1970 - "The Love You Save" by The Jackson Five enters the Billboard Soul Singles chart where it will peak at #1 and remain there for 6 weeks
1984 - Michael is on the cover of US magazine
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1990 - Thousands of Michael Jackson fans pour onto the grounds of St John's Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica, Los Angeles to support Michael who was admitted last night suffering from severe chest pains.
Doctors today ran a battery of tests to find out what ails him.
“He’s undergoing several important tests today,” said Jackson spokesman Bob Jones. “I don’t think it was a heart attack. He just experienced some discomfort. He had been feeling bad the past two or three days.”
2009 - Michael attended rehearsals and goes to Dr Klein’s in Beverly Hills
2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 23
Katherine was at court with Austin Brown.
Paul Gongaware Testimony
AEG cross
He was asked about Michael's final two rehearsals at Staples Center. Gongaware couldn't recall details about the first one. He said he wasn't particularly attentive about Jackson's health & appearance. This was the 1st rehearsal after Jackson missed one 4 days earlier. Gongaware said Michael rehearsed on June 23rd. "He was fine," Gongaware described, saying his understanding was that Michael was okay. Gongaware said he wasn't being specifically attentive on the 23rd because he didn't think there was a problem with Michael. Michael rehearsed on Jun 24th. Gongaware watched "Thriller" in its entirety, it was the 1st time they were using costume. He said Michael seemed fine.
​

Putnam: "Was he engaged?"
Gongaware: "Yes"
Putnam: "Any physical issues?"
Gongaware: "No, I didn't see any, He did a good rehearsal"

On June 25th, Gongaware got a call from Randy saying he had a call from DiLeo asking him to go to Michael's house because something was going on. As Randy got to Michael's house, an ambulance was leaving and Randy followed it to the hospital. Gongaware said. "I didn't know what was going on"
"At that point I was apprehensive because I didn't know what was happening." Gongaware said he didn't hear anything for a while, so he called Randy to see what was going on and he said Michael had died. "I was in shock," Gongaware recalled. "The artist was gone, he just passed away. How did this happen?!". Gongaware said he no idea what caused Michael to die, never contemplated the idea of Michael Jackson dying. Gongaware talked very matter-of-factly about the day Jackson died. Gongaware said he questioned how it happened. "I called Kenny right away and told him. He was at Staples Center," Gongaware recalled. "The atmosphere at Staples was very somber."
After Michael's passing, Gongaware said they had to shut down production. He was then involved in Jackson's memorial service.
As to why This Is It was happening in London, Gongaware explained it was Michael's best market. "We didn't know how strong it would be." Putnam asked Gongaware if AEG considered a tour in the US. "No, he had all those child allegations flying, it was the wrong thing to do" he said.
Gongaware: "He didn't tour very often, I don't think he liked it very much. There were lots of things he would rather be doing". Michael never did "meet and greet, according to Gongaware
The exec said Michael came out with the phrase "This Is It" because this was the last tour he was going to do.
Michael only agreed to 50 shows, but Gongaware said AEG Live was interested in more
Gongaware said the Dangerous tour lost money due to cancellations. He said he thought HIStory nearly broke even. Gongaware worked on Dangerous, HIStory" and one Jacksons tour back in the 80s. Michael's primary concern was not making money off his shows, Gongaware said. His primary concern was with the art, the performance
"This Is It was supposed to be spectacular", Gongaware said. He would be doing 8-10 shows a month, so about 3 a week.
Gongaware said he never saw Michael take drugs. Aside from drug use in 93, Gongaware said he didn't have any other knowledge of his using drugs. "He was lively, engaged, he seemed happy," Gongaware said about Michael
Putnam asked Gongaware about the day he thought Jackson was impaired after an appointment with Dr. Arnold Klein. The questions prompted a sidebar. He said Jackson "wasn't quite the same" but didn't testify about Jackson's demeanor in detail. He was told Michael was at Dr. Klein's office. Gongaware said he was not familiar with the doctors who treated Michael. Putnam announced be had no more questions at this time
Jackson redirect
In response to Panish questions, Gongaware said This Is It was only the second tour that AEG Live would promote and produce
Panish asked if the exec was concerned about Michael.

"I certainly wanted him to do well".
Panish: "Were you concerned about his children and his family, sir?"
Gongaware: "I was concerned about him"
Panish: "How about his family and children, sir?"
Gongaware: "I supposed. I was focused on Michael"

Brian Panish asked Gongaware a couple different ways if he was concerned about Jackson's mother & children. Gongaware looked up toward the celiling and then said he'd thought about it and he was concerned about Jackson's mom & children
"I believe he was a good father," Gongaware said about Michael Jackson.

Panish: "Did you know he was a great son to his mother?"
Gongaware: "I believe he was"

Panish asked if Gongaware ever called Katherine Jackson to express his condolences. The executive said no. Gongaware said he also didn't think that he sent Katherine Jackson or Jackson's children a condolence card.

Panish: "After Michael died, did you ever send a card to his mother?"
Gongaware: 'I don't think so"
Panish: "Did you ever call her to express your condolences?"
Gongaware: "No"

Panish asked Gongaware several questions about the executive changing elements of his deposition testimony. "I believe I testified truthfully," Gongaware said. "I don't believe I changed my testimony substantially."
Panish then started pointing out what he said were inconsistencies in Gongaware's testimony
This led to questions about whether Gongaware was mistaken when he wrote in an email that AEG was paying Conrad Murray's salary. Gongaware said he didn't necessarily think he was mistaken. He also said he didn't remember writing the email. As to the email Gongaware wrote that AEG, not Michael paid Dr. Murray. Panish asked again if Gongaware recalled writing this email. He said no. Gongaware said he spent 2 days with his lawyers preparing for his deposition, one-two hours discussing the email about AEG paying Dr. Murray. Panish pointed out several answers Gongaware gave on his deposition and the changes he asked to make to the transcript after meeting with attorneys. Panish said Gongaware changed his testimony several times as a result of meeting with AEG's attorneys. Panish said Gongaware also changed his testimony again while on the stand and under oath. Panish tried to impeach Gongaware, which is a legal way to call into question the witness' credibility.
Later in the case, the judge will instruct the jurors that if they think a person lied, they may disconsider part of all of his testimony. As to the email about AEG paying Dr. Murray, Panish pointed out that Gongaware changed his answers several times throughout his testimony. One time he said the email was shorthanded, normal course of business and didn't really think it was a mistake. Yesterday, Gongaware answered the same question saying he was mistaken when he said AEG was paying Dr. Murray. Gongaware explained he thinks he said the same thing but different ways. Gongaware was also asked about a key email he wrote that has come up several other times during the trial. Talking about Murray, he wrote:

We want to remind him that it is AEG, not Michael who is paying his salary. We want him to understand what is expected of him

​

Panish: "Do you have any idea why you might have written that AEG is paying his salary?"
Gongaware: "No. I mean, I was mistaken there. We weren't going to pay his salary. We would have advanced the money on Michael's instructions"

Panish then asked Gongaware about Lou Ferrigno and whether he was an employee of AEG Live. Gongaware said no, reiterating his previous testimony that he made a deal with Ferrigno. He said Ferrigno would have been an independent contractor. Panish asked whether Ferrigno had a contract with AEG Live. Gongaware said he didn't know. Panish asked Gongaware if he hired Lou Ferrigno to be Michael's trainer. "I made a deal for Michael," Gongaware said. Ferrigno was an independent contractor, Gongaware said he didn't know whether Ferrigno was submitting bills to his office.

Panish: "So you stiffed Lou Ferrigno, you didn't pay the Incredible Hulk?"(Everyone in the courtroom laughed out loud)
Gongaware: "I don't know how he would get paid, if he would submit bills or not"

Panish said Gongaware testified yesterday that he was not concerned with Michael because he was working out with a trainer. Today Gongaware testified Michael was going to work out with Lou Ferrigno. Gongaware said he didn't know whether Ferrigno had an independent contract agreement or not and if he got paid. Panish inquired about AEG only paying people with fully executed contract. Gongaware said he didn't know the status of Ferrigno's contract. "I don't know specifically when Mr. Jackson saw trainers, but I believe he was seeing trainers," Gongaware explained.

Panish: "He was seeing Lou Ferrigno to be in the next Incredible Hulk?"
Gongaware: "I don't think so"

Panish said Gongaware testified he was not concerned about Michael because he was working out with Lou Ferrigno. He said he didn't say that.
"When he was sick on June 19, I didn't know what was happening," Gongaware explained. "After that, Michael was great."
Panish asked whether he ever received Conrad Murray's contract. Gongaware, when shown an email from June 16, 2009, that included Murray's contract, said he didn't generally read contracts. "Dr Murray wasn't supposed to get paid. If Michael would've signed the deal, Dr Murray would've been paid for his work in London," Gongaware said .

Panish: "You didn't have time to ready budgets, you didn't have time to read contracts, right?"
Gongaware: "I didn't read budgets early on"

Panish asked if Gongaware had any document to prove that Dr. Murray was told that anyone else, but AEG, was paying him. Gongaware didn't recall.

Panish: "Did you have anything in writing saying it was Michael, not AEG, paying Dr. Murray?"
Gongaware: "I don't know"

Gongaware said he believed Dr. Murray signed one version of the contract, but doesn't know whether the one showed to him was it. Gongaware said he knew of no document that said his company's payments to Conrad Murray were actually part of a loan to Michael. Gongaware, on the stand for the sixth day, said he didn't know what Murray assumed about who was paying him.
The jury was shown an email from Timm Wooley, the AEG accountant on Jackson's This Is It concert series sent Murray June 6, 2009:

"I am sorry for the long delay in getting this to you, but I hope that, with your input and comments, we can dispose of the agreement quickly and arrange for payment of the May & June fee installment"

Gongaware testified that although he made the deal with Murray, and that the contract was emailed to him in 2009, his court appearance was the first time he had seen it. Gongaware repeated his contention as he has throughout his testimony, that "He was working for Michael Jackson. He wasn't working for us" The contract shown to the jury said it was between AEG Live and Murray. The contract also said Murray was to "Perform the Services reasonably requested by Producers" (AEG). Trell testified earlier that this was one of several mistakes in a draft that would have been cleaned up in the final version

Panish: "You expected Dr Murray, just like Ferrigno, to get paid for services provided to AEG right sir?"
Gongaware: "He wasn't working for AEG"

Gongaware said he was tasked to make the deal, determine compensation for Dr. Murray.

Panish: "If he was Michael's personal doctor, why hire him?"
Gongaware: "I think he wanted to set up the payment. I was told to negotiate his compensation"

Panish asked Gongaware about his contention that Jackson was always able to perform and nail shows when necessary Gongaware repeated he believed when lights went on, Michael was always there. Panish pointed out Michael canceled several shows on the Dangerous tour. The lawyer cited several shows over Jackson's career that he missed: Bangkok, South America and the need to move a couple in Mexico City.
Panish then asked Gongaware about Dr. Stuart Finkelstein, who the lawyer kept referring to as Gongaware's friend of 25 years. Finkelstein, a possible witness in the trial, was on the last leg of the Dangerous tour before it was canceled. Gongaware said Dr. Finkelstein is now a drug addiction specialist. "There were two occasions where he (Dr. Finkelstein) told me he treated Michael, but never talked about Demerol or injections," Gongaware said. "I believe he's mistaken," Gongaware said if Dr. Finkelstein gave deposition to the contrary.

Panish: "Did Dr. Finkelstein tell you he put MJ on a 24 hour morphine drip?"
Gongaware: "No"

Gongaware denied that Finkelstein told him that he thought Jackson was suffering from a prescription drug addiction. He also denied that Finkelstein told him that another doctor on the Dangerous tour was giving Jackson Demerol shots. Dr. Forecast, from London, was Michael's doctor treating the artist during Dangerous tour
Gongaware said he was never alarmed about Jackson's health and said he saw him as being well

Panish: "Is safety paramount to AEG live?"
Gongaware: "Safety should always be expected"

Gongaware said he didn't know if there was a person in charge of safety at rehearsals
​

Panish: "In your opinion, this is a baseless, shakedown lawsuit?"
Gongaware: "I don't understand the merit in it"
Panish: "You answered interrogatories in this case blaming everything on Mrs. Jackson?"
Gongaware: "I don't recall"
Panish: "Did you sign anything in this case saying that Mrs. Jackson was trying to extort money from AEG?"
Gongaware: "I don't recall"

Regarding whether Jackson's children suffered a loss after their father's death, Gongaware said:

"I believe they suffered a great loss"

Gongaware agreed that the best recollection of what happened in 2009 is the emails, but said he remembers from his head too.
"He was always amazing," Gongaware said about Michael.

Gongaware: "I thought he was great"
Panish: "Despite Bugzee saying he was deteriorating in front of his eyes?"
Gongaware: "My eyes told me differently"

Gongaware said the demand for tickets to Michael's memorial service was huge, comparable to the demand for the This Is It tour. Gongaware said the amount of people still in line to buy tickets for This Is It could've sold out 100 shows. (ABC7)
​

Panish: "Do you remember what you said Elvis died of?"
Gongaware: "Heart ailment"

But Panish recalled Gongaware giving a different answer earlier on, saying he believed it was prescription drugs
Gongaware was asked about extending the This Is It tour. He was shown emails from promoters wanting Michael concerts in India, Australia. Gongaware said he would have liked the "This Is It" tour to continue, but they only had agreement for 50 shows. On 3/18/09 -- asking about MJ going to India for the show, Phillips responded:

"Thanks, Thomas. Michael will definitely be heading your way"

Gongaware said he thinks they were making plans in case Michael said ok, let's go. Email on 3/17/09 from Phillips:

"We have a 4 year plan that includes Australia, however, we have to finish London first.

Gongaware, who didn't like Australian's promoter, responded:

"Over my dead body. But let's see what he says before I p**s on his parade."

​

Panish: "Did you ever see Michael under the influence of prescription medication in June 2009?"
Gongaware: "When he came back from Dr. Klein's office"
Panish: "Did you investigate?"
Gongaware: "No, he was coming from his doctor, I didn't think there was a need"

​

Panish: "Your goal was to have as many shows as possible?"
Gongaware: "I would've liked that"
Panish: "The more shows you had, the more money AEG would've gotten, right?"
Gongaware: "Yes"

Panish asked Gongaware if he had talked to Phillips since he'd been on the witness stand. He said he hadn't discussed the case. Panish then asked if Phillips was aware Gongaware said he was content with AEG Live being #2 concert promoter behind Live Nation. Gongaware said he's expressed his opinion that AEG Live doesn't need to be the #1 promoter
AEG recross
Marvin Putnam, in re-direct, asked Gongaware if he tried to give his best testimony possible in deposition. Gongaware said "Yes"
He asked Gongaware why he never sent a condolence card to Jackson's family. "I'm not good with cards", he said. He said the memorial service was how he wanted to honor the singer. Gongaware said he spent a lot of time thinking about Jackson after his death "What I did, I tried to put the memorial show together," Gongaware said. "I think it was the best thing for me to do, commemorate his life."
Memorial was at the Staples Center with 15,000 people, live fed to Nokia Theater with 5,000 people. Gongaware said he worked directly with Randy Jackson on the memorial. It cost over a million dollars, AEG and Michael's estate bore the cost. "I'm glad I did what I did," Gongaware said, adding memorial was shown to millions of people interested in Michael around the world
Putnam tried to rebut all the claims that Gongaware changed his testimony. Gongaware said he feels he hasn't changed his answers
Putnam also showed jury Gongaware's police statement. Panish had said his comment to police was different from testimony. Panish keyed in on whether Gongaware testified that it was five weeks or two weeks between his first two conversations with Conrad Murray. The police statement said Gongaware told detectives a few weeks separated the calls regarding Murray and the contract
Another document that defense attorney Marvin Putnam showed Gongaware was Lou Ferrigno's contract. Ferrigno's three-page contract designated him as an independent contractor. It was signed by AEG accounting exec Julie Hollander. Putnam showed an independent contract agreement with Ferrigno fully executed. Julie Hollander signed on behalf of AEG effective April 27, 2009
Putnam finished his examination of Gongaware by showing him Conrad Murray's contract. Putnam questioned Gongaware about Dr. Murray's contract. The exec said Michael had to sign it in order for it to be valid. Putnam showed Gongaware language in the agreement that said Michael Jackson had to sign the agreement for it to be a valid contract. Putnam also keyed in on language that said Murray was being engaged "on behalf and at the expense of Michael Jackson"
Jackson redirect
Then it was Panish's turn again. He said there isn't a date on the contract showing when Julie Hollander signed Ferrigno's agreement. Panish questioned Gongaware about whether Ferrigno's contract may have been signed after Jackson's death. Gongaware said he didn't think he sent any contracts to Julie Hollander after Jackson's death. Panish pointed out that Hollander was signing contracts after Michaelhad died. He asked to see the original contract.

Panish: "Lou Ferrigno was retained by AEG, right?"
Gongaware: "Yes"

Panish asked Gongaware whether he thought it would have been better for him if he had reviewed documents and e-mails before testifying. "I relied on the advice of my attorney," he said. "All this legal stuff, I don't understand it," he said. Gongaware said he expected his lawyers would act on his best interest and that he testified truthfully and factually in his deposition. Panish asked if Gongaware expected to be believed now when he wouldn't recall his answers in deposition. Defendant objected, judge sustained
Panish also repeatedly referred to the number of AEG Live defense lawyers in the courtroom. He was later admonished to stop mentioning them. Putnam had noted that Katherine Jackson's side was being represented by four law firms. Panish said he didn't care if Putnam brought it up
With that Paul Gongaware was excused, subject to recall if needed.
Randy Phillips Testimony
Phillips said he met with six attorneys to prep for testimony between 6-8 times over the last two weeks, probably for about 30 hours. Phillips said he went through a bunch of emails, probably 30, from the period in question. He also read his deposition.
Randy Phillips, the chief executive officer of AEG Live, disclosed that his lawyers advised company executives not to review old e-mails before testifying. "They felt it would be better if I went in without preparation," he said, referring to his lawyers. (AEG Live lawyer Marvin Putman said outside of court that the volume of documents they would have needed to review was massive, making it impossible for them to prepare. )
Panish asked Phillips whether he was eager to tell his side of the story. "I believe you called me as a witness, so I'm here," Phillips said flatly
Phillips attended two years of law school, but didn't graduate.
​

Panish: "Who's higher up than you at AEG Live?"
Phillips: "No one at AEG Live"
Panish: "You are the top dog, so to speak?"
Phillips: "Yes"

Phillips reports to an executive committee who would then report to Tim Leiweke. Phillips said he doesn't know why Leiweke left the company. Phil Anschutz now belongs to the executive committee.
Panish at one point asked the executive whether he was familiar with the music industry. "Familiar with the music industry? I was working in it," Phillips replied.
Phillips said he agreed with statements attributed to him and defense attorney Marvin S. Putnam that the case was a shakedown.

Panish: "Do you think this is an extortion, shakedown lawsuit?"
Phillips: "Yes or no answer? Yes"
Panish: "Did you sign a document under the penalty of perjury saying Mrs. Jackson aided and abetted Joe Jackson to extort money from AEG?"
Phillips: "It's possible, I don't remember. I wish you wouldn't keep calling it a baseless shakedown lawsuit"
Panish: "You believe this case is an extortion, correct?"
Phillips: "Yes"

​

Panish: "You told Mr. Ortega that AEG checked everyone out, including Dr. Murray?"
Phillips: "I wrote in an email to Kenny Ortega that I thought Dr. Murray had been checked out. I still do, to some extent"
Panish: "You said he was a great doctor?"
Phillips: "Because that's what I was told"
Panish: "Did you write an email that AEG checked everyone out?"
Phillips: "Yes, I did"
Panish: "That was not true"
Phillips: "In retrospect, not 100%.It's what I knew at the time"

​

Panish: "Isn't it true you said AEG live doesn't lose money, sir?"
Phillips: "Among other things I said"

Panish showed Phillips a Forbes article where he said AEG is about making money, since they are a business.

Phillips: "Live Nation is the largest concert promoter in the world"
Panish: "Do you like being number 2?"
Phillips: "Love it! I'd rather be a successful number 2"
Panish: "You don't want to be number one?"
Phillips: "Not if it means losing money"

Phillips said Mr. Anschutz told him he's happy being a number 2
Panish asked if it was true Phillips wanted to meet with Michael to tour in 2007. Phillips answered it was the opposite, they asked for a meeting.
Jackson lawyer Brian Panish, who has been previously told by the judge not to argue with witnesses, quickly tangled with Phillips. "Please don't argue with me because then I will argue back and get in trouble," Panish told Phillips at one point. "Then that's an incentive for me," Phillips joked (everyone laughed)
​

Panish: "Did you learn Colony Capital purchase note on Neverland?"
Phillips: "Yes"
Panish: "Is Barrack one of principals on Colony Capital?"
Phillips: "Yes"

On 6/13/08, Phillips sent an email to Colony Capital with a summation of plans for Michael for four years:

I caution you that Michael is not fast and a total perfectionist (needs to be controlled as much as possible)

Phillips said he was referring to Michael's spending
​

Panish: "Neverland was his beloved home, right sir?"
Phillips: "Hard to answer, because of the things Michael told me"

When the executive appeared to crack a smile, Panish asked if he thought the proceedings were funny.

