1
00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:04,240
Speaker 1: Crime a art hourly update, breaking crime news. Now, I'm

2
00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,480
Speaker 1: Nicole Parton. Although the King of Pop has passed away,

3
00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:12,320
Speaker 1: the disputes surrounding his legacy are far from over, particularly

4
00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,040
Speaker 1: with one of Michael Jackson's former close associates, who is

5
00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,200
Speaker 1: now embroiled in a shocking legal controversy. More than ten

6
00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:25,079
Speaker 1: years after Jackson's untimely death and following renewed abuse allegations

7
00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:29,560
Speaker 1: brought to light by HBO's twenty nineteen documentary Leaving Netherland,

8
00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:35,360
Speaker 1: his estate has levied serious accusations against Frank Cassio, a

9
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:39,559
Speaker 1: longtime friend and former music manager. The estate claims that

10
00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:44,839
Speaker 1: Cassio orchestrated a complex and calculated scheme to exploit the

11
00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:49,559
Speaker 1: controversy for financial gain. In legal documents submitted to the

12
00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:54,440
Speaker 1: Los Angeles County Superior Court, Jackson's estate has named Cassio,

13
00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,400
Speaker 1: who previously managed parts of the singer's career and wrote

14
00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,560
Speaker 1: a memoir titled My Friend Michael in twenty eleven. They've

15
00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,880
Speaker 1: named him as the accused party. The estate has intensified

16
00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:12,240
Speaker 1: its legal actions against Cassio, alleging that he fabricated damaging

17
00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,520
Speaker 1: child abuse allegations In a reported two hundred and thirteen

18
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:22,360
Speaker 1: million dollars extortion plot. Despite years of publicly supporting Jackson

19
00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:27,160
Speaker 1: against such accusations, the estate contends that Cassio has betrayed

20
00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:29,920
Speaker 1: a man he once referred to as a brother, friend,

21
00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:35,200
Speaker 1: and mentor, all in pursuit of a lucrative payout. Cassio

22
00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:39,039
Speaker 1: has consistently defended Jackson in public appearances on shows like

23
00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,959
Speaker 1: The Oprah Winfrey Show, Primetime Live, and The Wendy Williams Show,

24
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:48,640
Speaker 1: portraying himself as a protector of the pop icons contested legacy. However,

25
00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,000
Speaker 1: the estate claims that his loyalty shifted dramatically in response

26
00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:57,280
Speaker 1: to changing public opinion after the release of Leaving Netherland,

27
00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:02,120
Speaker 1: which featured allegations from Wade Robson and James safe Chuck,

28
00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,800
Speaker 1: both of whom assert that Jackson abused them when they

29
00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,120
Speaker 1: were children. Both men are continuing legal actions against the estate,

30
00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,760
Speaker 1: which insist their claims are unfounded and financially motivated. The

31
00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,760
Speaker 1: recent petition filed by the estate seeks to initiate arbitration,

32
00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,240
Speaker 1: marking their first formal response to what they deemed to

33
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,280
Speaker 1: be a bold attempt at extortion. The estate alleges that

34
00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,960
Speaker 1: Cassio and his legal representatives, led by celebrity attorney Mark Garrigos,

35
00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,760
Speaker 1: who previously represented Jackson, have repeatedly threatened to pursue a

36
00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,799
Speaker 1: public lawsuit against the abuse claims unless their growing financial

37
00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,000
Speaker 1: demands are met. The estate claims that Cassio initiated this

38
00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:48,600
Speaker 1: so called shakedown at the Sunset Marquee Hotel Pool shortly

39
00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:53,720
Speaker 1: after the release of Leaving Netherland, reviving long standing allegations

40
00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,359
Speaker 1: against Jackson. The filing asserts that Cassio, who had known

41
00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,360
Speaker 1: Jackson since childhood and maintained close time with him for decades,

42
00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:06,799
Speaker 1: has dramatically changed his public stance, abandoning his previous passionate

43
00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:12,120
Speaker 1: defense of Jackson's innocence. The negotiations with respondents turned into

44
00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:16,480
Speaker 1: a shakedown in which Frank and his associates demanded significant

45
00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:21,000
Speaker 1: sums of money, threatening to fabricate false allegations against Michael

46
00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:26,639
Speaker 1: that contradicted their previously glowing defenses. The petition says they

47
00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,920
Speaker 1: felt free to do this due to the lack of

48
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,919
Speaker 1: defamation protections for deceased individuals. In his memoir, Cassi always

49
00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:38,600
Speaker 1: claimed that Jackson's affection for children was innocent and often misinterpreted.

50
00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,320
Speaker 1: He stated, throughout the years I spent with him, I

51
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,640
Speaker 1: saw nothing alarming, neither as a child or an adult.

