Wiretap victims grateful private eye is convicted

But for those who believe they were targets of Pellicano's ruthless tactics, reality could be terrifying. Their cars were vandalized, their homes broken into and, worst of all, they say, their private conversations were wiretapped.

On Thursday, they welcomed the 64-year-old private investigator's conviction on racketeering and wiretapping charges.

"We are certainly relieved," said actor Keith Carradine, whose phones prosecutors say were wiretapped by Pellicano in May 2001. "We're grateful the jury came to the right conclusion."

Carradine and others who spoke to The Associated Press recounted how they were harassed and intimidated by Pellicano and his cohorts to help his clients gain a tactical advantage in legal and other disputes.

Erin Finn said she was involved with a Pellicano client, former Hollywood Records president Robert Pfeifer, who testified that he paid the private eye $225,000 to eavesdrop on her. Finn had been deposed in a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed by Pfeifer in 2000 against a former employer, and her testimony threatened to undermine his chances of winning.

Finn said she was followed, her car was vandalized and she believed her phone was wiretapped. As a countermeasure, she played talk radio into her receiver and used pay phones instead.

"I think that scared them a little bit," said Finn, who has filed a lawsuit against Pellicano and others.

Carradine, who also has filed a civil suit, testified that his trailer was broken into and threats were made against family members of his then-girlfriend Hayley Dumond in 2001. Carradine was involved in a child custody dispute with his ex-wife, Sandra Will Carradine, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury in the case.

Carradine said he has gone to great lengths since the Pellicano incident to make sure his family is secure, including installing security cameras. Dumond, now Carradine's wife, said she still looks over her shoulder to see if she's being followed.