Phillips:"No, I think it's tragic"
Panish: "Do you think any of this is funny, sir?"
Phillips: "No, I think it's tragic"

Tohme Tohme was a business associate with Colony Capital, who was also working with Michael. Panish asked if Phillips thought there was a conflict of interest with Tohme working for Colony and Michael. He said "No"
Court Transcript

1972 - "I Wanna Be Where You Are" by Michael enters the Billboard US Hot Soul Singles Chart, where it will make a 12 week run for the #2 poisiton.
1972 - "Got To Be There", the 1st solo album by Michael, enters the UK's Top 50 albums chart, where it will peak at #37 during a fiveweek run.
1973 - "Lookin' Through the Windows" by The Jackson 5 on the Motown label hits the Billboard music charts at #94, where it peaks at #7. It remains on the chart for 33 weeks.
1979 - The Jackson perform their Destiny tour at Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina. They give a press interview at the Carolina Inn
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1990- Michael collapses while dancing at his Westwood condo known as 'The Hideout'. He is taken to St John Hospital of Los Angeles around 9pm where he is treated for chest pains.
He gets visits from the whole Jackson family (except LaToya, who sends him a dozen black roses) .Elizabeth Taylor also visits him. She had been in the hospital undergoing treatment for a near fatal bout of pneumonia since mid April.
“According to his physician, he is in stable condition and appropriate tests are being conducted", nursing officials said in a prepared statement.
1992- At the Tavern On The Green in New York City, the One To One award is given to Michael by the Operation One to One organization in charge with creating better living standards for young people, for efforts committed to helping economically disadvantaged youth. Michael attends the Operation One To One Honors dinner with friends Elizabeth Taylor and Donald Trump.
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1992 - Crystal Cartier filed a $40 million federal lawsuit against Michael Jackson, Sony Music Entertainment, MJJ Productions and Epic Records. She alleged that she originally wrote and recorded "Dangerous."
In February of 1994, a Denver Federal court jury ruled in Michael's favor
1995 - The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce rejects Michael's application to cover up the famous 'Hollywood' sign with the word 'HIStory' to promote his new compilation album
1997 - Michael Jackson plays the Mungersdorfer (now RheinEnergieStadionStadium) in Cologne, Germany, to an audience of 60,000 on the HIStory World Tour
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2005 - Trial Day 67
Michael goes to court with Katherine, Joe, Janet and LaToya.
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Michael was greeted outside court by hundreds of chanting fans. He arrived with his parents and his famous siblings - Janet, LaToya, Jermaine, Tito and Randy. They waved to the fans chants of “Michael is Innocent!”
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Defense attorneys completed their closing arguments, labeling the Arvizo family liars and con artists trying to pull “the biggest con of their careers”.
"They are trying to take advantage of Michael Jackson," said impassioned defense attorney Thomas Mesereau. "They are trying to profit from Michael Jackson. They think they have pulled it off. They are just waiting for one thing - your verdict."
"What they are trying to do to Michael Jackson is so harmful, so brutal, so devastating if you have any reasonable doubt about the double-talk, the lies, its over. You must acquit Michael Jackson," he told the 12 jurors.
Mesereau spoke about the American system of justice and said, "We have the best system in the world and ladies and gentlemen I'm begging you to honor the system. You must acquit him."
He accused prosecutors of trying to "dirty up Michael" because they lack the evidence to prove their case.
"The witnesses are preposterous, the perjury is everywhere," Mesereau declared. "None of it works. The only thing they've had is to throw dirt all over the place and hope it sticks."
He added: "If you look in your hearts do you believe Michael Jackson is evil in that way? Is it even possible? It really is not."
Mesereau then played excerpts from a video in which Jackson denies any sexual impropriety and said that he had “never been betrayed or deceived by children.”
The defense attorney conceded that Jackson had been lax with his money and had let the wrong people into his circle. But, he said, the singer was not the “monster” the prosecution were trying to depict and that he was not guilty of any crime.
Afterwards, prosecutor Ron Zonen delivered a brief rebuttal. He sought to answer the question of Jackson’s motivation for the crime asking, "Why would Mr. Jackson do it? Because he could This child was in love with him. This child would do anything he said."
Zonen reminded jurors of the past allegations made against Jackson saying that this was necessary in order to “see the total picture”. He claimed that Jackson was “in love” with his 1993 accuser and added that the current accuser is a “clone” of the boy in that case.
After both sides rested for the last time, Judge Rodney Melville ordered the eight women and four men on the jury to begin their deliberations. He gave them a 98-page book of instructions.
The Judge told Jackson that he could stay at Neverland during the proceedings but requested that the attorneys remain within 10 minutes of the courthouse in case the jurors had any questions.
These deliberations are the final stage of an ordeal that began 14 weeks ago. During this time the jury has heard testimony from over 130 witnesses.
A verdict was expected early next week.
Court Transcript
While Jury deliberations take place, the whole Jackson family waits for the verdict at Neverland.
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2008 - Michael has dinner with Thomas Barrack Jr, chairman and CEO of Colony Capital LLC, at the Las Vegas Hilton's Verona Sky Villa.
2009 - Michael goes to Culver Studios with Prince, Paris & Kenny Ortega, where he shoots “The Drill” 3D
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He also, once again, goes to Dr Klein’s in Beverly Hills.
2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 22
No Jackson family member was at the courthouse.
Paul Gongaware
AEG cross
Putnam asked Gongaware if MJ was comfortable with all the show dates. "Yes, I went through all of the dates with him," Gongaware said. Bugzee, the tour manager, had a big calendar on the walls, Gongaware explained, saying they changed the dates of the shows four times. The jury was shown an email in which Gongaware worked with a staffer to create a calendar to show Jackson. He wanted colors changed. He wanted the calendar to be changed so that it reflected Jackson's show dates and off days differently. Gongaware email:

Figure it out so it looks like he's not working so much

As to the email, Putnam asked if he was trying to fool Michael:

"No, I was trying to make it clear, trying to get it just the way I wanted it," Gongaware responded.

After changing 4 show dates Gongaware said Michael was comfortable with it. He would do 8 shows in July, 10 in August, 9 in September. There would be no shows in October, November and December, resuming with 10 shows in January, 10 in February and three in March. No back-to-back shows. Gongaware said the O2 Arena had a previous commitment in Oct-Dec of 2009 and they could not have the concerts.
​

Putnam: "Was this a rigorous schedule?"
Gongaware: "No, not at all"

Gongaware recalled that on the HIStory tour they did 10-12 shows per month, from country to country, but this one would stay in London only. Gongaware said he wasn't concerned with Michael's age. "He seemed great to me," he said, and this was stationary show, didn't have to travel.
Gongaware:

The reason Michael wanted to delay the 1st show was he wanted more time to rehearse in the O2 Arena where the show would take place.

He said Michael and Kenny Ortega would decide the rehearsal schedule. Gongaware explained Michael didn't have to attend rehearsals, since it was not part of his deal. He said they never require an artist to rehearse. "I didn't have any expectation," Gongaware said regarding Michael rehearsing. He said he's never seen a requirement for a musicial artist to rehearse & that during the HIStory tour, Michael didn't rehearse but nailed it. "When it was game time, he would show up," Gongaware explained. For instance, Gongaware cited an outdoor concert in Bangkok in high heat, humidity.
As to the email Gongaware wrote about calling Michael lazy, he said he used unfortunate choices of words, Michael didn't like to rehearse.
Talking about the elements of the show, Gongaware described what they wanted to do for the opening of the show. He said Michael would be dressed up in a LED suit, like a television, flashing on him brief movie about things that happened in history. Michael would be lowered down onto the stage. He called the LED suit a "Moon man" suit, but Ortega called it "Light man." Putnam showed a presentation of how the LED suit idea would work. Footage is not on This Is It documentary because it was early stages of prep. Gongaware said the 1st idea was to make Michael float from the audience, but they couldn't make it work. So they decided to lower him down onto the stage. Gongaware said the big screen on the back of the stage was 3D capable. The audience would be given glasses when they entered the show. The 3D songs would be Thriller, Earth Song and Smooth Criminal. "He wanted to do biggest, best show ever, live show," Gongaware said
Putnam showed email chain from Ortega to Gongaware asking to make a deal with choreographer Travis Payne. Answer from Gongaware:

This is not AEG money, it's Michael's money so it takes a lot of time to get approvals

Defendants were trying to establish a pattern that all the money spent was actually Michael's money, not AEG's, just like with Dr. Murray
At one point Gongaware said he learned from Michael about a doctor named Murray. "He came to me and said he wanted his personal doctor on the tour". Gongaware said he suggested to Michael to get a licensed doctor in London who would know the lay of the land, in case of need. "This is the machine, we have to take care of the machine. I want Conrad," Gongaware said Michael responded. I think what he meant was his brain could create it but his body had to deliver the show every night
​

Putnam: "Were you surprised he wanted to take his doctor on tour?"
Gongaware: "No"
Putnam: "Why not?"
Gongaware: "He had doctors before"

Gongaware said other artists take doctors as well, so he was not the only one and it didn't surprise him. Gongaware said he's been on tour before where an artist had chiropractors, but couldn't remember being in one with a doctor

Putnam: "Did you worry Michael might have a health issue?"
Gongaware: "No"
Putnam: "Why not?"
Gongaware: "He seemed fine to me, had a physical and passed"

Gongaware said the suggestion for a London doctor was due to the cost; paying a doctor full time was much more expensive than hiring a local doctor. Gongaware said Dr. Murray treated Michael for about three years before 2009. He knew the doctor was from Las Vegas but said he was in LA. Gongaware said he then called Dr. Murray to work out a deal. Gongaware testified he didn't have Michael's direct phone number, would go through Michael Amir Williams, his personal assistant, to reach him. Gongaware called Murray on behalf of Michael saying the singer wanted to take him to London. "What do you want to be paid for that," Gongaware asked. Gongaware said he thought Dr. Murray was expecting his call and was aware of the desire to take him on tour. "He said he would need $5 million," Gongaware recalled. "He said he has 4 clinics to close, would lay off people, needs $5 million for that." Asked by Putnam if Murray's price was reasonable: "It was ridiculous," Gongaware said about the amount asked. "It was a lot of money for something like that and Michael could not afford it." Gongaware said he responded that it wasn't going to work" He said this was the first time he spoke with Dr. Murray. After that, Gongaware said he told Michael Amir and Randy Phillips what the doctor had asked. He also told Frank DiLeo. Gongaware said a lot of people who wanted to work for MJ asked for huge sums of money, thinking he had a lot.

Putnam: "Would you be doing this if Michael had not asked you?"
Gongaware: "No"
Putnam: "Did you contemplate bringing a doctor on tour?"
Gongaware: "I didn't think he needed one, we didn't have one in History, he was fine"

"He was Michael's doctor, Michael wanted him. That was it," Gongaware said.
​

Putnam:" Did you think about checking the doctor?"
Gongaware: "No"
Putnam: "Why not?"
Gongaware: "He was Michael's doctor"

" I'm not going to tell Michael Jackson who his doctor should be," Gongaware explained. "It wasn't my place to say who his doctor was going to be," Gongaware said. "It was his decision."
Gongaware said he doesn't think a doctor's financial situation has anything to do with being an ethical doctor. Gongaware said it never crossed his mind to either do a background check on Dr. Murray or to suggest to anyone to do it. "I just expect doctors to be ethical, the financial side of their lives shouldn't have an impact on their medical decision," Gongaware opined.
Gongaware said he never did a background check on anyone he hired and had he done one on Dr. Murray, it would've been out of the ordinary.
He also said he never considered performing background checks on Jackson's makeup artist, a choreographer who worked one-on-one with the singer or Kenny Ortega, the tour's director. "I didn't see the need for it," he said.
Dr. Finkelstein, a friend of Gongaware, said a doctor should charge $10,000 a month for the tour work. But Dr. Finkelstein would've done it for free, since he was on the Dangerous tour before and had a lot of fun
The second call about Dr. Murray came from Michael Amir Williams saying they were going to need to get a deal done for the doctor. Gongaware said he heard Michael in the car saying "offer 150, offer 150." Gongaware understood that to be $150k/month. Gongaware called Dr. Murray, said he was authorized to offer him $150k a month. He said Dr. Murray responded that he couldn't do it for that. Gongaware told him the offer came directly from the artist and Dr. Murray responded: "I'll take it" Gongaware said Michael approved the amount of compensation. "Michael told me offer 150," Gongaware recalled. "And that's what I did." Gongaware inquired from Dr. Murray how he would get a license in London and the doctor told him not to worry about it. They talked about Dr. Murray's request for a house in London, and the doctor said he would need a three bedroom house. Gongaware recalled Dr. Murray saying he would probably need an assistant and some equipment, but no details were given at this point. After the call, Gongaware said he let Michael Amir Williams know what the result was in a May 6th email: Done at 150k per month, per MJ. He needs about 10 days to wind down his practice then he will be full time
Asked why he had negotiated with Murray, the AEG executive replied that he was "instructed to by Michael Jackson." Gongaware said there was no other reason for him to deal with the doctor. Marvin Putnam asked Gongaware why he didn't tell Jackson he couldn't take Murray on tour with him."Because he could if he wanted," Gongaware said.
Gongaware said he passed Dr. Murray on to Timm Wooley, never had any other conversation with Dr. Murray about him possibly going to London.

Putnam: "Do you have any understanding as to whether a contract with Dr. Murray was executed?"
Gongaware: "One never was"
Putnam: "Did AEG pay Dr. Murray any kind of money?"
Gongaware: "No"

Gongaware said Michael was ultimately responsible for his own health:

"I think everyone is responsible for their own health and well being. He was a grown man with the capability to make decisions regarding his health and medical care"

Putnam showed Gongaware a frame from the This Is It film in which Jackson's manager, Frank Dileo, was sitting in on dancer auditions. Dancers auditions took place at the Nokia Theater on April 13, 14 & 15. Michael attended the last day and made the final decision, Gongaware said. He said Ortega wanted to film the audition to use fresh footage on michaeljacksonlive.com. The cost for crew to shoot the audition was very high, so Gongaware bought a couple of cameras and used his own crew to shoot the rehearsals. He said he wasn't sure what he would use the video for, but thought the website would be a good platform.
Gongaware said during the period at Center Staging, Michael was good, engaging, didn't think there were any health issues or was using drugs
Gongaware said the media in the UK was going wild with gossip about Michael Jackson. "They just lie about things." The Sun claimed Michael had skin cancer on his chest. "It was sport over in London," Gongaware said about stories on tabloids. Gongaware testified about emails in which UK press agents working on This Is It sent him tabloid reports on Michael's health. Gongaware said he urged the press agents not to respond. He wanted Jackson's performance to speak for itself & silence skeptics.
Gongaware on 5/27/09:

The Kid is healthy and rehearsing every day. He was still there at dance rehearsals at 9pm last night when I left. Our redemption will be when he does his shows, that makes all of this build up so damn sweet. We don't have to sell tickets, so we can just sit back and prove them wrong by just doing it.

Gongaware said he was not concerned

"If there was something going on, if he had cancer, we would've heard about it."

Michael Jackson rehearsal venues:

• Mar 28- Center Staging
• May 27- Forum June 23 - Staples Center
• July 13 - O2 Arena

Putnam also asked Gongaware about an incident Karen Faye testified about, that she heard him yelling at Michael's assistant one day. The incident occurred while This Is It rehearsals were happening at The Forum in LA. Faye claimed she heard Gongaware yelling about Jackson being late to a rehearsal and told his assistant to get him there. "Never, never happened," Gongaware said, shaking his head.
Putnam went through a chain of emails about tabloid reports in the UK regarding Michael. In one, it said Michael had asked AEG to reduce the number of shows by half. Gongaware said that such a discussion never happened. Gongaware testified he woke up to one gossip headline pretty much every day. His idea was simply to ignore the tabloids. "An amazing show would be the answer", Gongaware said
Gongaware on 6/5/09 in response to Sunday Mirror Query:

"We can only make this work, of course, if MJ puts on the best show of his life. I'm here to tell you that be will. I have seen it for myself. Last night he ran 9 songs with full band, singers and dancers. Sang every one, he was amazing, captivating, riveting. And he's just getting started. Taking it one step further. When people realize that bulls**t the press has been, they will be in receptive mood for the truth Hey look. No skin cancer. He's just a good dad, loving raising his kids. His art and his craft are paramount. A gentle, loving man who does care about people

"The shows were going to be spectacular," Gongaware said. Putnam showed a clip of Michael in front of a green screen with 11 dancers, who would become 11,000. Gongaware said Michael was great at this point
Regarding email Phillips sent Gongaware directing to remove Michael's "skeletal" scenes Gongaware said he didn't take anything out of the movie.

Putnam: "Did you remove anything from the movie?"
Gongaware: "No"

Putnam showed a clip from This Is It with the making of "Thriller 3D" and Jackson wearing red jacket.

Putnam: "Did you try to alter in anyway how Mr. Jackson looked, appeared?"
Gongaware: "No"

Gongaware said he didn't remember any of the footage been removed because of how Michael looked. "We just let the footage speak for itself"
The mini-movie of "Earth Song" a bulldozer would come out from a ramp in center stage.

Putnam: "A real bulldozer?"
Gongaware: "I wish, it would've been cheaper, but it would have crushed our ramps"

Gongaware said they had to build the bulldozer like a prop. It would appear at the end of the song on stage. "I think the live audience would be just captivated by it," Gongaware said about the little girl running after the last plant on Earth song.
End of the show would be 3D animation. An airplane taxis up, door opens, Michael entered the plane. The airplane door closes, Michael would actually take an elevator down and out of the building, but the plane would take off over the audience
Gongaware said he didn't know if anyone was responsible for Michael's nourishment. Tour would be demanding and exhausting
Gongaware said he met Dr. Murray once at MJ's Carolwood house and ran into him at The Forum during rehearsal. There was a meeting scheduled to discuss Michael's nutrition with Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega, Dr. Murray, Michael, Gongaware and DiLeo.

Putnam: "Do you recall anyone in that meeting ever telling Dr. Murray how he should be treating Michael?"
Gongaware: "No"

Gongaware said he didn't have any medical training and wasn't qualified to tell Conrad Murray how to treat Jackson
Gongaware said neither Dr. Murray nor Michael talked about the treatment he was receiving. The meeting was about nutrition & vitamin therapy. Gongaware said he had no idea Dr. Murray was giving Michael Propofol and first heard of the anesthetic after Michael died. Gongaware said Dr. Murray was really engaged in the meeting, seemed like a very intelligent guy and wanted to take care of Michael very much. This was the first time Gongaware met with Dr. Murray. He said there were no signs of Michael being poorly treated by the doctor. "Michael was engaged in the meeting, attentive, seemed happy we were having this meeting," Gongaware opined. "He's a doctor, he'd know better than anybody how to treat his patient," Gongaware said about Dr. Murray.
As to Gongaware's email saying AEG, not Michael, paid Dr Murray he said he was mistaken. "We wouldn't pay his salary, we'd advance Michael's money". Gongaware said he didn't remember writing/receiving the email, but never denied he did it.
As to Michael being habitually late, Gongaware said the singer worked on his own schedule, did things his way

Gongaware said his understanding was that Michael hired a trainer of his choice, Louis (Lou) Ferrigno: "I made the deal with him (Ferrigno). He was supposed to be paid a certain amount of money per session" He didn't elaborate on fee, how many times he worked with Michael. Putnam showed an email from Travis Payne, he suggested a massage chair to be put in Michael's dressing room.

As to Bugzee's email saying MJ needed cheeseburgers, brats and beers, Gongaware said Bugzee was joking, Bugzee cared very much for Michael. Gongaware testified he didn't recall having any concern about Michael's health/using painkillers as of Monday 6/15/09, 10 days prior to his death
Gongaware was asked about several emails that have been shown before, including messages related to MJ missing rehearsal on June 19, 2009. The executive was on the East Coast for a family wedding, but responded to one message questioning why Murray wasn't at rehearsal. Gongaware email:

Take the doctor with you. Why wasn't he there last night?

He then explained his thinking to the jury. Gongaware:

If his patient is having a problem and he's sick, and he's his only patient, it seemed like he should be there

Gongaware said on 6/19/09, he was out of town. "This is the day Michael had chills at rehearsal and was apparently sick," Gongaware recalled. "If the meeting was going to be about what happened that night, the doctor should be there," Gongaware said.
Gongaware said he believed Michael wanted to go on tour. He said he doesn't remember anyone talking about pulling the plug on the shows.

Putnam: "Did anyone tell you at this point that Michael needed a drug addiction specialist?"
Gongaware: "No"
Putnam: "Did anyone tell you they were concerned with the care Dr. Murray was giving to Michael?"
Gongaware: "No"

Gongaware said that on 6/20/09 he did not think Michael's health was deteriorating.
With last questions of the day, Putnam asked Gongaware if he was concerned about Jackson's well-being. He said "Yes"
Court Transcript

Disclaimer: Some of these events have unknown June dates. They are identified with a '*'
1970 - The Jackson 5 are on the cover of Soul Magazine.
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1974 - Michael is on the cover of Popswop magazine
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1974 - Jackson 5 are on the cover of Right On! magazine
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1977\* - The Jackson go back to Sigma Sound Studios in Philidalphia to record their new album, Goin' Places, with Gamble & Huff
1978\* - The Jacksons record the Destiny album in Los Angeles after recording song demos at their Hayvenhurst home studio
1979 - The Jackson perform at Milwaukee County Stadium (closed- 2000) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on their Destiny tour
1979 - (June 1 -3) Michael, Quincy Jones & Bruce Swedien complete the recording & mixing of the Off The Wall album Westlake Studios in Los Angeles.
1979\* - The Jacksons start recording the Triumph Album.
1982\* - Michael would come across a studio demo produced by John Barnes and request a meeting.
In an interview with The MJCast podcast, John recalled their first meeting:

“Michael said I heard you can make your own sounds and play them. How many sounds can you make? And, I responded, ‘How much time do you have?’”

