the syringe for patient injection. Because no patient became ill, it was felt that the nurse was using one of four sterile solutions as the replacement. The agent wanted to know exactly which of the four solutions was being used so that he could confront the suspect from a basis of fact and thereby elicit a confession. The available solutions included two normal salines and two sterile waters. Osmolality and specific gravity testing were performed on a control (untampered) Demerol syringe solution, on a suspect (tampered) Demerol syringe solution, and on all four sterile solutions. An independent quantitative analysis on the suspect Demerol solution confirmed that it only had 3.9 mg of Demerol remaining - consistent with a single plunger removal of Demerol and refill with one of the sterile solutions. The osmolality and specific gravity results are reported in Table 8.
Table 8 - Osmolality and Specific Gravity Measurements in the Missing Demerol Case
| Sample | Osmolality [mOsm/kg] | Spec. Gravity |
|---|---|---|
| 75 mg Demerol Control Syringe | 429 | 1.037 |
| 75 mg Demerol Suspect Syringe | 381 | 1.011 |
| Abbott Bacteriostatic Saline | 374 | 1.010 |
| Lyphomed Saline | 291 | 1.004 |
| Quad Bacteriostatic Water | 93 | 1.005 |
| Abbott Sterile Water | 1 | 1.000 |
As the results show, the specific gravity testing had limited usefulness because it could not unambiguously differentiate between all solutions. However, the osmolality testing demonstrated that Abbott Bacteriostatic Saline was most likely used to refill the syringe. The observed 381 mOsm/kg result in the suspect syringe (slightly higher than the Abbott solution), was probably due to the slight effect of the 3.9 mg of Demerol still remaining in the solution. Upon confrontation with the evidence, the nurse admitted her guilt. With the
exception of osmolality, no other laboratory method available at that time could have been employed to differentiate between different brands of saline and water. Osmolality would clearly be a useful technique for similar, current cases of controlled substance thefts from hospitals, pharmacies, doctors' offices, and similar stocks.
Additional Potential Forensic Applications
Identification of Sugar-Based Beverages Substituted for Diet Beverages 2,4
The accidental or purposeful substitution of a sugar-based beverage for a diet (sugarless) beverage can be harmful to a diabetic individual. Several different lots of Pepsi and Diet Pepsi were tested to determine if it would be possible to differentiate the sugar based beverage from the diet beverage. The results are as follows:
Pepsi: 711-737 mOsm/kg (n=5)
Diet Pepsi: 13-32 mOsm/kg (n=6)
Although only 11 different lots were tested, there is clearly enough difference between the two types of beverages to allow a reasonable determination of diet versus sugar-based.
Poisoning of Domestic Pets' Water with Ethylene Glycol
Dogs and cats are very sensitive to the poisonous effects of antifreeze (which contains ethylene glycol). Fatal amounts are 1.4 mL/kg for cats and 6.6 mL/kg for dogs 5. The sweet odor and taste of ethylene glycol makes it very attractive to animals, and it is therefore a particularly insidious poison. Osmolality is a very useful initial screen for suspect solutions in that it will detect the presence of ethylene glycol (and also other alcohols) at very low levels in water. Based on ethylene glycol's molecular weight of 62.02, a 1 percent solution in water would read 161 mOsm/kg, versus a typical tap water value of approximately 3 mOsm/kg.
Identification of Water 2,3,4
Water is submitted on occasion to crime laboratories. Although osmolality cannot detect the presence of large molecular weight compounds in water at low concentrations [i.e., most "classic" street drugs], it is an excellent tool to identify that a submitted solution is water. Most waters tested ranged from 0 - 8 mOsm/kg. Only high-mineral content spring waters had higher values, up to 28 mOsm/kg. Non-water solvents will not freeze and no result will be obtained. Any polar solvent mixed into water will greatly increase its osmolality. Acids and bases that have been added to the water will increase the osmolality and also give a pH change. For example, a solution of 1 mL of Chlorox [5 percent hypochlorite] in 100 mL of distilled water, has a pH of 10.5 and an osmolality of 43 mOsm/kg. A solution of 1 mL of 12N HCl in 100 mL of distilled water has a pH of 1.0 and an osmolality of 243 mOsm/kg. A 1 percent solution of ethanol in distilled water has a osmolality of 158 mOsm/kg.
Field Testing
With results available within 15 minutes after plug-in, on only 0.25 mL of sample, the Advanced 3D3 Osmometer instrument used in this study (or any equivalent osmometer) can be easily adapted for field testing at large concert events from police D.U.I. vans. This would allow rapid beverage screening before submission of case samples to the crime lab.
Limitations
"Date-Rape" Benzodiazepines in Solution 2
As previously mentioned, the high molecular weight of common "classic" street drugs, and their low concentration in submitted solutions, makes osmolality an ineffective screening tool for their identification. For example, a single methylphenidate (Ritalin) tablet containing 5 mg of active drug and weighing 91 mg, produced a measured osmolality of only 11 mOsm/kg when dissolved in 30 mL distilled water. Therefore, osmolality is not viable for detection of drink tampering with, e.g., flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) or other sedative benzodiazepines that are employed for drug facilitated sexual assault.
Urine in Beverages 6
Beverages are occasionally maliciously adulterated with urine. The osmolality of an individual's urine varies widely [50 - 1400 mOsm/kg] and greatly depends on the person's degree of hydration. Urea, the compound of highest concentration in the urine, varies from 0.7 - 3.3 g/100 mL, and is a better indicator of tampering than osmolality. Although a typical random urine volume of 4 - 8 oz [118 - 237 mL] may be produced, let us assume 1 oz [30 mL] was introduced into a 50 oz pot of coffee[1480 mL]. The resulting urea levels would be 14 - 67 mg/100 mL. This is easily measured with a typical urea analysis method, which usually have a dynamic range of 2 - 212 mg/100 mL.
Saliva in Beverages 3
Similarly, beverages are occasionally maliciously adulterated with saliva. Amylase, which is present in very high levels in saliva [20,000 units/100 mL], is a better indicator of beverage adulteration with saliva versus osmolality. A typical 0.5 mL "spit" volume in an 8 oz [237 mL] cup of coffee would result in a measured amylase of 422 units/100 mL. This is easily measured with an amylase method having a dynamic range of 1-200 units/100 mL.
Conclusions
With ever increasing case loads and limited personnel resources, crime laboratories need efficient new tools to process the disturbing increases in liquid sample submissions. Osmolality, an effective analytical tool of the hospital laboratory and food and consumer products industries, is a low cost, rapid, facile, and non-destructive screening tool for forensic chemists and toxicologists.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Don Wiggin from Advanced Instruments for the loan of the 3D3 osmometer, and to the Rochester Institute of Technology and Drug ID Systems for providing the samples for testing.
Reference
- The Advanced Osmometer Model 3D3 User's Guide, Advanced Instruments Inc, Norwood, MA (2000)
- J. Wesley, Unpublished Data, Drug ID Systems, Inc., Rochester, NY using an Advanced 3D3 Osmometer (2001).
- J. Wesley, Unpublished Data, St. Mary's Hospital Toxicology Lab, Rochester, NY using an Advanced 3D2 Osmometer (1985-1990).
- T. Senosi, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY using an Advanced Wide Range 3W2 Osmometer (2000-2001).
- L. Tilley, The Five Minute Veterinary Consultant, 2nd Ed. (2000).
- N. Tietz, Fundamentals of Clinical Chemistry, 3rd Ed, W.B. Saunders Co. p. 961 (1987).