Director McTiernan Pleads Guilty, Strikes Plea Bargain

Famed Hollywood director John McTiernan has entered a 'Guilty' plea to a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to charges of lying to FBI investigators. McTiernan lied about hiring Hollywood private investigator, Anthony Pellicano, to wiretap veteran Hollywood producer, Charles Roven, back in the summer of 2000

With his acceptance of the plea bargain, and the guilty plea that came with it, John McTiernan has become the sixth person to acknowledge criminal wrongdoing in the racketeering case against Anthony Pellicano. McTiernan is one of 14 people that have been snared in the current investigation into Pellicano's criminal activities.

According to ABC News, "Asked by the judge if the statements he made to the FBI agent were false, McTiernan said, 'They were knowingly false, your honor.'" The guilty plea is assumedly part of the plea bargain McTiernan has struck with prosecutors.

When originally asked about Pellicano, McTiernan replied that he had not hired Pellicano in any capacity, and that Pellicano had never made mention of his wiretap abilities. Later, McTiernan would recount a different tale. As ABC News reports McTiernan had said "I had hired Anthony Pellicano to wiretap Charles Roven in the summer of 2000. … But I never received a report or specific information."

McTiernan said that he did not receive a report from his request for an illegal wiretap on Charles Roven, whom McTiernan had worked with on the 2002 box office flop, Rollerball. Roven was a producer of the film, while McTiernan was a director and a producer. McTiernan claims he paid Pellicano the sum of $50,000 and fired him.

Sentencing for McTiernan has been scheduled for July 31st, until which time he is free on bail. The charge that he pled to carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.

This all stems from a criminal case being built against Anthony Pellicano, who is suspected of tapping hundreds of phone lines and bribing police. Pellicano plead not guilty, but is alleged to have tapped the lines of stars like Sylvester Stallone, and has allegedly had police run checks on people, including Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon. Pellicano is finishing a 30-month stint in prison for earlier charges. He faces 20 years in prison for each of the 110 racketeering and conspiracy charges he faces.

John McTiernan is a famed action director in Hollywood, who has both immensely successful movies under his belt, as well as his share of box-office bombs. His highly celebrated movies include Predator, Die Hard, and the third movie in the same series, Die Hard: With a Vengeance, The Hunt For Red October, The 13th Warrior, and Basic. His less than successful movies include Medicine Man, Last Action Hero, Rollerball, and The Thomas Crown Affair. The producer he is accused of spying on, Charles Roven, has a rather extensive list of movies he produced including Twelve Monkeys, Batman Begins, and The Brothers Grimm.

[Additional Sources: ABC News]

- Doug Pendrell