The meeting lasted a few hours and was the beginning of a friendship and musical partnership with Barnes being hired as a core member of Michael Jackson’s team. Their partnership would continue until Michael's passing in 2009
1983\* - Michael is on the cover of Creem magazine.
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1984\* - Michael meets with other supporters of Camp Good Times, a non-profit organization founded by parents of children with cancer, in Malibu such as OJ Simpson, Dustin Hoffman, David Soul, Neil Diamond & Richard Chamberlain.
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The first Camp Goodtimes event would be held in Vashon Island at Camp Sealth in August of 1984. Ninety-three children, cancer patients and siblings attended and twenty-five American Cancer Society volunteers, who staffed the camp along with the summer staff at Camp Sealth.
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1985\* - Michael starts rehearsing for an upcoming 3D science fiction musical short film named Captain EO to be shown exclusively at Disneyland and Disney World. Francis Ford Coppola will direct and George Lucas will produce the film
1986\*- Michael & Corey Feldman go to Disneyland . Michael is seen for the 1st time wearing a surgical mask in public
In Moonwalk, he says he was initially given a mask by a dentist to keep germs out after having his wisdom teeth pulled
1987\* - Michael shoots the “The Way You Make Me Feel” short film at Skid Row, Los Angeles. It was directed by Joe Pytka and choreographed by Vincent Paterson & Michael. It featured Tatiana Thumbtzen & Latoya Jackson
1988\- Michael is on the cover of *Ebony magazine.
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1988\* - Michael Jackson : The Legend Continues is released on home video.
1988 - Michael sets another record as the first artist ever to have three albums with US sales of more than six million copies each as Bad & Off The Wall were both certified 6x platinum by the RIAA
1989\- Michael goes back to Westlake studio with Matt Forger and Bill Bottrell. He meets Brad Buxer who will work with him until 2008. Together they work on new songs for a compilation named *DECADE 1979-1989
Quincy Jones is not part of this project. "Black Or White" and "Heal The World" are among the first songs worked on.
1991 - David Ruffin, a member of The Temptations, dies of a drug overdose.
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It was found that Ruffin was peniniless and Jackson contacted Swanson Funeral Home in Detroit to make arrangements to cover a large portion of the June 10th funeral costs. He also sends a heart-shaped arrangement of carnations to the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit with the note, "With Love, from Michael Jackson".
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Jackson was a big admirer of The Temptations. He would not attend the funeral ceremony to not divert attention from it (it was however reported that he did attend but in disguise)
1991\* - The Sun publishes leaked pictures from a photo session of Michael by Herb Ritts. It had been rumored that multiple photographers were battling in out to shoot Michael's new video & album cover. Steve Meisel, Bruce Weber and Herb Ritts had been in the running to give Michael a new "sexier" look
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1991\* - Michael enlists the help of producers L.A Reid & Babyface for his new album, which deeply upsets Jermaine who is also working with them.
Jermaine is quoted in the tabloids as saying:

"I could have been Michael. It's all a matter of timing, a matter of luck"

1991\* - Michael is on the cover of British magazine The Wire
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1992\*- Michael rehearses for his new tour & shoot the video for “Who Is It”
1993 - Michael is on the cover of LIFE magazine with an exclusive cover story of Neverland.
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1994\* - This summer Heal The World Foundation, in partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District, "I Have A Dream Foundation", "Best Buddies", "Overcoming Obstacles" & "California One To One", provide 2000 children with tickets to see Janet Jackson, the L.A. Laker Jam and The Beach Boys in concert
1995\* - Michael is on the June/July cover of VIBE magazine with exclusive pictures taken at Neverland with Quincy Jones & his daughter Kidada
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1995 - (5/30-6/2) Michael shoots the “Childhood” short film directed by Nicholas Brandt in Los Angeles .
1995\* - Issue #2 of History Magazine reveals that Travis Thomas, a 5-year old boy who suffers from cystic fibrosis, wished to meet Michael.
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“One evening, we were watching TV and Travis hadn’t eaten for a couple of days. He was on TV”, the boy's mother recalls, “and we came across the American Music Awards and Michael Jackson… Travis sat up and wanted to eat… He said, ‘I love Michael Jackson, Mama!”
His wish comes true in June through Jackson and the Make A Wish Foundation.Travis and his family, along with 20 other seriously ill children, spent a weekend at Neverland Ranch and were allowed to roam around the compound’s private amusement park.
Travis’ mother:

“The love this man has on his face when he is with these special children is unbelievable. He is one of the kindest and most gentle men I have ever met"

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1999 - Michael cancels his participation in the Pavarotti & Friends Charity Concert in Modena, scheduled for tonight.
Jonathan Morrish of Sony Music issues a statement informing the media, that Michael will not be performing due to the illness of his son, Prince:

"Prince suffered a seizure early Saturday due to a high temperature. This is the third seizure over the last year"

He added that the concert meant so much to Michael but,"he is an artist like the others, but also a parent" and that he waited until the last moment to cancel because he was still hopeful about making it. Michael is reportedly constantly at Prince's bedside
2000* - Concert promoter,Marcel Avram, sues Michael for breach of contract for the Millenium Concerts and asks for $21 million
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2001\* - Michael hires Marc Schaffel and they create a new company,Neverland Valley Entertainment, with a common bank account.
2004\* - Randy Jackson fires Bob Jones, vice president of MJJ Productions since 1987, after discovering that he is writing a tell all book on Michael. He also stops paying Marc Schaffel.
2005 - Trial Day 64
Michael goes to court with Katherine, Joe & Randy
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Judge Melville gives the Jury the rules of Jury Deliberations
Michael Jackson sat quietly in court as the 12 jurors were given their instructions ahead of closing arguments from both sides.
"You've heard all of the evidence and you will hear the arguments of attorneys," Judge Rodney Melville told the jury. He told them to make their decision without "pity for or prejudice toward" the defendant.
The eight women & four men who will decide his fate will hear closing arguments today and could begin their deliberations as early as Friday (it is currently Wednesday). Jurors are expected to hammer out their decision behind closed doors for about six hours a day until they reach their verdict or announce a deadlock.
The charges against Jackson consist of four counts of molestation, four counts of giving the boy alcohol in order to abuse him, one count of conspiracy and one of attempted molestation.
Jurors were told they could consider the four alcohol counts as lesser charges of "furnishing alcohol to a minor." This would be considered a misdemeanor and means that the jury would not have to relate the alcohol to any intended molestation.
Judge Melville told jurors not to consider the four videos played in the trial for the truth of any remarks made in them, except for certain statements that prosecutors claim are admissions from Jackson. These statements will be outlined in a document to be provided by prosecutors.
The Judge also instructed the jury on how to consider the past allegations against Jackson. He said that if they determine he does have such a history, "you may but are not required to infer that the defendant had a predisposition" to commit the crimes alleged in this case.
But he added “that is not sufficient in itself to prove he committed the crimes charged
He also told them not to infer anything from the fact Jackson himself had decided not to testify.
Thomas Mesereau will deliver closing arguments for the defense while Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen is expected to deliver the prosecution’s closing statements.
Court Transcript
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2005\* - Michael allows visits from fans inside his home while awaiting the verdict. They're impressed by his generosity given the circumstances.
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2007 - A glittery jacket once worn onstage by Michael, his MTV Music Award for "We Are The World", as well as gold discs for his album Off the Wall and the Jackson 5 single "I Want You Back", all sell at an auction in the Hard Rock Café in Las Vegas, Nevada. The total raised from the sale of Michael related artifacts at the auction is reported as $1-$2million
2007\* - Michael, Grace and the kids leave their Las Vegas house and fly to Middleburg, Virginia. They check into the Goodstone Inn, a 640-acre estate of open pastures, for a summer vacation. They are welcomed by Raymone Bain.
2007\* - Michael “Brother Michael” Amir Williams is hired as Michael’s new assistant.
2008\* - Michael and producer Neff-U start working on songs at 'Thriller Villa', his 2710 Palomino Lane home, in Las Vegas. They work on a new version of “A Place With No Name”.
2008\* - Late in the month, Michael's duet with Akon, "Hold My Hand" is leaked online. Michael is devastated
Longtime recording engineer, Michael Prince, who was working with Jackson at the time “Hold My Hand” leaked, recalls:

“He was truly upset when the song he did with Akon leaked. He would just get this sad look on his face like, how could this happen? Because 20 years ago this would not have happened. And somehow everybody in the world has a copy of it. And that really upset him because he liked that song a lot.”

Akon gave a detailed account of the events surrounding the leak during an appearance on Tavis Smiley’s PBS television show in January 2009:

“Me and Mike did this incredible record called Hold My Hand and the record is amazing. Phenomenal. And the concept was that this would be Mike’s first release off of his new album, and then I would stripe it on my album – on my following release. That way we could have the outlets open for everyone to be able to receive the record. You know, Mike came up with this brilliant marketing launch for the record. You know, he’s the best at launching a record.”

Akon continues:

“He’d have the whole world paying attention in two minutes… And before we could get to that point, the record got leaked over the internet. And we got over 15 million downloads on the song for free. So we couldn’t [release it]. You can’t at that point. Everybody already has the record. But in a way, you gotta look at it like… that’s just a gift to the fans.”

2008\* - (Late June) Michael hires Dr Thome Thome as his new manager and president of MJJ Productions. As a result of a financial reorganiation of the Neverland Valley Ranch, all of Michael’s personal belongings have to be removed from the property. Dr Tohme contacts Darren Julien of Julien’s Auction House
2009 - The This Is It team leaves Center Staging for a bigger place : The Forum in Inglewood, California.
2009 - (June 1-11) At Culver Studios in Culver City, Michael shoots “The Dome” Project which consists of seven works:

• “Smooth Criminal” (Jackson inserted into classic 2D black-and-white film noir chase sequence)
• “Thriller” (3-D movie starting in a haunted house with a ghostly image of Vincent Price, then moving into a graveyard where the dead awaken)
• “Earth Song” (3D short film featuring little girl who wanders through rain forest, takes a nap and dreams of the splendor of nature, and awakens to find the natural world has been devastated)
• “They Don’t Care About Us” (a/k/a Drill, 2D film in which a sea of soldiers march in unison; 10 male dancers replicated hundreds of times)
• “MJ Air” (3-D movie in which a 707 jet pulls into the frame; hole was to open in screen for Michael Jackson to enter; jet flies away)
• “The Final Message” (3-D movie of a little girl from rain forest embracing the earth)
• “The Way You Make Me Feel” (2D theatrical background featuring male dancers fashioned as historical construction workers.

2009 - Michael goes to Dr Klein’s in Berverly Hills with Blanket.

1968 - The Jackson 5 perform a week long gig at the Capitol Theater (closed- 1985) in Chicago, Illinois
1977 - Michael visits Studio 54, where he parties with Steve Rubell, Steven Tyler & Cherrie Currie among others, after opening day of Beatlemania, a Broadway musical revue focused on the music of the Beatles as it related to the events of the 1960s, in New York City
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1993 - The World Music Awards, which was filmed on May 12th, airs with Michael winning 3 awards
1997 - Michael Jackson begins the second leg of HIStory World Tour, with a show at Waserstadion in Bremen, Germany, to an audience of 85,000
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2005 - Trial Day 63
Jurors in the Michael Jackson trial had the day off as lawyers wrangled over the instructions they were to be given for their deliberations.
Judge Melville announced that closing arguments would begin Thursday morning (in 2 days), while jurors would receive the instructions the afternoon before.
Jackson was not present in court as lawyers hammered out the jurors’ written instructions. Spokesperson Raymone Bain said he "is going through a lot of emotions right now -- relief that it's over, but very nervous. Because, of course you know, a very major decision is going to be made within the next several days."
In a move expected to favor prosecutors, Judge Melville said he would reduce the alcohol charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. The change in the charge came at the request of prosecutors and was met with objections from the singer’s defense.
Prosecutors allege that Jackson supplied alcohol to his accuser and younger brother. Legal experts say the misdemeanor charge will be easier to prove, but would carry a lesser sentence, most likely a fine or a short term in county jail. The felony charge alone would have carried a 2- 4 year sentence in state prison.
The Judge will also instruct the jury not to take the ‘Living with Michael Jackson’ documentary “for the truth of what is said except for certain identified passages.”
"The rest is considered hearsay and you can only consider that it aired and its impact if any on Mr. Jackson," said Judge Melville. He did not specify which passages were being referred to.
Lawyers also argued about how jurors should determine the credibility of witnesses and how they should consider the past allegations against Jackson.
The Judge said jurors would be told to consider the alleged past acts only if they "tend to show [Jackson’s] intent" with regard to the current charges against him.
The approved jury instructions read: "Evidence has been introduced for the purpose of showing the defendant committed crimes other than those for which he is on trial," the approved instructions read. "This evidence, if believed, may be considered by you only for the limited purpose of deciding if it tends to show a characteristic plan or scheme to commit acts."
Judge Melville will tell jurors that they are entitled to ignore the testimony of witnesses who lied purposefully, but said they were not required to do so if they felt the witnesses were truthful in other regards.
Today's arguments from lawyers went on for hours, prompting defense attorney Robert Sanger to say: "Your honor, if we had televised today's proceedings we could have deterred an entire generation of kids from going to law school."
Later, during a discussion of an instruction to jurors not to bring cell phones into deliberations, Sanger quipped, "That replaced the old one that had to do with bringing Ouija boards in."
The absence of both Mesereau and prosecutor Ron Zonen has led to speculation that the two attorneys are working on their closing arguments for Thursday.
Court Transcript
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2006 - Michael Jackson makes a surprise appearance on the popular SMAPXSMAP variety show in Japan. He shocks everyone in the studio as they cannot believe it is really him
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2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 21
Court is a half day today between the hours of 9 AM - 1 PM.
Katherine and Rebbie Jackson are at court.
Paul Gongaware
AEG Cross

Putnam asked Gongaware if he had any understanding as to why Michael was taking painkillers. "Before the 3rd leg of the Dangerous tour started, he had scalp surgery, hit nerve or something it was very painful; was treated for that .When he did the Pepsi commercial, his hair was burn at the top," Gongaware explained, saying they did surgery so hair would look natural. "I didn't know it was an addiction"

Gongaware said & that he learned MJ had drug problems after Mexico City.
Gongaware did a Rod Stewart tour in North America after Dangerous tour. He next worked with Michael in the HIStory tour in 1996/97
Gongaware said he did not have a general concern with Michael having a drug addiction. After shows ended in Hawaii, Michael had lost $27 million, was in debt $11 million to lighting and sound, Gongaware testified. He switched managers to fix things in the second half of the tour, Gongaware explained. Gongaware said he had to cut lots of expenses. They wanted to give Michael the same show, but he said there was so much excess to be trimmed. Second half of the tour, Gongaware was the tour executive and he worked directly for Michael. It netted $14 million, $11 million paid vendors. We got the tour to break even, Gongaware testified, saying he worked closely with Jackson on the second half of the tour
​

Putnam: "Was there an ongoing concern Mr. Jackson was having problems with painkillers during the HIStory tour?"
Gongaware: "No, not at all"

Gongaware said he didn't see anything that would suggest Michael was addicted to painkillers. He testified that Michael didn't have a doctor traveling with him on the second half of the tour and there was no tour doctor with the tour.

Putnam: "How was Michael on the HIStory tour?"
Gongaware: "Great! He was sensational!"

Gongaware said MJ only missed one show on HIStory tour when Princess Diana died. "He went to bed, knew about the accident.". Michael was told Diana was going to be okay and next morning he learned she died, Gongaware described. "That affected him greatly." Gongaware said he missed shows in Dangerous tour but not in HIStory tour. Putnam asked if there were signs MJ was using painkillers during HIStory tour. "No indication at all. I didn't think he was," Gongaware said. He said he would certainly notice if there was any problem during that tour.
Gongaware said HIStory tour was pretty smooth. It ended in 1997. Right after, Gongaware said Michael called him and asked him to work for him. "He liked my work, he liked what I did," Gongaware said, adding that Michael wanted him to be his business manager. Gongaware said he didn't accept the offer and decided to go out on his own to promote concerts. He was tempted, Gongaware said, but he had lined up what he wanted to do. He worked with Yani next.
AEG defense attorney Marvin Putnam then asked Gongaware to describe the founding of his company, and its purchase by AEG. Gongaware had co-founded a new version of a company called Concerts West. Gongaware and his partner, John Meglen, created Concerts West in the late 90s. Concerts West started out with concerts of Andrea Bocceli, Mariah Carrey, Eagles and Millennium at Staples Center. AEG acquired the assets of Concerts West around 2000, Gongaware said, and Concerts West became AEG Live. Randy Phillips is AEG's CEO.Gongaware said he made a deal that requires him to work only half time starting this year
Putnam then asked Gongaware about plaintiff's contention that AEG was desperate for This Is It because it wanted to pass rival Live Nation. "It's so much bigger", AEG Live exec Paul Gongaware said of Live Nation. "It is so much more complicated"; He said that Live Nation has to find artists to fill the many venues it owns, and that AEG Live doesn't have that issue. Gongaware said AEG Live is the second largest concert promoter company. Live Nation is the first. "Our philosophy is different," Gongaware said, adding they choose what they want to do, whereas Live Nation has to meet their quota.

Putnam: "Would you like to be number 1?"
Gongaware: "No. It's so much bigger, it gets so much more complex. I'm happy being a good number 2"

Next time Gongaware worked with Michael was on the This Is It tour. Peter Lopez, Michael's attorney, called Gongaware's partner in 2007, asked to meet. From 1997 to 2009, MJ did not do any touring, only a couple of shows. Gongaware said he went to Vegas to meet with Michael in 2007. The meeting was to discuss how AEG did tours, didn't talk about him touring. They met again in 2008, also in Vegas. "Paul Gongaware! I knew that if you came, things were going to be ok," Michael said about him. Gongaware said Jackson remembered him and told him regarding the HIStory tour, "Whenever I saw you, I knew things were going to be OK"
Putnam asked about Gongaware's use of the term 'Mikey' to describe Jackson. Gongaware said he used it with Jackson. He described Jackson as getting in playful moods, and that's when he would call him Mikey; Said he wasn't mocking him. "Mikey was not meant as an insult", Gongaware said.
​

Putnam: "Did he seem thin in 07?"
Gongaware: "Yes, he was always thin"
Putnam: "Did he seem to have a problem with painkillers?"
Gongaware: "No"
Putnam:"Did he seem to be under the influence?"
Gongaware : "No"

Gongaware said Michael was alert, engaged, interested in what was going on in the meeting in 2007. He wanted to do a King Tut mini-movie. The next meeting with Michael was in NY. Gongaware didn't remember what they discussed. Sometime in 08, they began discussion of Michael going back on tour. Dr. Tohme, Michael's manager, approached AEG. Randy Phillips was primarily the one involved in the discussions with Dr. Tohme and Peter Lopez regarding the comeback tour. The meeting in 2008 began with discussion of a possible MJ exhibit at the Hilton in Las Vegas.
Colony Capital is an investment company that bought the note of Neverland, Gongaware said. By 'note' he meant the 'mortgage'. "They (Colony) were trying to figure out what to do with Neverland"
Gongaware talked about being at Michael's house at Carolwood when the singer signed the contract with AEG for the This Is It tour. "Michael read everything in the contract", Gongaware said. He remembered Michael being engaged, alert and paying attention. "He was good.I felt great about it," Gongaware said. "It was a Michael Jackson tour, it was a great thing." Gongaware said he watched Michael pretty carefully in the meetings, he knew Michael had went to rehab, but he didn't see any signs of drug problems.
Gongaware said he was aware of the physical exam done on Jackson after the signing for the tour.Email on 2/11/09 from Bob Taylor to Gongaware:

Thanks Paul. I now have the medical and blood reports. Looks good. I now need more info of what is available. This will help with the presentation to the insurers. I would like to offer insurers a medical update say every 21 days.

Response from Gongaware:

I'm not ready to put anything in writing.

Gongaware said it was because he didn't have the answers. Gongaware said he did not have concerns with Michael abusing prescription drugs. "It just confirmed what I believed, that he was fine. He wasn't doing any drugs," Gongaware said about the results of Michael's physical exam. A February 2009 email between him and the insurance broker showed that insurers wanted med checkups on Jackson every 21 days. The broker also wanted details on the concert set, dates, and other details that Gongaware said weren't decided on yet. "The back to back shows WILL be a problem", the broker wrote Gongaware. Suggested adding them in after Jackson started performing shows.
AEG produced/promoted the This Is It I tour. "We needed to front all the money," Gongaware said. "He didn't have the money, so he needed us to do it." Tohme, Michael's manager, told AEG about needing the money. Gongaware said Tohme emphasized several times that Michael needed to make money. Gongaware said Michael and Ortega figured out the creative elements they wanted and Gongaware had to figure out how to make them happen. Gongaware said the initial phase of rehearsal was done at Center Staging in Burbank, but venue didn't have room for production elements. They moved rehearsals to The Forum, which didn't have a high ceiling to hang the lights. Then they moved to Staples Center.
After the morning break, Gongaware said Michael chose This Is It as the name because it was going to be his last. Gongaware:

"You never know what kind of business a tour will do. We had no idea the demand, we wanted to make sure it was successful. Initially, they had 31 shows scheduled"

Gongaware said Prince had done 21 shows at the O2 arena, and Michael wanted to do 10 more. "You didn't know what the ticket sales would be," Gongaware said. So they announced only 10 shows to test the waters. "Demand was there obviously in the presale," Gongaware said. He talked to Tohme, asked for more than 50 shows. Tohme said Michael would do 50.
On March 5, 2009, Michael held a press conference in front of O2 arena and announced the comeback tour. Gongaware was present. Michael was not on time, late by a couple of hours. Gongaware said it didn't surprise him since Michael didn't like to do those things (press conferences) "His schedules don't always run like clockwork", said Gongaware, who was a little annoyed by it but not surprised. "Michael came up to me, gave me a big hug, whispered in my ear 'make sure the Teleprompter has big words, I don't have my glasses'" Gongaware said.