52
00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,600
Speaker 1: While Michael may have been eccentric, that did not make

53
00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,360
Speaker 1: him a criminal. I want to be clear, Michael's love

54
00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:54,120
Speaker 1: for children was always innocent. Here he is in his

55
00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:55,960
Speaker 1: own words in an ABC interview.

56
00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:01,000
Speaker 2: Well, I think that actually stems from their father. That

57
00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,480
Speaker 2: actually shows the world how those children were raised and

58
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,640
Speaker 2: how bright they were. And you know, when it was

59
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:13,400
Speaker 2: time to be in public, they were ready beyond, beyond beyond.

60
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,960
Speaker 2: I don't know how to say, but they're just beautiful children.

61
00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,320
Speaker 1: The estate fur their claims that in January twenty twenty,

62
00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:24,200
Speaker 1: it reluctantly reached a confidential settlement with Cassio in the

63
00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,159
Speaker 1: amount of three point three million dollars with no admission

64
00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,760
Speaker 1: of wrongdoing. The petition indicates that this agreement was made

65
00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:35,479
Speaker 1: to shield Jackson's family, especially his children, from further false

66
00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:40,000
Speaker 1: accusations and to protect his valuable legacy. The settlement included

67
00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:45,880
Speaker 1: a binding arbitration clause intended to resolve any future disputes privately. However,

68
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,359
Speaker 1: the estate contends that Cassio breached this agreement by threatening

69
00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,880
Speaker 1: public legal action unless he received an additional two hundred

70
00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:59,400
Speaker 1: and thirteen million dollars. The current filing accuses Cassio and

71
00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,760
Speaker 1: his associa of violating the arbitration agreement by continuing to

72
00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,279
Speaker 1: make public threats which have reportedly been lowered to a

73
00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,920
Speaker 1: demand of just forty four million dollars to assert their

74
00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,960
Speaker 1: rights under the agreement. The estate says petitioners hereby request

75
00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:19,880
Speaker 1: and order, compelling respondents to resolve the claims that are unfounded.

76
00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,560
Speaker 1: Since Jackson's passing in two thousand and nine, his estate

77
00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:28,839
Speaker 1: has vicariously defended his legacy, battling persistent abuse allegations in

78
00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,480
Speaker 1: both courtrooms and the public sphere. Jackson was acquitted of

79
00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,240
Speaker 1: child molestation charges in a high profile two thousand and

80
00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:40,560
Speaker 1: five trial, never faced legal repercussions for any related claims

81
00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,240
Speaker 1: during his lifetime. However, the shadow of these allegations continues

82
00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:49,599
Speaker 1: to loom large following the release of that controversial documentary

83
00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:54,480
Speaker 1: featuring heart wrenching testimonies from Robson and safe Chuck. Jackson's estate,

84
00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,400
Speaker 1: which sued HBO over the film, has consistently maintained that

85
00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:03,200
Speaker 1: all allegations are false. Since his death, Jackson's estate has

86
00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:07,040
Speaker 1: generated over three billion dollars in revenue, making him one

87
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:11,640
Speaker 1: of the most profitable deceased celebrities in history. For now,

88
00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:15,320
Speaker 1: the legal saga surrounding one of pop music's most contentious

89
00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:20,360
Speaker 1: figures continues to unfold in the courtroom or crime and

90
00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:28,880
Speaker 1: justice news. After this and now to Florida, where a

91
00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,920
Speaker 1: man has been arrested and accused of killing his uncle,

92
00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:36,359
Speaker 1: fatally shooting the man after an argument escalated after the

93
00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:40,680
Speaker 1: two fought about a television O'Neill. Robert Matthew Thompson was

94
00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:44,159
Speaker 1: taken into custody by police and charged with one count

95
00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,800
Speaker 1: of murder, according to court documents. Deputies with the Escambia

96
00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:51,560
Speaker 1: County Sheriff's Office responded to a home in the two

97
00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,520
Speaker 1: hundred block of Lakewood Road after shots were fired. The

98
00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,839
Speaker 1: caller said she was Thompson's grandmother and that he had

99
00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,560
Speaker 1: just shot herself son inside the house and then ran

100
00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,320
Speaker 1: from the scene. She provided the emergency dispatchers a description

101
00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,120
Speaker 1: of her son and what he was wearing. Thompson was

102
00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,400
Speaker 1: quickly located by authorities and taken into custody just a

103
00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,440
Speaker 1: few blocks away. Police say they recovered the weapon and

104
00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,400
Speaker 1: when asked the man why he shot his uncle, admitted

105
00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,240
Speaker 1: to the crime, saying they had fought over a television.

106
00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,679
Speaker 1: Thompson is currently being held without bond for the latest crime.

107
00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,880
Speaker 1: Injustice news, follow crime Alert hourly update on your favorite

108
00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:36,400
Speaker 1: podcasting app with this crime Alert. I'm Nicol Parton.