Joe Tacopina on The Abrams Report - Posted 19 January 2005

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4241911/

MSNBC Transcripts

'The Abrams Report' for Feb. 10

Read the complete transcript to Tuesday's show

Updated: 2:00 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2004

Guests: Paul Pfingst, Karen Russell, Joe Tacopina, Jack Furlong, Jay Fahey

ANNOUNCER: Now, THE ABRAMS REPORT. Here is Dan Abrams.

DAN ABRAMS, HOST: Hi, everyone.

New developments in the Michael Jackson case. Did Jackson employees try to prevent his accuser from filing the molestation charges?

Two Jackson insiders have hired a big time attorney, and he‘s on the program.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABRAMS: Coming up in the Michael Jackson case, could two Jackson insiders now be charged for trying to somehow keep the accuser‘s family from talking to the authorities? That‘s coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABRAMS: Did two of Michael Jackson‘s personal handlers try to keep the mother of his accuser against her will?

Frank Tyson and Vinnie Amen believe Santa Barbara D.A. Tom Sneddon at least is considering charging them with various crimes. They even hired a big gun from New York to represent them.

The issue, whether Tyson and Amen held the accuser‘s mother between February and March of last year, right around the time prosecutors say the boy was abused, telling her that apparently it was unsafe to leave because of death threats after her son was shown in an interview with Jackson that aired in the U.S. on February 7.

All an elaborate effort, prosecutors may claim, to get the family passports and send them out of the country before they could talk to authorities.

The boy‘s mother signed a document saying Jackson never abused her son. And there may be allegations that somehow, you know, they were forced -- the family was forced to do it.

Now we haven‘t been able to confirm whether any charges are pending against the two, due to the gag order in the Jackson case. But the one person that really may know what is going on is the attorney who‘s been represented by the two men-sorry, who‘s been contacted by the two men, Joseph Tacopina. And he joins us now.

All right. Joe, good to see you, first of all.

JOE TACOPINA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hey, Dan.

ABRAMS: All right. So what‘s the story? You get the sense that your clients really may be charged?

TACOPINA: You know, I hope not. I mean, from knowing what I know about the case and the facts and speaking to them and looking at whatever, you know, proof they have to support their positions and their innocence and rebut any claims that they did anything like you just said, I would think they wouldn‘t be charged.

But you know, this is the Michael Jackson case. I don‘t know. I‘ve read...

ABRAMS: Do you have anything to indicate-Do you have anything to indicate that the prosecutors will charge?

TACOPINA: I-yes. They were contacted. Let me leave it as vague as that, because I made a commitment. But let me tell you they‘ve been contacted by the authorities and invited to go have a chat with the Santa Barbara County district attorney‘s office.

ABRAMS: So what makes you think that a chat means possible charges?

TACOPINA: I‘m being intentionally vague when I say a chat. I don‘t think they met at a diner.

ABRAMS: Yes.

TACOPINA: Here‘s what I can tell you and here‘s what‘s out there right now. You know, all of a sudden within the last few weeks you have a website called Celebrity Justice that has this story that you just said, saying that the district attorney is interested in speaking with them and may want to pursue charges against them for what you just described, Dan.

Then “Vanity Fair” comes out on Monday and sort of puts these two guys in the middle of that. And because all of a sudden they‘re being thrust into the middle this case, a case that, while they believe in Michael Jackson‘s innocence, they certainly would rather not be a part of it, quite frankly.

You know, they now have to be represented and make sure that their “I‘s” are dotted and “T‘s” are crossed.

ABRAMS: They did have contact. They‘re not going to deny that they had contact with this woman, right? I mean, they spent a lot of time with them, right?

TACOPINA: No. Absolutely. These were two of the guys-listen, Frank was Mike Tyson‘s personal assistant-Mike Tyson, Michael Jackson-

Frank Tyson was Michael Jackson‘s personal assistant for a substantial period of time. And they were close.

Vince Amen was a Carnegie Melon educated, you know, music producer, worked for one of the production companies. And was there involved in the interaction.

All this happened after the Bashir documentary comes out. And this family, the mother and her children, she‘s basically looks to Jackson and to tap into his generosity yet again to seek asylum, because of a sudden she was being called a bad mother.

ABRAMS: So were they helping-were they helping to get passports for the family?

TACOPINA: Oh, sure. They facilitated a lot. Now I say they, I‘m talking about Vincent and Frank.

ABRAMS: Right. That‘s who I‘m talking about, too.

TACOPINA: I‘m not talking about Michael or his people. But absolutely. They helped facilitate her requests.

I mean these were all things-and I‘m comfortable with the proof in this regard, Dan. I‘m comfortable that these were her requests, things she asked these people to do on her behalf, because she wanted either to go here or go there. Her mind changed like the wind.

But certainly everything that was done, that my clients did on her behalf or her family‘s behalf was done at her request. And there‘s proof to that, more than just what I‘m saying.

ABRAMS: Joe, I‘ve got to ask you this. I mean, is Michael Jackson paying for your defense?

TACOPINA: Well-no, Dan. And I love you. You‘re the best. You ask the best questions. But I‘ve got to tell you, you know I can‘t answer that. I‘m glad you asked it, but you know I can‘t answer it.

But, you know, you know I‘m not a-I‘ve done my community service.

I‘m a former and recovering prosecutor.

ABRAMS: You‘re not denying it, though.

TACOPINA: I‘m not-no. I‘m not denying anything like that. And certainly, I think Michael Jackson and Frank and Vincent have very joint and common interests. I think the credibility of their accuser is something that will be called into question and I don‘t think will stand muster, quite frankly.

ABRAMS: Joe Tacopina, thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

TACOPINA: All right, Dan.

ABRAMS: Good to see you. You‘ve seen Joe. He‘s been on the show sometimes.

Very quickly, an update now on a Michael Jackson story we had last night. One of our guests, Stacey Brown (ph) had said that Mark Geragos may be on the way out, according to the family of Michael Jackson. Well, I spoke with Ben Braffman (ph) of Jackson‘s defense team. He told me not true, absolutely untrue. He said anyone who is saying it is lying. He says Mark Geragos is a welcomed member of that team.