Putnam: "Did he seem inebriated?"
Gongaware: "No"
Putnam: "Drunk?"
Gongaware:"No"
Putnam: "Smelled like alcohol?"
Gongaware: "No"

Gongaware thought the press conference was great. "The reaction of the press was really good, I think people liked he was returning." Gongaware said they asked people to register on a website and only people registered could get into the presale to purchase tickets. He said that based on the response, they knew the tour was going to be a major success
"He was good," the AEG executive testified. "I think he was excited"
One day after that, Gongaware said Michael called him to discuss the tour. He said Michael chose Kenny Ortega to direct the show. "Michael liked special effects", Gongaware said. He put together a presentation for Michael with the latest effects and made him promise he would show up. Demonstration was on 3/16/09 at Sony Studios. It had 3D on LED that was never done before, pyro and new type of flame. Putnam showed a clip of the This Is It documentary where there are the pyro effects that were going to be used. "He loved it," Gongaware said, adding Michael didn't seem to be bothered with pyro usage. Gongaware said there was a pretty cool water fountain effect shown and not used. "It was messy," he described. "He was really engaged, as he saw all the effects he got really excited." Gongaware said he had no concern that Michael had drug problems, didn't seem slow or lethargic in March of 2009. A meeting was scheduled for March 17, 09. Gongaware emailed Michael's assistant that only Michael and Kenny Ortega should be in that meeting. "They were the creative forces and needed to find the show's path before including everyone else", Gongaware explained
Regarding Kenny Ortega watching out for Michael's health, Gongaware said no one at AEG asked him to do that. Gongaware thought Ortega watched out because they were friends and worked together.
Gongaware will join The Rolling Stones tour this weekend, but will return on Monday to resume testifying
Court Transcript

1970 - "The Love You Save" by the Jackson 5 enters the Billboard US Hot 100 singles chart at #45. In late June, will peak at #1 & stay there for 2 weeks
1971 - The Jackson 5 play at the Fairgrounds Arena (now Jim Norick Arena) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on their 2nd national tour
1977 - The Jacksons perform “Keep On Dancing” on Numéro Un Joe Dassin taped at the Buttes-Chaumont Studios in Paris, France while on their European tour. It would air on July 2nd
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1979 - On their Destiny Tour, The Jacksons play the Jim Norick Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1987 - The Los Angeles Times reports that Michael has submitted an official bid, for an undisclosed sum, for the remains of the late John Merrick, known as the Elephant Man, from the London Hospital Medical College which has kept them since Merrick’s death in 1890.
Michael's manager, Frank DiLeo, commented “Jackson has no exploitative intentions whatsoever and cares about and is concerned with the Elephant Man as a dedicated and devoted collector of art and antiques"
Also adding that Michael "has a high degree of respect for the memory of Merrick"
1992 - "In The Closet" peaked at #6 during it's 5th week on the Billboard chart. It would stay in the Top 40 for 11 weeks
1997 - HIStory tour rehearsals in Bremen, Germany
2000 - Dangerous (album) is certified 7X platinum by the RIAA.
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2000 - Michael announces that he has become a key partner & investor in HollywoodTicket.com, a promotional and marketing site that gives netizens the chance to win backstage passes to concerts & visits to film/tv show shoots. The amount he invested was not disclosed but it's understood to be in the millions
2003 - Michael attends a party at Robert Evan's house to celebrate Brett Ratner's Hillhaven Lodge: The Photo Book Pictures book launch. Brett Ratner is the director of Rush Hour. Later that same night, Michael shows up at a MTV Movie Awards post party at Ron Burkle's Beverly Hills Mansion where he meets Puff Daddy and Paris Hilton among others.
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2005 - No court today due to the Memorial Day holiday
2006 - Michael Jackson takes his kids and his nanny Grace to Tokyo Disneyland.
2007 - A collection of almost 2000 Jackson family items dating from the mid-1960's to the early '90's goes to auction in the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas.
These are items from a storage warehouse that Henry Vaccaro came in to possession of after a failed business venture ended up in bankruptcy court. Items include Michael's gold record for Thriller, handwritten "ABC" lyrics & a signed Victory tour program
2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 20
Katherine and Rebbie Jackson are in court.
The court also heard an update on efforts to get emails and any other records from a computer used by Michael's former manager, Frank Dileo. Apparently an LA attorney has a copy of Dileo's computer hard drive. Attorneys are working to get a copy of the HD to both sides. The copy was revealed during a deposition of Dileo's widow earlier this week in Pennsylvania, plaintiff's attorney Brian Panish said
Paul Gongaware Testimony
Jackson direct
Gongaware said he met with his attorneys again yesterday to refresh his recollection
Panish asked if AEG was concerned about Mr. Jackson's health. "When he was sick we obviously had a concern," Gongaware responded. Gongaware said he understood Michael was sick from reading the chain of emails shown yesterday. But Gongaware told the jury he didn't have any particular concern about Michael Jackson other than on June 19th, no one told Gongaware about being concerned with his health. Gongaware testified that he disagreed with Houghdahl's opinion, saying he had no "particular concern" about Jackson's health and ability to perform
Talking about the email Hougdahl sent saying Michael was deteriorating quickly, Gongaware explained: "I didn't see it the way he saw."
Hougdahl, in response to concerns expressed by Travis Payne about Jackson's weight Email 6/15/09 from Hougdahl to Gongaware :

He needs some cheeseburgers with a bunch of Wisconsin cheesehead bowlers and a couple of brats and beers

"Was he joking around about this situation?" Panish asked Gongaware, referring to Hougdahl. "I think he was," Gongaware replied. "Did you think that was funny?" Panish asked. "I did," Gongaware admitted
Panish asked about indemnity in Gongaware's contract. The exec said indemnity means that someone else is taking on the responsibility. "I haven't read my contract in 12/13 years, I don't know what it says," Gongaware said. Gongaware said he does not know how many pages his employment agreement is. Panish asked if he AEG would cover for Gongaware should they be found guilty. Gongaware said it was his understanding that he wouldn't be personally responsible financially if the jury sided with Jackson family.

Panish: "That means if you did something wrong..."
Gongaware: "They would be responsible. I've been assuming that,"

Adding that depending upon the size of the judgment, AEG could go after him. Panish asked how much AEG would be able to afford, and Gongaware said he didn't know. Panish emphasized there are various ways for AEG to pay a judgment, and Gongaware mentioned they had some sort of cancellation insurance.
Panish went back to discuss the email from Randy Phillips where he wrote 'Dr. Murray didn't need the gig and was unbiased and ethical'

Panish: "Is Mr. Phillips unbiased and ethical, sir?"
Gongaware: "I think he is"

Panish asked if it was ethical for Phillips to represent to Ortega that the doctor is 'extremely successful' and 'we checked everyone out'. Gongaware responded that he didn't know what Phillips knew at the time.

Panish: "Is number one priority 'the show must go on'?"
Gongaware: "I don't know if that's number one"
Panish: "What's number one?"
Gongaware: "Getting it right"

Panish showed the email from John Branca, saying he had the right therapist for Michael and asked if substance abuse was involved. "This is referring to the meeting that was going to happen and I was waiting to see the results of it," Gongaware said. "I didn't believe there was a substance abuse issue," Gongaware testified. "In the entire time I was dealing with him in this tour, I saw it once when he came back from his doctor," Gongaware testified. Gongaware said that was the only time he saw Michael with slurred speech and under the influence of something. Gongaware said he didn't know what Dr. Klein was giving Michael Jackson. When Panish asked Gongaware if he checked Dr. Klein out, he replied: "No, he was Michael's doctor and it was none of my business."
Gongaware said he once observed Michael looking "slow" and possibly intoxicated after a visit to his dermatologist but he didn't believe he had any "serious health problems" even after Jackson appeared weak and disoriented at a June 19 rehearsal. "My observation of Michael Jackson was that he was healthy," Gongaware said. "They had a meeting to discuss (the June 19 incident), and he took a couple days off and he came back strong"
As to insurance issues, Gongaware said he was involved only peripherally. On June 25, Gongaware sent an email saying that if they didn't get sickness coverage in the insurance, they would be dropping the policy. Gongaware said he didn't know why he was pressing for sickness insurance on the day Michael died. Bob Taylor, the insurance broker, wrote back that it was always down to the medical issued from the word go. Regarding Randy Phillips asking for life insurance the day Michael died, Gongaware said he didn't pay much attention to insurance, didn't recall.
The day Michael died, Gongaware said Phillips called him and told him to get over to the house right away, there seems to be a problem. Randy followed the ambulance to UCLA. "The second call was that he informed me that he had died," Gongaware remembered. On June 25, Gongaware said he went to the rehearsal at the Staples Center and talked to Kenny Ortega.

Panish: "Were you sad Mr. Jackson died?"
Gongaware: "Very much so"

"He was a business associate", Gongaware said about Michael. They did not didn't hang out as friends
Panish asked about Phillips' email directing Gongaware to remove thin, skeletal footage of Michael in the red jacket from This Is It documentary. Gongaware testified that he remembered receiving the email. In his deposition played in court, Gongaware said he didn't recall the email.

Panish: "Did you change your testimony?"
Gongaware: "No. I saw the email as part of my preparation"

AEG Live president and co-chief executive Randy Phillips wrote in Aug. 9 email:

Make sure we take out the shots of Michael in that red leather jacket at the sound stage where the mini-movies were being filmed. He looks way too think (sic) and skeletal

Gongaware replied to Phillips, his boss:

ok will have a look when it comes on screen

Gongaware said he didn't try to control any of the messages about Michael after his death to reflect he was fully engaged in rehearsals. Panish asked about an email from Gongaware okay'ing the band, singers and dancer to give interviews but asked them to keep it positive
In another email July 9, 2009, email to music coordinator JoAnn Tominaga, Gongaware wrote:

We are ok with the band, singers and dancers doing interviews now. The only thing we ask is that they keep it positive and stress that Michael was active, engaged and not the emaciated person some want to paint him as being.

Answering questions from Jackson family attorney Brian Panish, Gongaware said he was not trying to control the film's message.

Panish: "You're telling them what not to say, aren't you sir?"
Gongaware. "I'm asking them to keep it positive and not say he was emaciated"
Panish: "So you were controlling the message as a producer of that documentary"
Gongaware: "I don't think so"

Gongaware's testimony again emphasized the contrast between the answers he gave during his deposition under oath in December 2012 and his responses in the courtroom. In testimony, he agreed that Phillips meant "thin" in his email, instead of the word he typed, 'think'. Asked during the deposition what Phillips meant, he replied, "I don't know what he meant"
Gongaware said nothing was taken out of the documentary, which included rehearsals for the scheduled 50 concerts in London. Gongaware promised in a follow-up email to Phillips that he'd "have a look," but he testified that he never dumped any footage. "We didn't keep anything out based on what Randy wrote," Gogaware told jurors. Gongaware testified that he did not know why Phillips would ask that.
Gongaware said there were 15,000 tickets per show, $1.5 million in tickets per show, $47 million for all 31 shows. Tickets were selling at lightening fast, Gongaware said. "As fast as the system can sell.". The tickets were sold in March, Gongaware said. It was held by the arena, AEG had control of the money. Gongaware said merchandising was another way of making money. The building, which is owned by AEG, would keep the revenue of beverage sold. Gongaware said the beverage money would offset the arena rent, which Michael would not have to pay.

Gongaware: "His (MJ) potential was great"
Panish: "Unlimited ceilings?"
Gongaware: "If he was willing to work that hard, he would've done well"

Before lunch, Panish asked Gongaware whether This Is It was intended to be a multi-city tour. Gongaware said no, it was just going to be the 50 shows at London's O2 arena. "The only thing we knew was 50 shows in London. Michael had not agreed to anything else," Gongaware explained
Panish asked Gongaware by the time the show was sold out, how many people were in the queue to buy tickets. "250,000 people were still in the queue, which would be enough to sell another 50 shows," Gongaware answered. During Murray's trial, Gongaware testified that 250k people still wanted tickets. He told that jury This Is It would be a multi-city tour.

Panish: "Did you tell the truth when you testified in this case, sir?"
Gongaware: "Yes"

Panish then concluded his questioning of Gongaware.
AEG cross
AEG's attorney, Marvin Putnam, did the questioning of Gongaware on behalf of the defendants.
​

Putnam: "Have you ever been sued personally for the wrongful death of anyone?"
Gongaware: "No"
Putnam: "How are you feeling?"
Gongaware: "It's difficult, it's very stressful"
Putnam: "Are you nervous?"
Gongaware: "Yes"

Putnam asked about Gongaware's memory and he said it's okay
Putnam asked Gongaware about some of the emails shown to jurors yesterday. Putnam was trying to show that not all the contents of the emails had been shown to jury. Some email addresses had been redacted. Attorney Brian Panish objected to the redactions, and got testy with the judge. It prompted another lengthy sidebar. When attorneys returned from the judge's chambers, Putnam resumed questioning Gongaware about emails sent to his private account
Putnam said Gongaware handed over more than 13,000 emails in discovery from the This Is It period
Putnam inquired about Gongaware's Kazoodi personal email account. On 6/20/09, the chain of emails with "Trouble at the Front" was sent there. Gongaware said he didn't remember receiving this email. Gongaware said he had more than one "Kazoodi" email account. He said he was not using the account the email was sent to on 6/20. "The account was closed at the time." Putnam presented Gongaware a document that indicated the private email account had been closed at the time. Gongaware said he never denied it was sent. Gongaware claimed yesterday was the first time he saw this chain of emails. Putnam used the closed email account to try to show Gongaware's testimony was truthful

Putnam: "Why could you not recall e-mails?"
Gongaware: "I had not reviewed them and had not seen them in years,"

Some of the e-mails were new to him because he was so busy putting Jackson's tour together that he never read them, he said. Gongaware said he was receiving hundreds of email a day at the height of 2008/09 tour preparation. "Mostly, it was just a time factor if it was something that didn't have to do with me"
Gongaware said he doesn't have an office at AEG, and that he works on his own projects. He has an office at his house. Gongaware is the Co-CEO of AEG Live Concerts West with John Meglen. He said he was the co-founder of the company. Phillips is AEG Live CEO
Gongaware explained be has been testifying about what he could recall. If he didn't remember, he said he told the jury he couldn't recall. Gongaware testified he looked at the emails after his deposition because he wanted to put everything together and see the bigger picture. Putnam: "Did you try to give your best testimony?" Gongaware: "Yes, I did"
Regarding the phone call between Gongaware and Dr. Murray where the doctor asked about $5 million, Gongaware said he remembers that call. The next call between the two, it was the $150,000 call, where Gongaware offered the doctor $150k. Gongaware said those were the only two calls he had with Dr. Murray
Gongaware said the 1st time he met Dr. Murray was a meeting at Michael's Carolwood house. He said MJ, Kenny, Randy, Frank & Dr Murray were present. Gongaware recalled the other meeting with Dr. Murray was an encounter with him at The Forum. He remembers saying hello to him. Gongaware said he's sure he didn't meet with Dr. Murray other than on those two occasions
Gongaware said he promoted couple of shows/dances in college. He graduated in '69 from Waynesboro College in Pennsylvania in Accounting. He worked for Arthur Andersen in NYC after college as auditor. He said one needed two years of experience in order to get CPA license.The company ended up shutting down after being involved in the Enron scandal, Gongaware explained. He said there's a continuing education requirement in order to maintain his CPA license, but he hasn't kept current. "I didn't like that work," Gongaware said about leaving the practice. "I wanted to do things and not just be an accountant." Gongaware said he ski bummed for a winter and would do bookkeeping to pay for his lodge.
His first big show was in Colorado -- he got The Grateful Dead to perform at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. He said he didn't know the band or any of its managers, but asked them to come to Colorado. They did, and the show was a hit. "The concert was sold out", Gongaware said, and he became an independent promoter. Around 1975, he met Terry Bassett who worked at Concerts West and Gongaware went to work for them in their Seattle office. He worked for them for about 10 years. Gongaware said he went to work for the company because the money was steady. At Concerts West, Gongaware worked with Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, Beach Boys, Chicago, Eric Clapton, among others. This Concerts West is not the same; he is the currently the co-CEO. Gongaware left Seattle and came to LA to work at Concerts West. He then went to Warner Miller Films. The company did primarily ski movies. Jerry Weintraub was Elvis' promoter and Concerts West assigned him to work with Colonel Parker, Elvis' manager.
Gongaware was in his 20s when he worked with Elvis. He said when they'd announce an Elvis concert, there would be lines at the box office for 4 days. Gongaware said Colonel would buy ads on every radio station and promote the show. When tickets went on sale, Gongaware was to report to Colonel every hour regarding the ticket sales.
Elvis Presley's death became a controversy at this trial as the man (Gongaware) who promoted both artists' last tours testified. He testified yesterday that Presley died of a drug overdose, but when his own lawyer questioned him today he changed his testimony to say Elvis died of a heart ailment. Presley collapsed in the bathroom of his Memphis, Tennessee, mansion, Graceland, on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42. While his death was ruled the result of an irregular heartbeat, the autopsy report was sealed amid accusations that abuse of prescription drugs caused the problem.How Presley died is relevant because Jackson lawyers argue Gongaware's experience as Elvis's promoter should have made him more aware of drug abuse by artists, including Michael Jackson.
Although he worked advance promotion on Elvis Presley's last tours -- under the direction of Presley manager Colonel Tom Parker -- Gongaware testified he never met Presley.

Putnam:"Did you understand he had a problem with drugs?"
Gongaware: "I understood that later. There was a period of time when we didn't work. I didn't understand at the time, but I learned that it was a drug problem and the Colonel said he couldn't work."

Around 1992, Gongaware went to work on the Dangerous tour with Michael. This was his first time working with Michael Jackson. He worked with the Jacksons in 2000 but he remembered working on a tour with the Jacksons prior to 92 and said Michael was part of the group. "I was the tour manager, handled the logistics and travel for the B party," Gongaware said, adding he worked for Michael but not for A party.

• A party - artist
• B party - band and administration
• C party - crew
• D party - documentary people.
  Gongaware said there were several legs on the Dangerous tour. It was a worldwide tour. He never met Michael on that tour, saw him on stage a few times
  

The first time Gongaware met Michael was in Las Vegas when he was visiting Colonel Parker. Steve Wynn's brother called and said Michael wanted to meet Colonel. Gongaware stayed and met him
​

Putnam: "Were there any doctors in that tour?"
Gongaware: "Yes, two"

Gongaware said Dr. Forecast was Michael's personal doctor. He didn't think Dr. Forecast treated anyone else, so they had Dr. Finkelstein also. Dr. Finkelstein, a general practitioner, was in the B party. They went to places where they didn't know the quality of local healthcare. Gongaware explained Dr. Finkelstein treated B, C and D parties. Gongaware said he did not see any doctor treat Michael. Dr. Finkelstein told Gongaware he treated Michael twice. Dr. Forecast wasn't in Bangkok yet, so Dr. Finkelstein treated him when he needed.

"The King of Thailand said Michael would have to do the second show because his friends were attending", Gongaware recalled.

Gongaware said the King put armed guards outside their doors to make sure they didn't leave
​

Putnam: "During the Dangerous tour, had you come to have an understating that Michael had a problem with drugs or painkillers?"
Gongaware: "No, he Dangerous tour in 93 was cut short in Mexico City"

Gongaware said. He learned it had to do with drug addiction because Michael announced it. Putnam played the audio with Michael's statement:

"My friends and doctors advised me to seek professional guidance immediately in order to eliminate what has become an addition. It is time for me to acknowledge my need for treatment"

On Jun 25, 2009 Gabriel Sutter (a tech guy) wrote Gongaware a condolences email. "It was such an incredible shock to go through that experience," Gongaware explained. Gongaware's response on July 5, 2009:

I was working on the Elvis tour when he died so I kind of knew what to expect

"You have all these people out of work," Gongaware explained. "With Elvis some were without jobs permanently." Under questioning from Putnam, Gongaware said he didn't mean that he expected Jackson to die like Elvis. He was referring to the trauma of people losing their jobs because a tour is canceled and the estate taking over the legacy, he said.

Putnam: "When you wrote the email, did you expect Michael to die?"
Gongaware: "No, not all"
Putnam: "Did you ever consider the idea Michael would die?"
Gongaware: "No"

Here's what Gongaware had to say about the role of the estate after Elvis died (and what he expected after Jackson's death.):

"Then the estate takes over, and everything's different. You have nothing to say about anything"

When one of his friends asked about his plans after Michael's death, Gongaware replied he was "trying to recover our losses from the show"
"Michael died of overdose of Propofol. He didn't die of being sick or malnutrition", Gongaware said. He said that he had no idea of what Propofol was. "I had no idea" Jackson was using propofol in the weeks before his death, Gongaware testified
Gongaware said he worked on Michael's memorial service. He was in charge of the tickets and worked closely with the family. He said he didn't charge for his work.

Putnam: "Why did you work at the memorial service?"
Gongaware: "It was the right thing to do"

Court Transcript
2017 - Michael Jackson: Searching For Neverland, starring Navi as Michael, premieres on the Lifetime channel in the US

1950 - Maureen Reillette "Rebbie" Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana. She is the first child born to Joe & Katherine Jackson
1956 - La Toya Yvonne Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana. She is the 5th child & the middle daughter
1971 - The Jackson 5 play at the Indiana Fairgrounds Coliseum (now Indiana Farmers Coliseum) in Indianapolis, Indiana
1988 - Michael Jackson performs in concert to an audience of 53,600 at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino in Turin, Italy on his BAD World Tour
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1997 - Michael arrives in Bremen, Germany with Tarak Ben Ammar, on the HIStory World Tour. He meets the mayor of the city, Henning Scherf
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Three month old Prince Michael Jr is taken to a Paris hotel suite where he is taken care of by his nannies Grace Rwaramba & Pia Bhatti. Michael joins him after each concert of the European tour. Debbie Rowe also flies every weekend to spend time with Michael & their son.
2006 - While still in Tokyo, Michael has business meetings in his hotel suite and then goes out shopping
2009 - Michael invites some fans into CenterStaging, where This Is It rehearsals are taking place. According to them he seemed worried, upset and his voice crackled as if he was on the verge of tears as he revealed that he had "gone to bed thinking it was 10 concerts and woke up finding out it was 50".
Michael’s curly hair is back!
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Later Michael goes for the second time in 10 days to a sound design studio on Magnolia Boulevard.
2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 19
Katherine and Rebbie Jackson are at court.
Paul Gongaware Testimony
Jackson direct
"My understanding Michael Jackson is a party (to the contract)," Gongaware said about Dr. Murray's contract. Gongaware told jury he's never looked at Conrad Murray's contract to serve as Michael Jackson's tour doctor
Panish: "Why did AEG have to enter into a contract with Dr. Murray?"
​

Gongaware: "I don't know about AEG terminating Dr. Murray"

Gongaware said he didn't believe they could do it, because he was Michael's doctor. Gongaware said it was fair to say he didn't know why AEG would enter into a contract with a doctor for Michael Jackson. Panish asked Gongaware if Michael negotiated the price/contract with Dr. Murray.

"I believe he did through me, he instructed me what to offer"

Gongaware said he didn't know for sure whether Karen Faye was an independent contractor or not.
​

"Dr. Murray would've been 100% charged to Michael Jackson," Gongaware testified.

Gongaware said he didn't know what the $300k budgeted for medical management was for.
Panish tried 'impeaching' Gongaware, which is the process of calling into question the credibility of an individual who's testifying. Yesterday and today the plaintiffs' attorney would ask a question then play parts of the deposition to catch Gongaware in contradiction.
At one point, a portion of Gongaware's deposition was played in which he discussed a meeting at Michael's house with Conrad Murray. In his deposition, Paul Gongaware said the meeting "was about Dr. Murray and engaging him"; Gongaware later changed testimony to state "him" meant MJ. That change was read to the jury, leading attorney Brian Panish to question Gongaware about what he meant by the word "engage". "Here I think we were talking about making sure Michael Jackson was engaged and focused", Gongaware said. He told the jury he was concerned about getting Michael involved and focused, engaged mentally. "I believe that was Kenny's concern, that he wanted him to be focused," Gongaware explained. "Michael had gone before without rehearsing", Gongaware recalled. "When he got to London, he was going to be sensational." Gongaware said he thought at the meeting they discussed Jackson's nutrition, not his health (i.e. sleep issues.)
Panish asked Gongaware about another meeting at Jackson's house in which Michael showed up late after a visit to Dr. Arnold Klein. "I didn't know what he was under the influence of, but he was a little bit off", Gongaware said of the meeting adding that he didn't know what kind of drugs Dr. Klein was giving Michael
Panish then asked Gongaware whether he was involved in getting Jackson a nutritionist. Lots of back-and-forth on this issue. Panish showed emails in which Gongaware emailed others at AEG telling them Jackson needed a nutritionist and physical therapist. "Obviously I was looking for a nutritionist for him, but I wasn't involved in his nutrition," Gongaware said. Panish played Gongaware's deposition where he said he was not involved in finding a nutritional person. Gongaware explained he believes nutritional person and nutritionist were not necessarily the same.
On June 15, 2009, Gongaware sent an email to Ortega in response to request for nutritionist and physical therapist for Michael . Email:
We're on it. AEG owns major sports teams in this market so we think we can find the right people quickly. Kenny responded: Super.Not a minute too soon. Let's turn this guy around!
Panish then asked Gongaware about a friend of AEG CEO Randy Phillips who was going to work with Jackson. Gongaware said he didn't know whether this friend of Phillips was a nutrition specialist. He told Panish he'd have to ask Randy Phillips. Gongaware testified he remembers someone named David Laughner working with Michael. Panish pointed out Laughner is Randy Phillips' friend. "I don't know if he was a nutritionist, it was someone in charge of making Michael eat," Gongaware explained.

