More tapped Peterson phone calls found
More tapped Peterson phone calls found
By Brian Melley
Associated Press
(Published Thursday, June 19, 2003, 5:17 AM)
SACRAMENTO -- An investigator who wiretapped Scott Peterson's phones said in court papers filed Wednesday that he recently discovered 176 calls that were recorded without his knowledge.
The computer-recorded calls could present a new hurdle for prosecutors as they fight defense claims of misconduct over other taped conversations.
Prosecutors asked Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Al Girolami to review the newly discovered calls and decide whether police could listen to them for potential evidence in the case against Peterson, who is accused of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son.
Steven Jacobson, an investigator for the prosecution, said the calls were discovered Friday by an expert from the software company that designed the wiretap system. The two men listened to about 10 seconds of one recording to confirm that it was of an actual conversation, but did not listen to the others, he said.
"We heard a person in a Southern drawl talking to Scott Peterson in what appeared to be a business-related call," Jacobson wrote in an affidavit.
Jacobson said he had never heard that call before, and added that he was familiar with 3,858 phone calls police logged on the fertilizer salesman's home and cellular phones.
Peterson, 30, has pleaded innocent to two counts of murder and could face the death penalty if convicted in the killings of his wife and unborn son. He was arrested after their remains washed ashore in San Francisco Bay in April, near where he said he was fishing Christmas Eve when his pregnant wife vanished.
Defense lawyer Mark Geragos has asked that prosecutors be dismissed or the wiretaps tossed out because investigators listened .....
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Update from the Stanislaus Court info site:
New Documents Added
Posted on Wednesday, June 18 2003 at 5:07 PM PST ----
An additional document was added to the Web site late Wednesday afternoon.
1. Request for Court Review of Wiretap Recordings Recovered From Audio Buffer
2. Gloria Allred to Defendant's Motion to Set OSC RE: Contempt of Court
More wiretap portions revealed
More wiretap portions revealed
By GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITER
Published: June 19, 2003, 05:44:24 AM PDT
Authorities admitted in court documents Wednesday that they may have unknowingly recorded portions of up to 176 more telephone calls to and from Scott Peterson. Already under fire for recording portions of three calls between Peterson and his defense team, and now unsure what the new recordings might contain, investigators asked for a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge's guidance on what to do next.
The recordings, on two compact discs, are locked away in the meantime.
Two prominent attorneys recognized as wiretap experts said the startling discovery could pose big problems for prosecutors if they want to use wiretap evidence in the murder case. Peterson is charged in the slayings of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner, and could get the death penalty if found guilty.
"The defense is going to have a field day with this," said Raymond Perini, a veteran New York attorney who monitored dozens of wiretaps as a Long Island prosecutor.
Lead defense attorney Mark Geragos previously alleged "grave prosecutorial misconduct" in the interception of parts of 71 calls between Peterson and his defense team. Prosecutors claim that they inadvertently recorded portions of three of those calls, and shut off the recording as soon as they realized the nature of the calls.
According to court documents, wiretap expert Kevin Clements of Lincoln, Neb., discovered the new recordings Friday while helping an investigator "with some technical problems."
"It's a complex business," Clements said Wednesday evening in a telephone interview. Asked if authorities elsewhere have overlooked conversations recorded by wiretaps, he said, "I wouldn't say it's necessarily unique to this case. I can't cite cases for you, but it's not an uncommon thing."
Clements declined to comment further, citing a gag order in the high-profile Peterson case.
The wiretap problem arose from a "peculiarity" in AT&T Wireless technology, Clements wrote in one of the court documents. The apparent defect allows recording of calls without notifying agents who are doing the monitoring, Clements explained.
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An FYI Story for all ebayers: scam alert ((I know there are several Peterson threads freepers))...'o)