Chris Rock tied to Pellicano wiretap probe

Chris Rock

LOS ANGELES - Comic Chris Rock has emerged as the highest-profile name yet on the reported list of Hollywood clients for whom disgraced private eye Anthony Pellicano is accused of conducting illegal database searches.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the comedian's representatives hired Pellicano after a Hungarian-born model, Monika Zsibrita, claimed in 1999 that Rock was the father of her then-unborn child. The paper said that Rock's spokesman, Matt Labov, confirmed that claim.

Labov declined comment when reached by Reuters.

He told The Times that Pellicano had an "excellent reputation" at the time he was retained on Rock's behalf and that no one associated with the comedian had any idea the private eye would engage on illegal conduct.

"Let me put it like this: When you hire somebody to fix your TV, you don't necessarily think he's going to hook you up for free cable," Labov told the Times.

The paper reported that Zsibrita ultimately pursued her paternity claims against Rock in court, that subsequent DNA tests showed him not to be the child's father and that the case had since been concluded. It said Rock was separated from his wife at the time he met the model.

Pellicano worked for such major stars as Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Michael Jackson, but Rock, who hosted the Oscars last year, ranks as the best known celebrity for whom the onetime private eye is alleged to engaged in illegal activity.

Zsibrita is one of dozens of individuals whose confidential records Pellicano is charged with illegally obtaining on behalf of heavyweight Hollywood attorneys and other prominent clients who paid him to unearth scandalous information on courtroom foes.

A 110-count US grand jury indictment returned against Pellicano in February also accuses him of illegally bugging the telephone conversations of numerous individuals he was hired to investigate. Federal authorities have never specified why Pellicano would have been interested in Zsibrita, and Rock was not named in the indictment.

In an interview with the Times, Zsibrita declined to discuss the paternity case she had against Rock but said the Pellicano indictment confirmed her suspicions that she had been wiretapped and followed years ago. 

- REUTERS