Gongaware: "He's a guy who's dealt with artists quite a bit"
Panish: "Artists in trouble?"
Gongaware: "Artists in general"

Gongaware said he doesn't know what Laughner did, but he's seen him working with JLo and Enrique Iglesias.
Gongaware didn't know why MJ would need a nutritionist when he had a doctor hired. "Kenny asked for it," Gongaware explained. Gongaware said he told Dr. Murray he wanted him to have everything he needed. He said Michael Jackson had always been thin
Gongaware said he didn't attend rehearsals frequently.

"I was at the rehearsal facility at all the times but I wasn't in the arena much."

"We were always concerned about Michael's health and well being," Gongaware explained, saying he was responding to Kenny Ortega's requests. Gongaware said Kenny Ortega was responsible for keeping an eye on everything, including Michael and his health. Gongaware was then asked whether there was anyone responsible for handling AEG's interests at rehearsals. Gongaware responded "Yes, that was Kenny Ortega"

Panish: "Do you think Ortega was overreacting?"
Gongaware: "Perhaps. I was never concerned about Michael Jackson. I knew when the houselights went off, he would be there and on."
Panish: "You think Ortega was overreacting when raised concerns about Michael's health?" Gongaware: "I think I wasn't concerned as he was"

Talking about the email Gongaware wrote saying he wanted to remind him (Dr. Murray) that it's AEG, not Michael, who's paying his salary. In his deposition, Gongaware said he didn't know what he meant to say in the email. Gongaware testified he spent some of the time himself looking at this email, putting it in context with the rest of the material he had.

Panish: "After meeting with your lawyers and talking about an hour or two about this email, did you refresh your memory of what you meant?"
"I did come to conclusions a lot on my own, then I discussed it with my attorneys," Gongaware explained
Panish: "You didn't have psychotherapy to refresh your recollection?"
Gongaware: "No, I still don't recall writing it"

Panish played for jurors a section of Gongaware's deposition, recorded in December, in which Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle questioned him about what he meant when he wrote to Ortega:

"We want to remind him that it is AEG, not Michael, who is paying his salary."

​

Boyle: "Based on the assumptions that AEG is your company and Michael is Michael Jackson, do you have an understanding of what that means?"
Gongaware: "No, I don't understand it, because we weren't paying his salary"
Boyle: "So why would you write that?"
Gongaware: "I have no idea"
Boyle: "Now, let's go on to the next sentence. When you say 'his salary,' who are you talking about?"
Gongaware: "I don't know."
Boyle: "Oh, but how do you know you weren't paying his salary if you don't know who we're talking about?"
Gongaware: "I don't remember this e-mail"
Boyle: "Didn't you just testify that 'we weren't paying his salary'?"
Gongaware: "AEG?"
Boyle: "Yes.You just testified 'we weren't paying his salary.' You just testified to that a few seconds ago, right?"
Gongaware: "I guess"
Boyle: "Well, whose salary were you referring to? Dr. Murray?"
Gongaware: "Yes."

After Gongaware began recalling in court what he meant in the e-mail, Panish suggested it may be a case of "repressed memories" where "someone doesn't remember something for three or four years."

"You didn't have any psychotherapy to remember what you wrote here?" Panish asked. "You didn't like get put to sleep? (Judge Yvette Palazuelos injected: "Hypnotized?") to see if you remembered this?
"No," Gongaware answered

Panish went through every word of the email, which was to Kenny Ortega and Frank DiLeo:

Frank and I have discussed it already and have requested a face-to-face meeting with the doctor, hopefully Monday. We want to remind him that it is AEG, not Michael, who's paying his salary. We want him to understand what's expected of him. He's been dodging Frank so far

​

Panish: "You're referring to Dr. Murray and what's expected of Dr. Murray, right?"
Gongaware: "Yes, we did talk about Dr. Murray's salary, but a deal was never consummated. His responsibility was to take care of his patient"

Panish asked if he thought Dr. Murray knew what his responsibility was, so why the need to remind him what was expected of him?

"This thing was shorthand between me, Kenny and Frank. I was going through hundreds of emails a day. If I knew lawyers four years later were picking everything apart, I may have been more careful choosing my words", Gongaware testified.

He claimed he was referring to Kenny's email regarding nutritionist, physical therapist.

"I certainly feel Dr. Murray should be competent to do that (be a nutritionist). He's a doctor!" Gongaware testified.

Panish asked why Gongaware thought they needed a nutritionist when they had a doctor hired.

"Kenny asked for one," he responded

​

"If Michael signed the contract and if Michael would've instructed us to pay him, we would've pay him," Gongaware said about Dr. Murray

​

"Frank and I have discussed it already and have requested a face-to-face meeting with the doctor, hopefully Monday

AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware wrote on June 14, 2009, 11 days before Murray administered a fatal dose propofol
​
"Michael didn't like to rehearse, it didn't surprise me," Gongaware expressed, saying it was known that Michael didn't go to rehearsals. But when the lights went up, Jackson was "on," he stated.
Email on 5/5/09 from Gongaware to Carla Garcia:

Pray for me. This is a nightmare. Not coincidentally, I have them now every night. Cold sweats too. Life used to be so much fun...

It was not an admission that he was concerned about Jackson's ability to do the show, he said. "It was just playing around, joking," with AEG President Tim Leiweke's assistant, Carla Garcia, he testified.
​

"Carla is an absolute babe and I was just chatting her up. I don't have cold sweats, I don't have nightmares, I sleep great!" Gongaware said.

​

Panish asked him if he was lying in the email, "white lie?"
Gongaware: "Let's just say I was joking"
Panish: "You ask people to pray for you joking?"
Gongaware: "I did there"

​
Response from Phillips on Jun 20:

Bugzee, I know because I just got Kenny's message on my voicemail.What did he do when he got there and what happened between him and KO? I have a meeting with Michael tomorrow morning

From Hougdahl (Bugzee)to Phillips, cc'd Gongaware:

MJ came out and watched all the pyro demonstrations and endorsed the all the effects then went into his room and asked Kenny "you aren't going to kill the artist, are you?" We assumed this was reference to pyro, but Kenny said he was shaking and couldn't hold his knife and fork. Kenny had to cut his food for him before he could eat, and then had to use his fingers. I don't know how much embellishment there is to this, but (Kenny) said repeatedly that Michael was in no shape to go on stage. He kept going on and on how no one was taking responsibility for "getting him ready". We might be getting beyond ... damage control, here

"I didn't worry about, it sounded like he was sick and they were going to talk about it next morning," Gongaware explained
Phillips replied:

Tim and I are going to see him tomorrow, however, I am not sure what the problem is. Chemical or physiological?

Gongaware said he was at a family wedding and wasn't really paying attention to this. This was 1st time he heard something was wrong with Michael
Gongaware responds:

Take the doctor with you. Why wasn't he there last night?

"Yes, if he (MJ) was sick, why wasn't he (the doctor) there?" Gongaware said he meant in the email
Phillips responded and added Tim Leiweke in the chain:

He is not a psychiatrist so I'm not sure how effective he can be at this point. Obviously, getting him there is not the issue. It is much deeper.

"I think Randy is stating his opinion," Gongaware said.
Panish asked if Gongaware inquired what Phillips meant by "the issue... It's much deeper."

Gongaware: "Well, there was going to be a meeting that day to discuss it"
Panish: "Were you concerned?"
Gongaware: "Not necessarily"
Panish: "Nobody told you anything where Dr. Murray was?"
Gongaware: "No"
Panish:"And never sought to find out?"
Gongaware: "No"

Response from Hougdahl to Phillips, about needing trainetherapist:

I've watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his ass if he tried it now

"There was a meeting on June 20th. I wasn't there, I was back East," Gongaware recalled.
Email from Phillips (6/20/09):

Unfortunately, we are running out of time. That's my biggest fear

"He was afraid of that, I wasn't," Gongaware said. Gongaware said he didn't agree with Phillips' assessment, "He may have said that, but I didn't agree with that"
Panish questioned Gongaware about whether the company put too much emphasis on the showbiz maxim, "The show must go on." Gongaware denied that was the case. He told the jury that he was concerned about Jackson's health, but that he thought This Is It tour director Kenny Ortega may have been overstating concerns about the singer's wellbeing. Gongaware agreed that in this business, the show must go on
Gongaware testified he didn't know when Dr. Murray's contract was to begin. "That contract was for London and the shows for London, I believe," Gongaware said.
Email on 6/20/09 from Phillips to LeiwekeComm and "Kazoodi"(private email address that belongs to Gongaware):

This guy is really starting to concern me. Read his email and my response. Dr. Murray and I are meeting with Michael at 4pm today at The Forum.

Gongaware testified that he wasn't sure who Phillips was referring to, and his boss may have been expressing concerns about Jackson or Murray.
The artist's health is paramount. Without the artist, there's no show. The artist is the most important thing," Gongaware testified
Email on 6/19/09 from Phillips to Leiweke:

We have a real problem here

There was a meeting that was going to happen the next day, Gongaware said, and he waited to see what would come out of it
Email on 6/19/09 from Leiweke to Phillips:

Let's set up a time for you and I to meet with him. I want Kenny in the meeting as well

Ortega wrote back:

I will do whatever I can to be of help with this situation. My concern is now that we've brought the Doctor into the fold played the tough love .He appeared quite weak and fatigued this evening. He had a terrible case of the chills, was trembling, rambling and obsessing. Everything in me says he should be psychologically evaluated. If we have any chance at all to get him back in the light it's going to take a strong therapist to help him through this as well as immediate physical nurturing. I was told by our choreographer during the artists costume fitting w/ his designer tonight they noticed he's lost more weight.: As far as I can tell, there's no 1 taking responsibility (caring) for him on a daily basis. Where was his assistant tonight? Tonight I was feeding him wrapping him in blankets to warm his chill, massaging his feet to calm him and calling his doctor. There were four security guards outside his door, but no one offering him a cup of hot tea. Finally, it's important for everyone to know I believe he really wants this. It would shatter him break his heart if we pulled plug. He's terribly frightened it's all going to go away. He asked me repeatedly tonight if i was going to leave him. He was practically begging for my confidence. It broke my heart. He was like a lost boy. There still may be a chance he can rise to the occasion if we get him the help he needs.

Phillips responded:

Kenny: I will call you when I figure this out,we have a person like that, Brigitte, who's in London advancing his stay. We will bring her back asap and Frank, too, however, I'm stymied on who to bring in as a therapist and how they can get through to him in such a short time

Gongaware said Brigitte is a lawyer who was in charge of accommodations for MJ in London
​

Gongaware: "He was obviously concerned"
Panish: "Seriously concerned, right sir?"
Gongaware: "Seemed to be"

"This all happened prior to the meeting, and I was waiting to understand what the situation was," Gongaware explained
"I think they are special," Gongaware said about artists.
Email response from Philips to Kenny urging him, and everyone else, not to become amateur psychiatrists or physicians on 6/20/09:

You cannot imagine the harm and ramifications of stopping this show now

​

Panish: "Can you name a single person at AEG who checked Dr. Murray out?"
Gongaware: "I don't know if anyone did. I didn't know anything about him. Some people work for reasons other than money," Gongaware opined, but said he didn't know whether Dr. Murray was in that category. "I believe every doctor is unbiased and ethical," Gongaware said. "I think it's a natural assumption on my part."

Gongaware: "I never checked any doctor that I used. I just go by recommendation, never checked anyone's financial situation"
Gongaware said everyone thought Michael had all the money in the world, and it was not unusual for him to see people asking for a lot of money. Gongaware said he never heard before today anything about Dr. Murray's financial conditions
​

Panish: "He knew Michael's health was declining based on what the doctor told him, right?"
Gongaware: "Based on what his doctor told him, yes"
"I did talk to him and he said the meeting went well," Gongaware recalled

Email on 6/22/09 from Hougdahl (Production Manager, known as Bugzee) to Gongaware:

Further to the earlier email Let's keep our two docu people out of here today, unless they stay in the dressing room area only. Tomorrow is another story...

​

Panish: "Sir, Michael was sick this time, wasn't he?"
Gongaware: "I don't know, he showed up the next day and was great!"
Panish: "But you were not at the rehearsal, sir?" Gongaware: "I saw reports"

Panish then asked Gongaware about his attendance at Jackson's rehearsals. Gongaware said he didn't attend many. He watched Jackson perform "Thriller" two days before he died, but that was the only time he spent at that rehearsal.

"He appeared to me to be fully engaged. I recall seeing "Thriller" because it was the first time they were rehearsing with the costume and I wanted to see it," Gongaware said

Court Transcript
2017 - Lifetime original movie, Michael Jackson: Searching For Neverland is featured in TV Weekly magazine, with Navi on the cover
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1971 - The Jackson 5 play at the Spectrum (now closed - 2009) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1988 - Michael's duet with Stevie Wonder , "Get It", from Stevie's album Characters peaks at #80 on the Hot 100 Chart while it was at #6 on the R&B chart
1989 - Michael was one of the few winners present at the Black Radio Exclusive awards show at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. He was honored as the "Triple Crown Winner for Outstanding Achievement in Pop, Rock and Soul."
The elegantly laminated plaque has a black and gold edging, with purple printing on a faux-marble background, with a stylized photo image of Michael in his trademark black fedora.
1997 - His 2nd day in Poland starts with a stop at the presidential palace where Michael is received by the first lady. In his quest for a residence in Poland, he then visits the luxury Hotel Bristol. Price for the hotel ended up being too high. He then went to the Warsaw City Hall where he signed a “preliminary letter of intent” to develop a 'Michael Jackson’s Family Entertainment Park', in the Polish capital.
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“My dream is to appeal to the child that lives in the heart of every man and woman on this planet and to create something in Poland that is so unique and so unusual that it cannot be experienced in any other place", he said

The letter mentioned no price, but Jackson’s business manager, Tarak Ben Ammar, said in an interview that estimates of Jackson’s contribution range between $100 million and $300 million--modest sums by Western theme park standards. Poland would add an unknown amount.
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" I would also like to tell a great truth, I have traveled all over the world six times and have been everywhere, but nowhere I liked it more than in Poland. A visit to Poland is the fulfillment of my childhood dreams...."
He shops at the Kidiland toy store, reportedly in the amount of $670,000. He then goes to the children's hospital, with his arms loaded with gifts.
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Next he takes a helicopter to Lubiaz, in order to see Cistercian Abbey of Lubiaz, wich he also planned to purchase. Accompanied by Professor Marek Kwiatkowski, who guided him during his visit, Michael spends 45 minutes marveling at the Baroque architecture and the relics. He'll even try a little "heehee" in the middle of the Hall des Princes to test the acoustics! Michael, who wanted to settle in Poland, already saw himself owning this old building, despite the millions of dollars in restoration to be expected.
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In the evening, he flies to Bremen, Germany where in three days he will begin the 2nd leg of his HIStory Tour.
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The plans to build the amusement park at a nearby military airport won approval from state officials in February 1998. Michael asks for sketches to be drawn up for the proposed theme parks, however, following the project’s approval and a huge hiatus, the army owning the airport does not agree to make it available for the park. Two grounds pointed out by the government will also be denied due to local protests. The Polish government abandons this project altogether and nothing will come out of it
2004 - Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville has ordered a trial-setting conference hearing today. Thomas Mesereau, Brian Oxman & Joe Jackson go to the courthouse; Michael's appearance isn't required. They argue for a reduction in his $3-million bail and seek an order to force prosecutors to move faster in sharing evidence.
In accusing the prosecution of moving too slowly in giving the defense access to the evidence, as required by law, Mesereau said Michael's right to a fair trial was “jeopardized by the undue delay of discovery.”
“The investigation of this case involves dozens of, if not over 100 witnesses, voluminous documents and expert examination on a variety of topics,” Jackson’s lawyers wrote. “The defense needs ample time to conduct follow-up witness interviews, locate and interview rebuttal witnesses and conduct its own forensic examinations, among other things.”
Prosecutors have responded that they have turned over vast amounts of evidence already and are processing the information they have as quickly as possible. They also are strongly resisting an attempt by Mesereau to substantially reduce Jackson’s bail on grounds that it is much higher than the bail for other defendants facing similar charges.
The bail-reduction request notes that Jackson has no prior record, arrests or convictions & that he has fully complied with all conditions of his release on bail, including attending court when ordered.
“Mr. Jackson’s ties to this community are substantial,” the defense motion states. “The record reveals that Mr. Jackson is not a flight risk or a danger to the community. It is also apparent that Mr. Jackson intends to confront and vigorously defend rather than evade the allegations in this case.”
Though Mesereau noted that Santa Barbara County’s bail schedule calls for bail of about $135,000 for the conspiracy and molestation charges in the grand jury complaint, prosecutors oppose the request on grounds that Jackson is a flight risk and that his wealth should be a factor in retaining high bail.
Melville said early in the proceedings that he hoped a trial could begin before the end of this year, but legal experts and many criminal lawyers predicted that would be impossible.
September 13 is set as the date for the trial to begin
On another legal front, Janet Arvizo filed a claim against county child protection officials accusing them of moving too slowly in investigating leaks to the media that were helpful to Jackson’s defense.
Before a psychiatrist who had examined Gavin told Santa Barbara County officials that the child had been molested, Welfare officials had interviewed the family after Living With Michael Jackson aired in early 2003
A memo written by authorities after Jackson’s arrest said the family had denied any sexual abuse. The memo was subsequently released on a website.
Attorney Larry R. Feldman, representing the Arvizos, said he filed the claim, a necessary step before a lawsuit, to force county officials to speedily conclude their investigation to ensure that such a breach of confidentiality “will never occur again to another innocent child.”
2006 - Michael visited a Tokyo orphanage and told a group of 140 excited children "I love you" in Japanese. Michael's van was swarmed by 100+ fans as he arrived. Inside the Seibi Gakuen children's home, he watched a performance of traditional music and dance by the children before speaking briefly on stage. He later shook hands and signed autographs for the children.
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Michael's children and Grace visited with the children on this tour of the Japanese orphanage.
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"I look forward to seeing old friends and saying hello to my huge fan base in Japan who, like my other fans around the world, have for so many years consistently shown their love and support to me and my family."- MJ

"Everyone couldn't believe such a big international star was visiting us," said Kiyoko Mito, headmistress of the Christian-run school. "The children only believed me after seeing the news yesterday that Michael Jackson was actually in Japan," she said
2009 - Having not heard from AEG regarding his salary, Conrad Murray sent another email to AEG & receives a response from Tim Wooley
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2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 18
Katherine, Janet, Rebbie and Randy Jackson are in court. Only one of the siblings was allowed in the courtroom as they are potential witnesses. Janet accompanied Katherine during morning session while Rebbie was with her during the afternoon session.
Paul Gongaware Testimony
Jackson direct
Paul Gongaware is one of the defendants in the case. He's an adverse witness called by the plaintiffs. Gongaware is Co-CEO of Concerts West, part of AEG Live. Gongaware has toured with Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin and is currently on tour with The Rolling Stones. He worked for Jerry Weintraub in the 80s
He produced Prince's tour in 2004. He has not promoted/produced tours since. Gongaware has not talked to Prince after the tour
Gongaware was a CPA licensed in NY and Washington. He said he believes he's still licensed but hasn't checked status since there's no need
Gongaware testified that landing Jackson, whom he felt was the biggest artist of his era, was huge for AEG. In a 2008 email to AEG Live President and Chief Executive Randy Phillips, Gongaware described how the company should approach Jackson and his manager about a possible comeback tour:

We need to start at the fundamentals. How we do it. The difference between [Live Nation] and us is huge. We are artist-based, they are Wall Street-driven. We are smart people. We are completely honest and transparent with everything we do. That's how [founder] Phil [Anschutz] wants it

Gongaware said he worked on an Elvis Presley tour. Panish asked if Elvis died of drug overdose, and Gongaware said "Yes". Gongaware replied to a condolences' email on July 5, 2009:

I was working on the Elvis tour when he died, so I kind of knew what to expect. Still quite a shock

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"So you knew what to expect when Michael Jackson passed away, is that right, sir?", Brian Panish asked.
"I kind of knew what was going to happen, yes",Gongaware answered.

Despite working as a tour promoter for 37 years -- including for Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead and many others -- Gongaware testified that the only artist he ever knew that was using drugs on tour was Rick James
Panish asked about working for Jackson 5, Gongaware said had no interaction with Michael. Gongaware was a logistics manager on the Dangerous tour in 92-93. Panish said Michael made $100 million and donated it to charity. Gongaware said he didn't know
When Gongaware met Jackson was with Colonel Parker (Elvis' manager) in Las Vegas. Michael had wanted to meet the Colonel
Gongaware explained the difference between being tour manager and managing the tour. He talked about Michael's History tour
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Panish: "You knew that Michael had been to rehab during the dangerous tour?"
Gongaware: "Yes, based on the statement he made after the tour"

Gongaware said he never knew MJ was involved with drugs until after the end of the Dangerous tour. Gongaware told LAPD he was aware of Jackson's previous use of pills/painkillers but did not want to get involved. Gongaware had known for years that Michael Jackson was taking painkillers but wasn't aware he was abusing them until MJ abruptly canceled his Dangerous world tour in the early 1990s to enter rehab. Gongaware said he knew of "two occasions" when Michael used painkillers between shows, but he claimed he didn't grasp the scope of the Michael's sickness until the taped 1993 announcement. "I would dispute knowing that he had a problem. I wasn't aware that there were problems", Gongaware said
Gongaware said he knew a doctor was medicating Jackson during the Dangerous tour but did not find out why the tour was eventually cut short. "Didn't have time,I was just dealing with what was in front of me", he said
Panish said Dr. Finkelstein testified under oath that Gongaware knew Michael had problems with painkillers before the Dangerous tour ended.

