Suspect Charged in Threat on Reporter

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office on Monday charged an ex-convict with making a “criminal threat” against a Los Angeles Times reporter who was researching the relationship between actor Steven Seagal and an alleged Mafia associate.

Alexander Proctor, 59, faces up to three years in prison if convicted on the charge, which stems from a threat against Times reporter Anita Busch. The charge filed against Proctor marks the latest development in that case, which began last summer and has taken authorities in several different directions, resulting in two criminal prosecutions so far.

Busch woke up June 20 and found that her car windshield had been punctured. Left on her car were a dead fish with a rose in its mouth and a cardboard sign with a one-word message: Stop. The reporter told authorities she thought the incident was related to her research for an article about Seagal and his ties to a reputed Mafia associate.

Federal prosecutors initially filed criminal charges against Proctor last year in connection with the threat, but dismissed their indictment earlier this month because, they said, a recent Supreme Court ruling made it clear that they had no federal jurisdiction over the matter. Two weeks ago, federal prosecutors met with local officials and asked them to consider filing a state case against Proctor.

In their complaint Monday, local prosecutors alleged that Proctor “did willfully and unlawfully threaten to commit a crime which would result in death and great bodily injury to Anita Busch, with the specific intent that the statement be taken as a threat. It is further alleged that the threatened crime, on its face and under the circumstances in which it was made, was so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific as to convey to Anita Busch a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution.”

Proctor had pleaded not guilty in connection with the federal indictment alleging that he had threatened Busch. A date for his arraignment on the state case has not been scheduled. Proctor remains in federal custody on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. His attorney was not available for comment.

Busch, who now has a free-lance contract with The Times, said she was happy that county prosecutors decided to file a criminal complaint against Proctor: “I am very pleased the district attorney’s office is pursuing the case, because it is ultimately about the right of a reporter to freely and vigorously pursue a story without being subjected to intimidation,” she said in a prepared statement.

According to court documents, Proctor implicated himself in the threat against Busch during tape-recorded conversations with an informant working for the FBI. Proctor told the informant that he had been hired by Anthony Pellicano, a celebrity private investigator, to carry out the threat, court documents state. Proctor told the informant he was working for Pellicano on Seagal’s behalf.

Attorneys for Seagal and Pellicano have denied the two men were involved in an alleged plot to threaten Busch.

Grenades Found

Based on Proctor’s statements to the informant, authorities obtained a warrant to search Pellicano’s office. During that search, federal agents said, they found two unregistered hand grenades, plastic explosives, blasting caps and about $200,000 in cash, gold bullion and jewelry. Pellicano was arrested and charged with illegally possessing the grenades.

Federal authorities declined to say whether they had found anything linking Pellicano to the threat against Busch during their investigation.

At the time of the search, authorities said they had no evidence other than Proctor’s uncorroborated statements that implicated Seagal.

Pellicano, who was released from custody on $400,000 bail shortly after his arrest, is also under investigation for illegal wiretaps and witness intimidation, federal prosecutors said last week during an unsuccessful bid to revoke his bail.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald Goudy, who is prosecuting Proctor, said he does not anticipate filing charges against Pellicano and Seagal at this point.

“We filed against who we can file on at this time,” he said, adding that the FBI is in charge of any further investigation into the matter.

At the time of the threat, Busch and another Times reporter were working on an investigative story about Seagal and his former producing partner, Julius Nasso, who were involved in a business dispute. Nasso, according to federal authorities, is an associate of the Gambino crime family. Nasso was indicted last year, along with other reputed mob figures, on charges in a plot to extort money from Seagal.

He has pleaded not guilty. On Monday, other alleged mobsters were convicted in the extortion plot against Seagal and other crimes. Nasso is still facing trial on the charges against him.

Meeting Recorded

The day after Busch’s car was vandalized, the man who ultimately became the FBI informant called her and said he knew who was responsible. He said Proctor told him he had vandalized the car because he was working for guys “back East” who were ruthless and wanted Busch to back off her story.

The informant then agreed to wear a recording device for the FBI to try to elicit more information from Proctor. During a July 3 meeting with the informant, Proctor reportedly said he had actually carried out the threat against Busch on behalf of Seagal, according to court documents.

In one conversation, Proctor allegedly told the informant that he owed Pellicano $14,000 and agreed to intimidate Busch for $10,000. After the job was done, however, Proctor said “they” were so pleased with his work that Pellicano agreed to wipe out the remaining debt.

Proctor allegedly told the informant that he was supposed to “blow up” Busch’s car as a warning so she would back off her story on Seagal. But he said it was too difficult to set her car ablaze because she lived near an apartment complex where at least one resident stayed up late into the evening, according to court documents. He settled on vandalizing the car and leaving the fish, the rose and the note to convey his message.

Following the threat against Busch, another reporter working on a similar story about Seagal for a magazine said he, too, had been threatened outside his home. Proctor has not been linked to that threat by prosecutors or in court documents.

According to prosecutors, Proctor is an ex-convict with burglary and narcotics-related convictions.

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Times staff writer Steve Berry contributed to this report.