Panish: "Do you dispute that?" (Finkelstein testimony)
Gongaware: "I knew that he had pain"

Gongaware said Dr. Finkelstein is his doctor and friend and that they talk off and on, but he doesn't know specifics of the doctor's deposition. Dr. Finkelstein said he gave MJ painkillers after the concert in Bangkok following Michael's scalp surgery. In Gongaware's video deposition:

"Did you ever ask Dr. Finkelstein if he treated Michael during the Dangerous tour?"
"He wouldn't take about that stuff"

Another part of Gongaware's video depo: He said yes, he "occasionally treated Michael Jackson on the Dangerous tour"
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Panish: "Were you always honest with Michael?"
Gongaware: "I believe I was"
Panish: "Did you throw around numbers to trick Michael Jackson?"
Gongaware: "I didn't try to trick Michael"

Panish elicited contradictory testimony asking over and over about Gongaware's memory, how long he spent with lawyers to discuss testimony.
On the Bad Tour MJ sold out 10 stadiums at 75,000 tickets per night.

Panish: "That's a pretty big number?"
Gongaware: "Huge"
Panish: "In 2 hours, how many tickets sold?"
Gongaware: "In initial presale we sold 31 shows"
Panish: "The fastest you had ever seen?"
Gongaware: "Yes"

"No one knows how many shows we can get with Mikey," said Gongaware. Panish asked about name "Mikey" - he said he used it occasionally
Email on 2/27/09 from Gongaware to Phillips:

We are holding all of the risk, if Michael won't approve it we go without his approval.We let Mikey know just what it will cost him in terms of him making money, and then we go with or without him in London. We cannot be forced into stopping this, which Michael will try to do because he is lazy and constantly changes his mind to fit his immediate wants.

Gongaware said his use "Mikey" was affectionate, not disparaging, and that the 'lazy' crack amounted to "poor choice of words" but one that accurately reflected how Michael "really didn't like to rehearse. He didn't like to do these kinds of things."
"People were aware at this point there would be a press conference. Michael wouldn't show up at the conference, it'd cost money," Gongaware said. "It wasn't much risk at all, we hadn't spent money," Gongaware said about that point of the tour. This was prior to news conference.
Gongaware said the situation in London, where they constantly referred to Michael as "Wacko Jacko" would impact marketability to sell tickets
"He doesn't want to do this kind of things, but it was important to show Michael to the world if he wanted to do a show," Gongaware explained
Jurors were shown several e-mails from Gongaware that Jackson lawyers suggested were evidence that AEG Live deliberately misled Jackson about how much money he would make from his comeback concerts and how many days he would have to rest between shows. Gongaware wrote to his boss, AEG Live President Randy Phillips, that they should present gross ticket sales numbers to Jackson, not the percentage of the net profits, during contract talks.

"Maybe gross is a better number to throw around if we use numbers with Mikey listening"

Panish talked about an email Gongaware sent to his secretary suggesting that she design a concert calendar for Jackson using light tan colors for show dates, while drawing attention to his rest days

Don't want the shows to stand out too much when Michael looks at it.Less contrast between work and off. Maybe off days in a contrasting soft color. Put 'OFF' in each off day after July 8, as well. Figure it out so it looks like he's not working so much.

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Panish: "Did you want to change the color of the schedule to show Michael would not be working so hard?"
Gongaware: "Yes"
Panish: "Were you trying to fool him?"
Gongaware: "Nah, I wasn't trying to fool him, I wanted to present it in the best possible light"

Gongaware said it would be obvious when Michael would be working and not and he wasn't trying to trick him.
Email on 3/25/09 from Phillips to Gongaware:

"We need to pull the plug now. I will explain"

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Panish: "Mr. Phillips wanted to pull the plug on the show, right sir?"
Gongaware: "I think he was referring to pull the plug on Karen Faye. We never talked about pulling the plug on the tour. Not that I recall"

"Kenny wanted the pull because the way she (Faye) handled situations," Gongaware explained. "She tried to control access to Michael and Kenny didn't like that"
Karen Faye expressed strong opinion that the tour as dangerous and impractical for MJ. Panish asked about a chain of emails where Gongaware said the pulling the plug refers to Ms. Faye. "I believe he was," Gongaware repeated.
In another March 25, 2009, email, Ortega wrote Gongaware that it was Faye's "strong opinion that this is dangerous and impractical with consideration to Michael's health and ability to perform.".
"I thought he was in good shape at the press conference, I was there," Gongaware said at the deposition. Gongaware was at O2 arena and Phillips was with Michael.

"Michael was late, Randy [Phillips] was saying I'm trying to get him going, I'm trying to get him going".
Panish: "Did Randy tell you MJ was drunk and despondent?"
Gongaware: "No, not drunk and despondent. Just said he was having hard time getting him going"

As to Dr. Conrad Murray, Gongaware said there was 1 rehearsal he said hello to him.

"It was basically a hello, on the floor at the Forum. Mikey asked me to retain him. I never hired him"

Panish played an interview of Phillips to SkyTV after Michael died:

"The guy is willing 2 leave his practice for large sum of money, so we hired him"

"I was told Michael wanted him as his doctor for the show," Gongaware said. Gongaware said Michael did not have any illness that he knew of.

Gongaware: "He had taken a physical, he passed the physical and from what I understand there was nothing wrong with him. Maybe some hay fever"
Panish: "Do you know what his blood test showed?"
Gongaware: "It showed it was good"

Gongaware said he received an email from Bob Taylor that everything was fine and that Michael had passed the physical. Gongaware said he never saw the results of the tests and doesn't know who saw them.
Panish showed video deposition of Gongaware and a declaration he signed about a month before giving the deposition. They contradict themselves.At first, Gongaware insisted he did no negotiating with Murray, but, confronted with emails and his previous testimony, he changed his position and said, "The only thing I did with Dr. Murray was negotiate a price." Gongaware said that neither he nor anyone at the AEG investigated Murray's background or credentials
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Panish: "First you said how much did you want?"(to Dr. Murray)
Gongaware: "Yes"
Panish: "He said he wanted $5 million, right?"
Gongaware: "That's what he said. He said he had four clinics he would have to close, he would have to lay people off"

Gongaware said Dr. Murray had been Michael's personal doctor for the past 3 years. He said he did not know how many times MJ had seen the doctor. "Michael insisted on him, recommended him, and that was good enough for me, it was not for me to tell him who his doctor should be" Gongaware said
"The fact that he had been Michael Jackson's personal physician for three years was good enough for me," Gongaware said.
He said that Murray initially asked for $5 million to travel to London with Jackson and tend to him during the tour. "I just told him it wasn't going to happen," he said, recalling that Jackson then suggested offering him $150,000 a month. "Michael Jackson insisted on it and recommended him and it was not for me to tell him no," said Gongaware. "I wanted to provide what was necessary for him to do his job...He wanted a doctor and I wanted him to be healthy." Even after the offer of $150,000, Murray wasn't satisfied. "He started saying he wanted more and I said, 'The offer is coming directly from the artist," Gongaware said. Minutes later, he said Murray accepted.

"Did that seem desperate to you?" asked Panish.
"No," said Gongaware. "He just accepted Michael's offer."

"We agreed on what the compensation was going to be, but there were a lot of issues to be resolved," Gongaware said. Gongaware said he recalled meeting with Dr. Murray where he was told the doctor was going to take care of the medical licensing in London. Gongaware and Timm Wooley are longtime friends. They are currently working on The Rolling Stones tour. Gongaware said he negotiated the price for Dr. Murray, but didn't negotiate the contract. Gongaware explained that he didn't do the negotiation, he would normally refer that to Wooley.
Dr. Finkelstein and Gongaware have been friends for 35-plus years. Gongaware said he never offered Dr. Finkelstein the job of being MJ's doctor and said the doctor would be mistaken if he testified otherwise. Gongaware told the jury he called Dr. Finkelstein to ask what a fair price for a tour doctor would be. Doctor told him it was $10,000/week. As to Dr. Finkelstein wanting to be the tour doctor, Gongaware said he didn't recall specifically, but knew he wanted it."After his death we may have talked, but I don't recall specifics," Gongaware said. Gongaware said he sees Dr. Finkelstein a few times a year, but the subject of Michael never came up. Panish asked Gongaware if Dr. Finkelstein wanted to know if Michael was clean or using drugs. Gongaware said he didn't recall the conversation
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Panish asked: "You could have told Dr. Murray at any time that his services were no longer needed, couldn't you?"
"No", Gongaware replied.
Panish: "You were involved in terminating one of the nannies who took care of Michael's kids?"
Gongaware: "Yes"

Gongaware told nanny, Grace Rwamba, that her services would not be needed anymore because AEG was cutting down on Michael's expenses
"I never read the contract, I was there when Michael signed it, but didn't see what was in it," Gongaware said, "Doctor Murray was 100% Michael's cost" Based on the contract, Gongaware said 95% of the production expenses were Michael's responsibility, 5% AEG.

Panish: "Who decided there was a need for a written contract with Dr. Murray?"
Gongaware: "I don't know"

Gongaware said that if the tour went forward, Dr. Murray would've made $1.5 million for 10 months. Ortega would've made almost that.
Gongaware said although AEG never did a background check on Murray, in his view they had "checked out" the doctor according to their standard practices. "When we check out someone, we either rely on if we know the person or if they're known in the industry or if they're recommended by the artist & in this case, Dr. Murray was recommended by the artist, in fact, the artist insisted"
Panish pressed Gongaware:

"You did nothing to verify anything about Dr. Murray, isn't that true, sir?"

Panish asked Gongaware if he approved budgets for April-July including Dr. Murray as production expense. He said he didn't know which budgets he approved. "It's my job to get that show on the road," Gongaware said.
Gongaware said he had to know how much the production had spent at any given time, but didn't have time to read the budget.

Panish: "Do you think you're good at your job, sir?"
Gongaware: "Yes"
Panish: "Very good?"
Gongaware: "I think so"

Gongaware testified that he didn't pay attention to the tour budgets that he approved, even though he was the tour manager.Paul Gongaware said he didn't read through the budgets, instead trusting that the tour accountant knew what he was talking about.
Gongaware testified that Dr. Murray's salary, although included in the company's budget for several months, wasn't something he saw as an actual payment that would be made. "If there's a potential for cost we put it in our budget so there are no surprises later", he said.
Gongaware often pleaded poor memory of events. He said he may have met with Jackson as many as 10 times, but could remember only two of the meetings and only one when Murray was present
Gongaware said he doesn't remember how many meetings he attended at Carolwood house. He didn't recall a meeting where a vase was broken. "There was a meeting where he signed the contract," Gongaware recalled, saying there were more but he doesn't remember specifics. At the meeting in early June, Gongaware said he was present along with Kenny, Randy, Frank DiLeo, Dr. Murray and Michael. "The meeting was about making sure Michael and Dr. Murray had everything they needed to care for Michael," Gongaware explained.
"Yes, we did talk about health-related issues. It was more a general meeting about what Dr. Murray would need", Gongaware said. He had told the police the topic of the meeting was Jackson's overall health ( i.e., diet, stamina and his weight)
He remembered that Jackson arrived late from a doctor's appointment and had slurred speech. Gongaware said Michael Jackson "was a bit off". "He was just coming back from visiting Dr. Klein. I believe he was under the influence of something. That was the only time I saw him like that", Gongaware said.
Jackson had missed a rehearsal and was thought to be dancing at home. However they discovered he was only watching video. Doctor Murray was receptive to their concerns and indicated he would take care of the situation
Court Transcript

1972 - Jackson 5's 6th studio album Lookin’ Through The Windows is released by Motown. It would peak at #7 on Billboard & #3 on Billboard's Top Soul Albums chart
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1988 - Michael kicks off the European leg of his Bad tour, performing the first of two nights at Stadio Flaminio in Rome, Italy.
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An after-show party is held at the 16th Century Palazzo Taverna where Michael makes a brief appearance greeted by guests Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Federico Fellini & Georgio Armani
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1989 - 2300 Jackson Street, the last album by The Jacksons is released by Epic. Michael only participates to the title song. It’s the last album ever recorded and released by The Jacksons 20 years after their first album on Motown
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2005 - Day 58. Week 13
Michael goes to court with Katherine
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The defense received a huge boost as several witnesses painted the accuser’s mother as a greedy welfare cheat.
Jurors heard emotional testimony from Gavin's aunt who said the mother, Janet Arvizo, was only interested in money for her then cancer-stricken son. The aunt, who is estranged from the Arvizo family, said she attempted to arrange a blood drive for her nephew.
But she told jurors that Arvizo told her in a phone call that “she didn’t need my (expletive) blood” and that instead “she needed money.”
"I think I just hung up on her," the aunt recalled.
An employee of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services testified that she processed Arvizo’s welfare application in November 2001. She said that in the application, Arvizo stated she had no sources of income, assets or health insurance.
However, just 10 days earlier the family had received a $152,000 settlement from a lawsuit filed against J.C. Penney. This followed an altercation with store security guards in 1998 - the guards had suspected them of shoplifting.
The family claimed the guards battered them and eventually received a settlement which was split between the mother, father and all three children. The defense contends that the family has a history of using false allegations for financial gain.
Mercy Dee Manrriquez stated that Janet Arvizo did not disclose any of the settlements on her welfare application and that a person who willingly excluded sources of income from the forms was guilty of fraud.
"“Would it be fraud to fail to disclose it at this point?",” asked defense attorney Robert Sanger.
"“Yes it would be", Manriquez said. She also stated that all income should have been reported - including gifts and the $5,000 a month pay of her then boyfriend.
Manrriquez further revealed that the mother swore under penalty of perjury that the family did not have any medical insurance. However, it was established in earlier testimony that the accuser’'s cancer treatments were in fact covered by his father’s employer.
During her previous testimony, Arvizo invoked 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination concerning her alleged welfare fraud.
Next to testify was Mike Radakovich, an accountant who examined the bank accounts of the Arvizo family. He testified that a week after Janet Arvizo deposited her $32,000 portion of the J.C. Penny settlement, she withdrew $29,000 in a cashiers check made out to a car dealership. Then the paper trail mysteriously ended.
"“I never saw it going back into any account I looked at", Radakovich told jurors.
He also stated that the Arvizo family was still collecting welfare payments in February & March 2003. At the same time, Jackson was spending “several thousand dollars” paying their expenses, including a private jet trip to Miami, an orthodontist appointment and a body wax for the mother. This is also the time period that the prosecution alleges the family was held captive by Jackson.
Radakovich said that during this same time, two welfare payments of $769 were deposited into the bank account of Arvizo’s then boyfriend (now her husband). The boyfriend then paid the rent on the family’s apartment.
The defense also called Connie Keenan, editor of the Mid Valley News, to the stand. The editor testified that she ran a story about the medical plight of the family
“It was a story I didn’t want to do but (the mother) played on some sympathies in the office so I assigned it,” she testified.
After the story ran, Arvizo wanted another one, Keenan said.
"“The mother wanted an additional story because she didn’t make enough money from the original story - those are her words, not mine",” she asserted.
Keenan also told jurors that Arvizo wanted the article to say people could send her money. She said she had told Arvizo it would be unethical for people to send money to her house and urged her to set up a trust fund in her son’s name.
The editor said the account was eventually created and she ran the story on the front page. When defense attorney Mesereau asked why it was given such prominence, she said, “"I think the story tugged at your heart strings. The face of the child was beautiful"
Bringing the testimony to a close, Mesereau asked Keenan if the mother had called her personally and how long the conversation was.
“"Approximately one minute and 20 seconds",” she retorted,"I didn’t want to talk to her. I had already established the fact that I had been duped"
Court Transcript
2006- In his first face-to-face interview since being acquitted the previous year, Michael talks briefly to showbiz reporter Fiona Cummins at the London offices of Harrods where he is visiting his close pal Mohamed Al Fayed. Fionna states that even though Michael has often given the impression that he prefers to keep people at arm's length, he greeted her like an old friend - "Smiling broadly he held out his hand, then threw his arms around me, giving me a whiff of his sweet smelling cologne"
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2008 - Michael attends French stylist Christian Audigier's 50th birthday party at Petersen Automotive Museum in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, where he meets French singer Johnny Hallyday, Pamela Anderson & Britney Spears among others.
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2009 - Conrad Murray is in Houston, Texas having dinner with one of his mistresses
2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial day 16
Katherine Jackson and Rebbie Jackson are in court.
Katherine becomes emotional when Panish asks about Michael being pressured, leaves court during lunch & does not come back for the afternoon session.
Shawn Trell Testimony
Jackson redirect
Trell said when he met Michael Jackson in January of 2009, he didn't appear to be in pain.
"I approximate the number of tours I've been involved in to be about 100," Trell testified. Trell said AEG has done other smaller productions as promoter and producer, only on two occasions for singers (Prince and MJ).

"We promoted and produced Prince's 88 tour," Trell said.
Panish: "Is that a yes, one time you did promote/produce a tour?"
Trell: "Yes"

Panish said Prince's tour did not go well.

"I wouldn't agree with that statement," Trell said. "I've never spoken to Prince, ever.

Trell said AEG never hired physicians for tours before.
Trell said he didn't know if AEG has a written contract with attorney Kathy Jorrie, who drafted Dr. Murray's contract. AEG did not deduct any payment from Jorrie for making mistakes in the contracts
"I think Mr. Jackson asked us to engage his (Dr. Murray) services for him and his family on the tour," Trell explained. "We weren't aware of a conflict of interest," Trell said.

Panish: "You, AEG Live, could've said you should hire your own doctor with your own money, right?"
Trell: "Yes"

​

Panish: "Do you believe a threat to lose $150,000 month could exert pressure on anyone?"
Trell: "I don't know that"

As to Dr. Murray's contract, Trell said it was prepared by AEG Live attorneys and never sent to any attorney representing MJ.

"I believe there were three or four drafts," Trell explained.
Panish: "Did Dr. Murray sign and fax back the contracts?"
Trell: "Yes, he did"

As to mistakes in contracts, Panish said there were a lot made in several contracts. He highlighted a few of them.

Panish: "How many shows were in the tour?"
Trell: "In the tour agreement, 31"
Panish: "But you sold tickets for 50 shows?"
Trell: "The agreement contemplated in excess of 31, based on artist's approval"

Trell said he didn't have written approval from MJ for 50 shows.

"But you wanted to get fully executed contracts right sir?" Panish inquired

Trell said he never reviewed any of the drafts of Dr. Murray's contract because Jorrie was handling the negotiation. Trell explained that before AEG were to sign the final version, though, he would've reviewed everything to make sure there were no mistakes.
Panish asked if Trell knew Randy Phillips talked to Dr. Murray for 20 minutes on the phone.

"I'm aware he had spoken with him, but didn't know the length of the calls," Trell said.

Panish asked if MJ ever signed a release of authorization for Randy Phillips to speak with Dr. Murray. Trell said he was not aware of one. Panish asked if Trell thought it was ok for Phillips to speak with Dr. Murray alone. He said it depends on the substance of the conversation

Panish: "About their physical conditions?"
Trell: "I don't know that. I think it would depend on the nature and substance of the conversation" If they are talking about generalities

Trell said he doesn't think there's need for an authorization that Panish was talking about.

Panish: "Are you familiar with HIPPA?"
Trell: "I'm generally familiar with it, but don't know what the acronym means"
Panish: "You have no idea what the law allows what a physician can discuss or someone can ask about a patient's condition, sir?"
Trell: "Yes"
Panish: "Do you know if Mr. Phillips ever threatened Dr. Murray?"
Trell: "No, I don't know that"

Panish referred to the email from Gongaware on June 14, 2009 saying AEG was the one paying Dr. Murray's salary and what's expected of him.

Panish: "Is it a conflict of interest to tell a doctor you are paying how he needs to treat his patient?"
Trell: "I don't know if that would rise to a conflict of interest. There are facts and circumstances that would bear on this"

As to independent contractors, Trell said the indemnity provision is always included in the agreements.

Panish: "That's because it's your job to protect the financial interested of the company, rights?"
Trell: "It's part of my responsibility, yes"
Panish: "Isn't it important to put everything in writing, sir?"
Trell: "Not necessarily, I don't think you can put everything in writing"

Trell said he doesn't expect the CEO of a company to know everything within the company, as Phillips wrote that they 'checked everyone out'.
Trell said the people whom AEG contracted are either known to them, to the artist or in the business.
Trell said AEG had a management agreement with Dr. Tohme, a management agreement. "It was an agreement between us and Tohme regarding the service he would render on the tour," Trell said. "It was a fee for whatever services Michael wanted him to perform according to the agreement," Trell explained. Panish asked if Dr. Tohme was an employee of AEG.

Trell: "He was not an employee"
Panish: "Is he an independent contractor?"
Trell: "He's a party to an agreement"

Panish pressed Trell for an answer, since he testified people working on the tour were either employees or independent contractors.

"It's hard for me to describe, he was not an employee, and not independent contractor either," said Trell.

Panish showed an email where attorney Kathy Jorrie expressed reservations about Dr. Tohme. Jorrie questioned if he was the "real McCoy", meaning the real deal, and recommended a background check to be performed. Did you perform background check on Dr. Tohme?

Trell: "No".

Trell said there was no reason to believe Dr. Tohme wasn't telling the truth when he said he represented Michael Jackson. Trell said he saw Dr. Tohme call MJ numerous times about the tour.

Trell: "I don't know what she meant with the reference to 'real McCoy'"

Email on 6/23/09 from Timm Wooley to Bob Taylor (insurance broker):

Kenny Ortega has responsibility only for the show content and structure.Randy Phillips and Dr. Murray are responsible for Michael's rehearsal and attendance schedule. Looks like there might have been an issue in KO either not being demanding enough.

"Timm Wooley's statement is inaccurate, in my opinion," Trell said, but agreed he never spoke with Wooley about it, never saw it before. "Meaning Michael showed up whenever Michael wanted to," Trell opined.
"I testified that I was inquiring of ways that might be available to bridge the gap," Trell said about looking for additional insurance.
Trell doesn't know the exact number of the tickets sold. Estimating 15K seats for each of the 50 shows, Trell said it was about 750K tickets. He testified the venue typically holds the money of the sold tickets. In this case, AEG was the owner of the venue, withheld the money.
Panish asked Trell if he knew Randy Phillips threatened to take away Michael's house if he didn't perform. Defendant's attorney asked for a sidebar. They claimed Panish was misrepresenting the evidence. After the sidebar, they changed subject.
Trell said he didn't know how much MJ's assets were worth. He agreed they were underinsured for the tour.
Email from Ortega to Phillips on 6/20/09 at 2am:

My concern is now that we have brought the doctor in the fold and have applied tough love, now or never card, that the artist may be unable to rise to the occasion.

​

Panish: "Was Michael pressured psychologically and needed to be checked?"
Trell: "I don't know that. This is the same email showed yesterday where Ortega said Michael was frightened that everything was going to go away. I don't know why Kenny was referencing that, I don't know about mention of ending the tour"
Panish: "Was Mr. Jackson feeling pressured?"
Trell: "The email says he was frightened, it doesn't say he was feeling pressured.I have no idea what he felt"
Panish: "No one ever pressured him, right?"
Trell: "That's my impression"

Trell said he doesn't think AEG was under pressure to lose $34 million.

"It was Michael Jackson's obligation to us."
Panish: "Were you concerned?"
Trell: "There's always a concern"
Panish: "Have you ever lost $34 million before?"
Trell: "No, the agreement was the tour agreement where it contemplated it could be expanded based upon artist's approval"

Panish asked Trell if to work for AEG Live a person needed to have an executed contract.

"There are employees that are hired by AEG who don't have contracts; they are at will employees," Trell explained.

Panish asked Trell about several people who worked for AEG but didn't have fully executed contracts.

Panish: "You told us every person who got paid had fully executed contract, right?"
Trell: "That's my impression"

Panish said he wants to show all the unexecuted contracts as of June 25, 2009.
Email said:

"Contract still under negotiation. Timm gave verbal Termination notice"

​

Panish: "Was everyone without fully executed contracts paid for the This Is It tour?"
Trell: "I don't recall"

Email on 6/19/09 from John Hougdahl to Randy Phillips:

My laymen's degree tells me he needs a shrink to get him mentally prepared to get on stage and then a trainer to get him in physical shape... (Kobe's should be available) I have watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his ass if he tried it now

John Houghdahl was the stage manager of "This Is It" tour.
Trell said Phillips never told him about this email.

"This email is an indication from Houghdahl to Phillips that he feels that way."

​

Panish: "Were you trying to stall Dr. Murray in getting a contract?"
Trell: "Me?"
Panish: "You and AEG"
Trell: "Not to my knowledge"

Email on 5/26/09 from Timm Wooley to Brigitte Segal:

Brigitte, Any joy with an agreement for Murray to sign. He's pinging on us for payment but we can't without a contract in place. Would like to stall him with something for him to look at & mull over. Brigitte dealt with the housing in London.

​

Panish: "Do you have anything in writing authorizing you to extend the tour to 50 shows?"
Trell: "Yes, we have the verbal approval"

Panish showed Trell the contract with Michael and the provisions showed any change needed to be in writing.

Panish: "Do you have anything in writing from Mr. Jackson for costs in excess of $7.5 million?"
Trell: "No"

On April 14, 2009, Michael Jackson wrote a "Notice of Revocation of a Power of Attorney" that Tohme was no longer representing him. As of May 5, 2009, Trell was made aware of Michael's request regarding Dr. Tohme
"We would not pay on an agreement until there was a fully executed agreement," Trell said. Tohme signed a letter on 6/28/09 on behalf of MJ's company approving the expenses of $34 million to go to Jackson's estate.

Panish: "Do you deny telling Mr. Taylor before Michael died that AEG employed Dr. Murray at the request of Michael?"
Trell: "I don't recall"

AEG recross
Jessica Bina did re-cross of Trell, who said Dr. Murray's agreement required medical licenses both here in the US and in the UK. He also needed proof of insurance. If Dr. Murray didn't provide them, there were grounds for termination of services.

Bina: "Did AEG Live ever provided him with medical equipments?"
Trell: "No, two reasons: the agreement never went into effect. And had it come to existence,the equipment would've been provided in London"

Equipment requested:

• CPR machine
• saline catheters
• needles
• gurney and other mutually approved medical equipment necessary for the Services

Trell said Michael Bearden's (musical director) contract was eventually fully executed. It was under negotiation when Michael died. No contract needed Michael's consent and signature, except for Dr. Murray

Bina: "Does the fact that you are negotiating means you have a contract?"
Trell: "No, it's just that, negotiation"
Bina: "Does the agreement have to be in writing to exist?"
Trell: "Yes, of course"
Bina: "When did you have an agreement with Michael?"
Trell: "As of January 28, 2009"

Trell said he didn't know if Michael and Dr. Murray talked about the contract and didn't know whether Michael was going to sign it.
Trell said there were dozens and dozens, North of 50 contracts done for the This Is It tour. Contract: Artistsco hereby pre-approves thirty one shows or such greater number as agreed by artistco and promoter. Trell said there was an ongoing discussion about the expenses incurred to mount the show; impractical to get everyone's signature.
As to the expense report sent to the estate and approved by Dr. Tohme, Trell said Frank DiLeo also signed it.
Bina showed a document from DiLeo saying he was MJ's manager from March 2009 until his death. "For instance, Michael asked AEG Live to retain services of Dr. Murray as his personal physician," DiLeo letter said. Trell said DiLeo was acting in some management capacity for him

Bina: "Did anyone ever tell you MJ had not approved the costs for This Is It tour?"
Trell: "No"

As to Dr, Murray, Trell said he didn't feel there was a conflict of interest, the interest of all three parties involved were the same.

"There were no inconsistencies in the agenda," Trell said. "Second, even if the agreement was in place, effectively Michael was hiring Dr. Murray, just using our money"

​

"We had entered into a multi-faced, multi-year agreement with Michael and wanted nothing but for it to be successful," Trell testified. "The Michael Jackson company, in first instance, would be responsible to pay the money. Then MJ had guaranteed it," Trell testified saying that if Michael had any royalties, AEG would have rights on it to recoup the money, but couldn't take interest in his music catalogue.

Bina played deposition from Trell were he said he didn't supervise people who performed personal services, like hair and make-up artists. His job, Trell explained, was to supervise the what-you-see-on-stage.
Bina talked about Hougdahl's email. She asked if it mentioned drug abuse, medication, anesthesia.

Trell said "No, the email had to do with Michael being mentally prepared and about a trainer to get him in shape"

Trell said HIPPA law is intended to protect a patient. He doesn't have any more knowledge about it.

Bina: "Did Mr. Phillips say he discussed treatment of Mr. Jackson with Dr. Murray?"
Trell: "No, not at all"
Bina: "Did Mr. Jackson to your knowledge die from being too skinny?"
Trell: "No"
Bina: "Did Mr. Jackson die from being sick?"
Trell: "No"

Trell said AEG Live never supplied any equipment or paid for any drugs given to Michael Bina:

"What was MJ's cause of death?"
Trell: "I believe it was acute Propofol intoxication, given by Dr. Murray in Michael's bedroom"

Jackson redirect
Panish, in re-re-cross:

"Did you know AEG paid Frank Dileo $5 million after Michael died?"
Trell: "No, I don't recall me being involved in approving such payment"

Panish showed emails regarding DiLeo's revised payment 10/13/09 from Shawn Trell to Rick Webking:

Approved $5 MM bucket. $50k payment to Frank would have to do with motion picture, Trell said. It would be taken out of the 5 million dollar bucket.

"That does not mean Frank was paid $5 million," Trell said, explaining DiLeo was paid $50,000 but he didn't know what for.
Regarding the approval of tour expenses.

Panish: "You had no signature before Mr. Jackson was dead?"
Trell: "Correct"
Panish: "You took the position, to satisfy the contract, that DiLeo and Tohme could sign after Michael was dead, yes or no?"
Trell: "Yes, Dr. Murray's expenses were included in the expenses DiLeo and Tohme approved"
"I'm not aware of any payments to Dr. Tohme, and only aware of $50,000 to Mr. DiLeo for something related to the movie," Trell said.

"Of course Michael Jackson was necessary for a Michael Jackson tour," Trell explained. "It's his show, it's Michael Jackson show, he's the most important person." Trell said he doesn't recall anybody else, other than Dr. Murray, at the rate of $150,000.

Panish: "Did Randy Phillips ever call your doctor to see how you're doing?"
Trell: "No"

Judge ended the session and excused Shawn Trell, subject to recall if needed.
Court Transcript

1984 - It is announced that the Jackson's forthcoming Victory Tour will not sell Michael Jackson related merchandise at the tour's venues. It will sell only the Jackson's related merchandise at each show.
1984 - Michael is on the cover of tabloid Star magazine
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1988 - Before rehearsals Michael visits children who suffered from cancer in the Bambino-Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome. He signs autographs and gives away sweets and records to the children. He also donates a ₤ 100,000 for leukemia research
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1988 - Gary Taylor, the director of the Suzuki Race Team, heard that Michael was a fan of the Suzuki RG500 motorcycle & offered it to him as a gift at the Lord Byron Hotel
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1995 - MTV and VH1 premiere the HIStory teaser. Later the teaser is rolled out to cinemas across the U.S.
2006 - Michael participates in a deposition in London. His former adviser, Mark Schaffel, was suing him for $3.8 million dollars for breach of contract. Michael counter-sued him. In July of 2006, both parties would be awarded money
2007 - Michael arrives in London at Heathrow Airport with his children & their nanny, Grace. He's there to attend a private 25th birthday party for Prince Haji 'Abdul' Azim of Brunei. Prince Azim is known internationally, famous for throwing lavish parties. His 27th birthday party was dubbed the "2009 Party of the Year"
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2009 - Fans hear Michael recording a new song from a building in the back of his Holmby Hills estate. Michael tells them he is working on the lyrics and has not chosen the title yet. This mystery song is the last song known to have been recorded by him
2009 - Murray wrote an email to AEG with his bank information so AEG could deposit his salary
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2012 - BAD 25 was announced for a September 18th release. The two disc set includes the original album and unreleased material from the BAD sessions. The deluxe edition, which is a box set, includes both discs along with a CD & DVD of the 7/16/88 Wembley performance, a photo booklet, a two sided poster & a sticker. A vinyl version was also released
2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 15
Katherine, Rebbie and Trent Jackson are in court
Shawn Trell Testimony
AEG Cross
Trell was first asked about the contract between AEG and Jackson's former manager, Tohme R. Tohme. Jessica Bina asked Trell about an agreement regarding former manager Tohme Tohme. He was employed by Jackson and the contract added duties. Compensation is detailed in the contract. There was a condition precedent. Trell: "While this agreement started in January, the conditions/terms were not met. If Tohme would've performed as specified, he would've been paid" Shawn Trell said Tohme's agreement called for him to get paid once cancellation insurance was secured. Tour cancellation insurance wasn't obtained for the This Is It tour until late April, after Tohme had been fired.
Trell: "To pursue Jackson's interest in films, AEG would put up a million dollars for development. They contemplated making 3 films". Trell was also asked about an agreement Jackson signed in January of 2009 for a possible three-film deal. The film agreement would have allowed Jackson to get $1 million to develop a script for an AEG-owned film company. In addition to the tour contract between Jackson and AEG, Trell said the two also had an agreement that proposed developing up to three film projects together, one of which was related to his Thriller video. When nothing was developed by the agreement's June 1, 2009, deadline, AEG sent a proposed amendment to extend that date to Jackson's representatives, Trell said.
"I think the interest was still there on Mr. Jackson's side and I know we were interested in helping him realize what he wanted to accomplish",Trell said.
After discussing the possible film deal, AEG lawyer Jessica Stebbins Bina then asked him more about tour cancellation policy. Trell said it's always the artists obligation to obtain this form of insurance to pay back the advances. Trell: "The cancellation insurance, whether one show lost or the entire tour, Michael was obligated to pay us regarding the production costs. AEG had an obligation regarding advances. We don't secure insurance to cover profits, only to protect losses from cancellation.We don't secure cancellation insurance to secure anticipated profits, only advanced costs"
Trell: "It is not uncommon for an artist to have the assistance of a promoter. We have to be satisfied with the strength of the policy". Trell said insurance was $17.5 million. He said in the market place there was lot of skittishness. He said the insurance broker was having difficulty at first getting cancellation insurance. There wasn't a lot of interest and Trell said the underwriters in London were concerned with tabloid reports about Jackson's health. Some reports referenced Jackson having skin cancer, which wasn't the case. Broker suggested a medical exam to alleviate concerns. The exam would involve blood and urine tests, filling out a questionnaire and the doctor reviewing 5 years of Jackson's medical records.
Broker suggested a NYC ear, nose and throat specialist, who was flown out to Los Angeles and evaluated Jackson. The doctor had to provide his resume and sign a confidentiality agreement before examining Jackson in early February 2009. Trell said he never saw the medical records from Jackson's exam & has never seen an artist's records after a physical. He testified that he was later informed by the insurance broker. Trell: The broker's exact words to me were, 'Other than a slight case of hay fever, he passed with flying colors' "
AEG ended up securing a $17.5-million insurance policy that listed among its exclusions the illegal possession or illicit taking of drugs and their effects. Jackson was referred to as 'Mark Jones' in the documents to mask his identity. The policy covered the first 30 shows at O2 Arena. Trell said it was unusual for an artist to be listed under a different name on an insurance policy in his experience. AEG had a $17.5 million "non-appearance" policy on Jackson should he fail to perform the first 13 of his 50 shows at London's O2 Arena. The insurers wouldn't cover illness until Jackson underwent a second medical exam to be performed in London by a doctor selected by the insurers
​

Bina: "You wouldn't go out to get a policy for an artist with an illicit drug problem?"
Trell: "No, because it wouldn't be covered"
Trell: "If someone died and the artist was so distraught that the artist could not perform, that loss would be covered by this policy. "
Bina: "We're you ever able to get more insurance coverage?"
Trell: "No, because concerns over what marketplace saw in media report".

List of what appeared on tabloids:

• Mj using a wheelchair
• back injury,
• lupus
• cancer,
• cosmetic procedures
• lung infections.

Trell said there was no mention of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, sleep disorder. He said he continued to check in with Taylor to see if the marketplace had changed and the coverage could be increased because it was unusual for the insurance not to cover the entire advance made. "We were just trying to bridge the gap between cost and expense", he testified. A second insurance physical was scheduled for July 6, 2009. "We had no reason to believe that he wouldn't pass", Trell said
On June 25, 2009, at 5:54 a.m., London time, Taylor sent an email to Dr. Conrad Murray, who had been brought onto the tour to tend to Jackson. The email, introduced as evidence in the case, read:

The insurers have specifically requested information on the following:
Press reports on the artist at various times using a wheelchair, and whether any of these occasions were as a result of a medical issue.
Press reports that the artist had, or has, suffered a back injury.
Press reports that the artist is suffering, or has previously suffered from lupus.
Press reports that the artist is suffering, or has previously suffered from cancer.
Press reports that the artist was hospitalized in 2005.
Dates and brief details of any cosmetic procedures, and specific details of any complications.
Press reports that the artist has suffered from lung infection/emphysema and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding.
Press reports that the artist has minimal diet (is possibly anorexic)

Jackson died hours later from a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol administered by Murray.
Jessica Stebbins Bina, an attorney representing AEG, pointed out in the courtroom that the list of insurers concerns did not include drugs, painkillers, alcohol or sleep disorders.
​

Bina: "Could AEG make a profit from cancellation insurance?"
Trell: "No, only to cover losses"

Trell said employees are insured by the company. Independent contractors are just that, that is why it is called independent. "Independent contractors have area of expertise needed to make the project happen", Trell said. It's expertise not within the company itself. Trell:

"We hire third parties for equipment, sound. They're usually referred to us or they are known to the artist. People responsible for the project would be involved in establishing rates and conditions, agreement is handled by me or my office. On a nightly basis when they leave the premises, they go home, that is the sanctity of their home, that is their business. It would be misguided for us to inject ourselves in the lives of those people. (Referring to members of an artist's entourage). It would be misplaced or misguided for us to inject ourselves into the affairs of an artist"

​

Bina: "Did AEG have any role in choosing doctor Murray?"
Trell: "No"
Bina: "Surprised to bring family physician on board?"
Trell: "No we've had other tours where artists brought doctors for themselves/families"

Trell said insurance was required based on the contract. Trell said they produced Prince's tour a few years ago, which was analogous to the This Is It tour
Email on 5/21/09 from Wooley to Dr. Murray:

Dear Conrad, I should like to send a contract to you in the next day or two But am looking for help writing the legal department because the form within which I work don't apply to your specialized position. So it has to be custom-generated.

On 5/28/09, Wooley said to Dr. Murray that the legal department has not yet completed the agreement which is rather specialized, rare event Email noted payment could only be made upon fully executed contract. Kathy Jorrie is attorney retained by AEG to work on Murray's contract
​

Bina: "Did Ms. Jorrie begin contract negotiations with Dr. Murray at your direction?"
Trell: "Yes"

6/15/09 Jorrie wrote to Wooley:

I've attached draft for your review/comment. If you approved the attached, please submit copy to Dr. Murray

Contract: Provision 9 Artist Consent - 'The effect of this agreement is conditioned upon the approval and consent of the artist'
Contract: 'Without the artist's expressed and written approval of the agreement neither party to the agreement will have any rights obligations to one another arising from the agreement'. Trell testified this was the first contract he saw this provision included.
Trell said there's a final settling of the tour after the project is completed. That's where they categorize/re-categorize things. Trell said he doesn't do the final settlement himself, but people who do ask him questions about how it should be done."My understanding is that he was going to be categorized as artist advance. This was specific accommodation at the request of the artist as opposed to production cost incurred while mounting a show. I'm not aware of Mr Jackson making objections to this provision," Trell explained
Bina showed Dr. Murray's last page of the contract signed by Murray. The agreement was between AEG Live Productions, LLC and GCA Holdings LLC and Conrad Murray. GCA Holdings is Dr. Murray's employer. "The intention was to make it (provision 9) expressly subject to have Michael's signature on it," Trell explained
Bina shows the Recitals of the contract. In one of them, it says Dr. Murry was a licensed cardiologist. Contract Scope of Services: 'Dr. Murray will provide general medical care to the Artist... Such services will be administered professionally and w/ the greatest degree of care expected from members in the medical field'
Responsibilities of GCA/Dr. Murray - 'Obtain, maintain and comply with all licenses or other approvals required by any applicable law or from any governmental agency or authority to permit or otherwise legally authorize Dr. Murray to perform any and all Services and to fulfill all of his obligations under this Agreement including in accordance with applicable laws in the United Kingdom. Present to Producer within two weeks from the date of this Agreement documented proof of any and all licenses required for Dr. Murray to practice Medicine in the United States and to perform the Services under this Agreement. Present to Producer no later than July 3, 2009 documented proof of all licenses required for Dr. Murray to practice medicine i n the United Kingdom and to perfonn the Services under this Agreement to the reasonable satisfaction of the producer.
Contract included provisions to terminate the contract for failure to provide appropriate medical licenses to work in the US and UK
Email on 6/23/09 from Kathy Jorrie to Wooley and Dr. Murray:

I've attached here a revised version of your agreement which incorporates all of the revision you requested. I have redlined the word version so that you can see all the revisions

Redline - It changed the scope of services from 'producer' to 'artist' in the sentence: "Dr. Murray shall also provide such other services as are reasonably requested by Artist from time to time during the term hereof. "It was requested by Dr. Murray," Trell said
Trell spoke with individuals from AEG about MJ's physical condition. He said he was told MJ seemed fine and the performances were terrific
Email on 6/20/09 from Ortega to Phillips:

Finally, it's important for everyone to know, I believe that he really wants this. It would shatter him, break his heart if we pulled the plug. He's terribly frightened it's all going to go away. He asked me repeatedly tonight if I was going to leave him. He was practically begging for my confidence. He broke my heart. He was like a lost boy. There still may be a chance he can arise to the occasion. If we get him the help he needs.

Trell said he was in the courtroom when Travis Payne testified. He remembers Payne saying Michael looked like he had flu-like symptoms on 6/19/09. "Everyone mentioned chilling or cold, but no one definitively stated at the time what was going on," Trell said.

Bina: "Did you speak with Mr. Phillips about his interaction with Dr. Murray?"
Trell: "Yes, my understanding there were two meetings in which Dr. Murray attended and Michael was present"

He knew one on June 20th, and another one in the beginning of June, but he didn't know the date.
Meeting on June 20th: Dr. Murray, Michael, Randy Phillips and Kenny Ortega:

"Firstly, Michael indicated he was fine, just fine. Secondly, Dr. Murray scolded Kenny Ortega for raising concern, that he was taking care of Michael and he was just fine. There were no rehearsals on 21st and 22nd and Michael rehearsed on the 23rd and 24th & that he appeared fine and the rehearsals were terrific", Trell said

On June 25, Trell said there were two people that represented Michael Jackson in some management capacity: Dr. Tohme and Frank DiLeo. Trell said that MJ's Estate ultimately approved the productions advances incurred in the tour
​

Bina: "Does AEG Live does background check on its employees?"
Trell: "Credit history may be requested when related to the position at issue"

Jackson redirect
Panish only got about 15 mins of questions in at the end of the day. He immediately went at Trell on his recollection of dates, details.
​

Brian Panish: "Have you seen documents where Dr. Murray is referred to as a consultant?"
Trell: "I don't recall"

Trell said he was very, very involved in the This Is It tour
He started out by asking Trell if he was certain that Jackson signed the This Is It agreement on Jan. 26, 2009, as he'd testified. Trell said he was certain he'd testified correctly about the events of the day, but conceded toward the end of several questions that he might have been wrong about the exact date. January 26, 2009 was the first and only time Trell met with Michael Jackson. "I'm sure it was the only time I met Michael. I won't forget meeting Michael Jackson...He seems very personable when I met him, I thought it was very interesting when he got up and met me at the door," Trell explained.
Panish noted the contract signing was on the 28th, not the 26th.

Panish: "You were wrong about that, sir?"
Trell: "I was wrong about the signing date. I didn't have the date necessarily in my calendar, I didn't have the date in front of me"

Hours before Anschutz Entertainment Group executives were heading to Michael Jackson's Holmby Hills home to sign multimillion-dollar contracts for his concert series in London, the firm's top lawyer called Jackson 'the freak' in an email to another company attorney
Panish began to built toward a climax, asking Trell if it were company policy to speak in derogatory terms about an artist they were about to sign a huge deal with. "I think people have their own impressions, and thoughts and feelings about Michael Jackson. I may not necessarily agree with some of the life choices he made but I certainly had enormous respect for him as an entertainer", Trell said.
Then Panish gave the jury a foreshadowing of what was to come. He asked Trell, "Did Mr. Fikre say to you that Michael Jackson was a freak?" (a reference to Ted Fikre chief legal and development officer and a member of the board of parent company AEG) before slowly unraveling the emails. The email chain starts Jan 28, 2009, with AEG Live executive Paul Gongaware writing Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live:

"MJ still on today?"

Phillips emails back:

Yes. 5 p.m. 100 Carolwood Dr. You and Shawn should be there [referring to Trell]

From Trell to Ted Fikre (attorney on the board of AEG) on 1/28/09:

FYI...

From Fikre to Trell on 1/28/09, in response, three minutes later:

Does this mean you get to meet the freak?

Trell replies:

Apparently. Not sure how I feel about that. Interesting for sure, but kind of creepy

​

Panish to Trell: "This is the kind of respect that your lawyer shows to this artist, referring to him as a freak?"
Trell: "You have to ask Mr. Fikre"
Panish: "Have you ever told Mr. Anschutz that his general counsel at AEG referred to Mr Jackson as a freak?"
Trell: "No"

Panish then scolded Trell as he sat in the witness box, "Didn't your mother ever tell you if you don't have anything good to say about someone not to say it?" AEG objected to the question. Some of the jurors laughed. Judge sustained the objection that Panish's question was argumentative
Trell returns to the stand in the morning to undergo more questioning from Panish. "I'll see you in the morning," he brusquely told Trell.
Outside the court : "That email just exemplifies that AEG had no respect for Mr. Jackson.," Panish said outside of court. "All he was was a vehicle to make money and to promote their concert business to catch up to Live Nation. We're going to continue to prove that for members of the board and attorneys to refer to him as that is disgraceful. We're going to continue to show and prove what AEG is all about. This was just the tip of the iceberg."
Jessica Stebbins Bina, AEG's attorney, said the emails were shown merely to embarrass AEG. "We are four weeks into trial and we have yet to hear one piece of substantive evidence," said Marvin S. Putnam, an attorney who is leading AEG's defense
Court Transcript

Send help.

1972 - "Rockin' Robin" enters the UK Top 50 Singles chart where it will peak at #3 during a fourteen week run.
1973 - The Jackson 5 had a two-show gig at Vets Memorial in Columbus, Ohio. Ticket prices were $6, $5, and $4.
The next day, The Dispatch published a review with glowing terms, including "undeniably funky." The story, Soul-Swinging Jackson Five Score in Two Shows, said the performances "turned out mostly J-5 patriots" who had waited nearly two years for the Motown rockers to return to Columbus. (Previous shows were at Vets Memorial on 1/30/71 & at the Ohio State Fair on 8/28/71)
The evening performance featured 18 songs, including Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" & The Temptations' "Poppa Was a Rollin' Stone."
"Individually, Michael and Jermaine lead the vocal work," reported Jack Willey of The Dispatch staff, "with Michael's striking flexibility acting almost like a lead instrument for the band. Whether fronting his brothers ... or soloing ... his style is clear, precise and very much his own."
The opening band was a new soul group called the Commodores
1975 - On their Destiny Tour, The Jacksons play the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee
1997 - Michael Jackson's Blood On The Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix was released in the US
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1997 - Michael Jackson's video HIStory On Film Volume 2 was released
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2003 - Michael Jackson arrives in Indianapolis with his cousins Rijo, Simone, Elijah & Levon. He came to give a deposition in court following a lawsuit brought by Steeltown Records boss Gordon Keith. The lawsuit accuses the Jackson Five and others of infringing the trade name of Ripples and Waves, another Gary band from the 1960s, and two of their songs.
The time and place of the deposition are being kept secret, but some fans thought they knew where it would take place.Jackson's attorney has also asked to keep the transcript of the deposition sealed, bar media from the deposition room, and prohibit recording devices other than those utilized by the court reporter and videographer.
WISH-TV reported that a few dozen fans gathered outside the Canturbury Hotel, where Jackson had rented out the entire 12th floor, in downtown Indianapolis in hopes of catching a glimpse of him
Fans got their first closeup glance of him as he toured Circle Centre Mall
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People who waited to meet Michael say he was nice and courteous. He signed several autographs and even at one point ended up in the middle of the crowd while trying to get out of the mall.
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He's expected to spend most of tomorrow afternoon giving his deposition
But fans just wanted to know if his Indiana roots are still in tact.
"Michael, what's it like to be back in Indiana? What's it like to be back in Indiana?'
"It's the best! Best baby, yea."
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2005 - Trial Day 57
Michael goes to court with Katherine & Randy.
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​
Amidst speculation that the trial could wrap up as early as next week, Michael's former defense attorney resumed his testimony. Mark Geragos told jurors last week that he had ordered the surveillance of the Arvizo family because he “was concerned they were meeting with a lawyer to make some accusation or sell their story to tabloids.”
The lawyer also said he did not remember being told that the Arvizo family had returned to Jackson’'s Neverland Ranch in mid-February and said he was uneasy about that possibility because he "was concerned about a false story or a concocted one."
Geragos testified that he gave a “broad directive” to investigator Brad Miller to follow the family, instructing him to “find out who they're meeting with and what they're doing.” However, he said he did not specify the particular surveillance methods to be used.
Prosecutors have previously shown surveillance videos of the family to support their allegations that Jackson & his associates were attempting to hold the Arvizo family captive.
Prosecutor Ron Zonen tried to link Miller to the alleged kidnapping conspiracy. He asked Geragos if he was aware that an employee of Millers is alleged to have thrown rocks at the house of the accuser's grandmother.
Geragos responded, "“I don't send people out to throw stones at people's houses"
Prosecutors also questioned Geragos about the Arvizo family’s interview with the DCFS in February, 2003. In previous testimony the mother, Janet Arvizo, claimed that Miller & a man she knew as “Asef” had attended the interview. She said “Asef”, whom she believed was a part of Jackson’s security team, had asked her to secretly record the interview. She further claimed that “Asef” had threatened the safety of her parents should she not comply.
Geragos testified that he was aware the interview was taking place but said he did not direct Miller to attend or to secretly tape the interview. Importantly for the defense, he also said that Asef Vilchic in fact worked for Miller and not for Jackson.
Once again, exchanges between Zonen and Geragos were often heated. At one point, Judge Rodney Melville criticized the prosecution for approaching the witness stand too often without permission.
Geragos had refused to answer certain questions during his testimony last Friday due to a limited waiver of his attorney-client privilege. Judge Melville had been under the impression the waiver was complete, but in fact it only covered Geragos for events leading up to Jackson’s arrest.
Judge Melville said “I feel deceived by Mr. Mesereau and I am considering ... sanctions of some sort against Mr. Mesereau”. Mesereau had apologized for the confusion, explaining that he had not thought the period after the arrest would be relevant. Court observers expected the sanctions to include a fine.
The Judge said that he could have stricken Geragos’ testimony from the record but did not feel this was viable as the jury had already heard his testimony. However, he said he would entertain the prosecution's motion to strike the testimony from the record once completed.
Judge Melville also stated that a condition of his allowing Geragos to resume testimony was that whenever prosecutors asked him about events after November 2003, he was to tell the jury, "I refuse to answer that question based on attorney client privilege."
Zonen stated in court Friday that the defense may rest their case as early as next week.
"We're approaching the end of trial," he told Judge Melville. ”The defense has indicated they may be resting as early as next Tuesday."
Defense attorneys did not contradict the statement but did not comment on it.
Court Transcript
2006 - Michael meets with Prince Abdullah (Bahrain) for the last time and informs his host that he is travelling to London and Tokyo. Shortly after producer Bill Bottrell and drummer Brian Macleod arrives in Bahrain to work on new songs for Michael’s project
2009 - Michael goes to Dr Klein’s in Beverly Hills
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2009 - Kenny Ortega and Randy Phillips announce in a press conference that the 4 opening O2 shows have been rescheduled from July 8 to July 13 due to production delays
2009 - In a letter signed by Michael, Leonard Rowe is prevented from working or speaking on his behalf. Frank Dileo is now Michael's one & only manager.
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The letter was only publicized after Michael’s death. Leonard Rowe also claims (Like Tohme Tohme) that he never received such letter. The letter did have a Michael Jackson signature. By whom & when was this letter was actually signed is unknown. 
2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 14
Katherine, Rebbie and Trent Jackson are at court.
LATimes reported that Jacksons offered a settlement.
Kevin Boyle , a lawyer for Katherine Jackson and Michael's kids , said they offered to settle the lawsuit against AEG, but that they never got an answer. Kevin Boyle said the family made the offers in January & March. Boyle would not provide details but said AEG's insurance would have paid, which means they could have settled the case without them paying a dime of their money. He said AEG has never offered to settle & they haven't apologized.
Marvin Putnam, an attorney for AEG, said it was inappropriate to discuss settlement discussions, "We don't settle matters that are utterly baseless. We believe that is the case in this matter. I can't see why we would consider a settlement as anything other than a shakedown"
CNN Reports there was a snack controversy during trial: AEG lawyers gave a bag of peppermint candy to the bailiff to hand out to the jury this week. Even Katherine Jackson enjoyed the treat but Jackson's lawyer raised an objection, suggesting jurors might be influenced if they realized the source of the sweets. A compromise was reached. Each side can provide snacks for jurors, but they'll be placed at the bailiff's desk before jurors enter court so they have no clue who brought it.
Shawn Trell Testimony
Jackson direct
AEG Live General Counsel, Shawn Trell, told jurors that he had forgotten that Kenny Ortega was working under a signed contract.
Trell said he met with his attorneys last night and reviewed one doc -- Kenny Ortega's contract. "He had a written contract," Trell said. "I remember the email dynamic. I'm not too proud to admit that I didn't recall the cover contract," Trell said he was changing his previous testimony to add that Ortega had a written contract, not only emails between him and AEG
Next topic was Insurance: Cancellation/Non-Appearance/Sickness. Trell said he started working on insurance for the tour in November of 2008. Panish showed several chains of emails where the parties talked about the insurance for the tour
Email from Bob Taylor insurance broker to Trell on 1/7/09:

Prior to speaking with carriers we ask the artist to attend medical with a doctor...A full medical with both blood/urine tests. The doctor also wants to review the medical records over the last 5 years to ensure full disclosure. Insurers require further medical examination to be carried out by their nominated doctor. They may restrict illness coverage or death from illness coverage until this examination has taken place

Email from 4/30/09 - Wooley to Trell :

"We have no coverage against Michael sickness unless and until he submits to another medical in London

Email from 5/28/09 - Trell to Taylor:

"We really need to get that medical done"

Email from 6/23/09 - Trell to Taylor :

"Any update on the availability of Term insurance?" (life insurance)

Trell said if they secured life insurance, they would get money if Michael died. "We would get the money owed to us, yes," Trell testified. Trell also said he continued discussions with an insurance broker about additional coverage to recoup AEG Live's investment if the tour had to be canceled.
Email from 6/24/09 -Taylor to Trell :

Insurers have refused to move on this. Huge amount of speculation in the media regarding artist's health. They feel if they're to consider providing illness to cover this particular artist, they must have very through medical report

Email from 6/25/09 - Gongaware to Taylor :

"If we don't get sickness coverage, we are dropping this policy"

Email from 6/25/09 - Taylor to Gongaware :

The consultation in London is critical. The doctor is holding the afternoon of the 6th July open at Harley St. But keep in mind the visit could take 2 hours plus

Next topic: Budget/Costs. Panish showed an email from AEG's Rick Webking to Michael's estate with 1st report of artist advances/expenses. This was a letter sent to the estate containing the expenses incurred, Trell said. "It seems to me we submitted this report for their review, I don't see any request for payment," Trell said.
Trell said he spoke with Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware about Michael's physical condition prior to coming to testify. "I had heard about rehearsals in which Mr. Jackson was fantastic," Trell said
Trell said he's aware of email from Ortega saying doctor was not allowing Michael to attend rehearsal on June 14, 2009. "I was aware of the doctor not allowing him to attend rehearsal," Trell said
Email from 6/17/09 from Phillips:

"...Ortega, Gongaware, Dileo, and his doctor Conrad from Vegas and I have an intervention with him to get him to focus and come to rehearsal"

Email from 6/17/09 from Gongaware to Phillip's assistant:

"We need a physical therapist and a nutritionist"

Email from Production Manager - Gongaware/Phillips on 6/19/09 :

"Paul/Randy I'm not bring a drama queen here. Kenny asked me to notify you both Michael was sent home without stepping foot on stage. He was a basket case and Kenny was concerned he would embarrass himself on stage, or worse yet, be hurt. The company is rehearsing right now, but the DOUBT is pervasive"

Email from Randy Phillips to Tim Leiweke on 6/19/09 :

"We have a huge problem here."

"I think he recognized there was a problem on the 19th," Trell said. "I would take it seriously, as I believe Mr. Phillips did." Trell agreed with a statement by plaintiff's attorney, Brian Panish, that company executives knew by then there was a "deep issue" with Jackson
Does Trell consider that exchange a "red flag" that AEG Live should have noticed, Panish asked. "I would take it seriously, as I believe Mr. Phillips did," Trell answered. "I don't know I would use the word 'red flag'
One of the emails shown to the jury was from Jackson estate co-executor John Branca, sent 5 days before Jackson's death & marked 'confidential':

"I have the right therapist/spiritual advisosubstance abuse counselor who could help (recently helped Mike Tyson get sober and paroled) Do we know whether there is a substance issue involved (perhaps better discussed on the phone)

The email was sent the same day that a meeting was held at Jackson's home with Murray. No further info given to jury.
Trell said Mr. Phillips never told him about this email
Email from Ortega to Randy Phillips on 6/20/09: (chain of emails)

"I honestly don't think he is ready for this based on his continued physical weakening and deepening emotional state"

Trell said he didn't see these emails. He said he spoke with Randy Phillips about Phillips' perception of Michael, in order to prepare for testifying, but not about specific emails. Trell has been designated as the most qualified person to speak on behalf of AEG
Email from Phillips to Gongaware on 6/20/09 at 1:52 am :

"Tim and I are going to see him tomorrow, however, I'm not sure what the problem is Chemical or Physiological?"

From Gongaware to Phillips, on 6/20/09 at 5:59 am :

"Take the doctor with you. Why wasn't he there last night?"

From Phillips to Gongaware, on 6/20/09 at 2:01 pm :

"He is not a psychiatrist so I'm not sure how effective he can be at this point obviously, getting him there is not the issue. It is much deeper"

Trell said Randy Phillips went to a handful of rehearsals, three at the Forum and two at Staples Center. The head of the marketing department attended rehearsal on June 23, 2009. "She was blown away by it," Trell testified.
He said he was unaware of issues with Jackson at rehearsals."I knew of no problems with Michael Jackson at all",Trell testified.
Trell said he never saw the emails from Phillips directing people to exclude images from This Is It of Michael looking "skeletal" while rehearsing. "What were his observations of Michael's physical condition during rehearsal," Trell said. "I asked for his (Phillips) personal opinion."
Next line of questioning is about human resources and background checks. Trell said they can be valuable and useful tools when hiring. Background check costs around $40 to $125. Trell said AEG Live could afford this fee. "We don't do background checks on independent contractors," Trell said. Trell said he was involved in the hiring by AEG Live for the This Is It tour. His department was responsible for retaining independent contractors. Trell said he is not familiar with background check process for hiring. "I am not familiar with the process of doing background checks," Trell said. "No training."
​

Panish: "There was no hiring criteria for the This Is It tour, correct?"
Trell: "Not to my knowledge"

Trell testified that when it comes to independent contractors, they have either worked with the artists, AEG or known in the industry. Trell agreed that no background check was done on anyone working on the This Is It tour. AEG Live General Counsel Shawn Trell told jurors that no legal or financial checks were done involving Conrad Murray or anyone else who worked as an independent contractor on the This Is It shows.
Depending on the nature of the position, a background could be done, Trell said, like for potential employees in the financial area. Trell said he thought a background check would be appropriate for people working in financial roles, but not tour personnel who weren't employees of AEG
As to independent contractors, Trell said there's no supervision and monitoring like there's for employees

Panish: "You don't do anything to check into background, supervise or protect the artist?"
Trell: "No, safety is a concern"

Trell said that AEG did not hire Murray, that the doctor was like many independent contractors, "When they leave the environment, what they do on their own time is their own business.
Trell testified he doesn't believe the artist is more at risk because AEG Live doesn't do background checks
"We did nothing to monitor Dr. Murray," Trell said. "We did not monitor whatever it was that he was doing, no."
"It called for Michael Jackson being able to terminate Dr. Murray at will," Trell said about the contract. "If the concerts didn't go forward, and he was terminated under this provision, Dr. Murray would not be paid going forward," Trell explained
As to Dr Murray being under dire financial straits, Trell said that he doesn't know if he agrees with it, everyone's perception is different

Trell: "I certainly wasn't aware of it at the time"
Panish: "Because you didn't check, right?"
Trell: "That's right"
"I don't think conflict of interests are a good thing, and we would want to prevent it," Trell said

Email from Kathy Jorie to Shawn Trell on 6/24/09 at 12:54 am:
Subject: Revised agreement with GCA Holdings/Dr. Murray
It had two attachments Attachments: Revised Michael Jackson -AEG GCA Holdings Murray Agreement 6-18-09 Final MJ -- AEG GCA Holdings Agreement (Dr. Murray) 6-23-09
Email chain from 6/23/09, 5:39pm from Jorrie to Wooley, Murray
Subject: RE: Michael Jackson - Revised Agreement with GCA Holdings/Dr. Murray Email:

I have redlined the Word version so that you can see all of the revisions. In addition, I've attached clean PDF version for execution" (The email says that if Dr. Murray approved it, he was to print it, sign and send it back to Jorrie)

​

Panish: "Did Ms. Jorrie call this contract a draft?"
Trell: "She called it a Final Version"
"Every document is a draft until it is executed," Trell said.

Panish showed emails exchanged among AEG executives that contained drafts of Murray's contract. Although Murray had signed a contract with the company, neither Jackson nor anyone from AEG had added their signatures. Trell testified that a copy of the contract had never been sent to Jackson
With Trell on the stand, Panish played part of an interview that AEG Live President Randy Phillips gave to Sky News television soon after Michael's death. "This guy was willing to leave his practice for a very large sum of money, so we hired him," Phillips said. Panish also showed jurors an e-mail between AEG lawyers suggesting that Phillips told other interviewers AEG Live "hired" Murray.

Panish: "Isn't it true that Randy Phillips made numerous comments that AEG Live hired Dr. Murray?" Trell: "I know he has made that statement"

Panish said AEG higher-ups became concerned after Phillips made such admission. Trell said he didn't know if that was true. Bruce Black is the General Counsel for parent company of AEG and AEG Live. Michael Roth is AEG's media relations
Email from Kathy Jorrie to Bruce Black and Michael Roth on 8/25/09: Subject: AEG Live president says AEG Live hired Dr. Conrad Murray
Panish shows Trell a deposition, under oath, given by insurance broker Bob Taylor on another case. Trell said he has never seen or read it. Trell denied having a telephone conversation with Mr. Taylor where Trell asked him if a doctor's compensation was covered in the insurance.

Panish: "Does that refresh your recollection that AEG was employing Dr. Murray?"
Trell: "Mr. Taylor has this completely wrong"

After lunch break, Brian Panish asked if Shawn Trell wanted to change anything else in his testimony, to which he said "No"
Bruce Black, attorney for Anschutz, was present in the meeting with LAPD. Trell met with the police on 1/12/10. Trell told the police that day that Dr. Murray would receive $150,000 compensation per month. Trell also said that Dr. Murray requested and AEG would provide necessary medical equipment and a nurse. More than five months after Jackson's death, Trell said, he informed LAPD detectives that Murray initially requested $5 million to join the tour but eventually agreed to a salary of $150,000 a month for 10 months.

Panish: "As far as you know, all the agreements written for TII tour was done under AEG Live Productions, right?"
Trell: "Yes"
Panish: "Was Dr. Murray trying to help AEG get insurance?"
Trell: "The policy was in both names, so he was helping both parties"

Trell said Dennis Hawk, who represented Michael, was in touch with Taylor regarding the insurance
​

Panish: "As of June 2009, you don't even know whether Mr. Jackson had a personal manager working for him, right?"
Trell: "Well, my understanding at the time there were a couple of people acting in that capacity"

Email on 6/2/09 from Randy Phillips to Jeff Wald:

"Jeff, remember getting Michael to focus is not the easiest thing in the world and we still have no lawyer, business manager, or, even real manager in place. It is a nightmare!"

Trell said the only time he saw an artist's signature required to retain an independent contractor was for Dr. Murray. Trell said his understanding was that Dr. Murray worked for Michael for 3 years; didn't know how many times MJ saw Dr. Murray. "I've never spoken with Dr. Murray ever. And I met/spoke with Mr. Jackson once," Trell said.
"He was a significant expense," Trell testified about Dr. Murray. Trell said AEG Live didn't do anything to check Dr. Murray's competency as doctor, other than checking his physician license. Trell said AEG didn't do anything to determine Dr. Murray's financial conditions in 2009.
Jury was shown an email that Phillips sent to Kenny Ortega on night of June 20, 2009. It was email urging Ortega to stand down.
Email on 6/20/09 Phillips to Ortega :

Kenny it's critical that neither you, me, anyone around this show become amateur psychiatrist/physicians. I had a lengthy conversation with Dr. Murray, who I am gaining immense respect for as I get to deal with him more. He said that Michael is not only physically equipped to perform & discouraging him to will hasten his decline instead of stopping it. Dr. Murray also reiterated that he is mentally able to and was speaking to me from the house where he had spent the morning with Michael. This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone out) and does not need this gig so he is totally unbiased and ethical

Panish asked Trell whether Phillips "characterization to Ortega, given no background check was done, was a lie". Trell responded that he didn't know what Phillips knew or was thinking when he wrote that email to Ortega. Trell also said he expected Randy Phillips to testify at some point during the trial, so he could address the email himself
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Panish then asked Trell, "Sir, you never checked out one single thing about Dr. Murray -- you've already told me that, correct?"
"As of the date of the email, that would've been correct",Trell said.

When pressed by Panish, Trell said that Phillips' statement that Murray had been checked out, along with the executive's claim that the doctor 'does not need this gig' were inaccurate. "I don't know where Randy's understanding or impression comes from", Trell said. Trell testified that Phillips might have been "misinformed" or simply was stating his impression of the Las Vegas cardiologist

Panish: "But no one at AEG checked Dr. Murray to see if he was successful or not, isn't that true?"
Trell: "Yes"

Panish then asked several pointed questions about whether Shawn Trell agreed with Phillips telling Ortega they'd checked Murray out. One of Panish's questions was whether Trell thought Phillips' email was 'acceptable conduct'
Panish called Phillips' statement "a flat out lie" and asked Trell whether he agreed with it or if it signified how AEG did business. Trell said he didn't know what Phillips thought he knew when he wrote the message. "I know this statement is not accurate, but you'd have to speak with Mr. Phillips about what he thought or meant in saying it," Trell said.

Panish: "That's a flat out lie, isn't it sir?"
Trell: "I don't know what Mr. Phillips intended to say, this should be a question to him"

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Panish: "You don't know if he was successful or facing bankruptcy, did you?"
Trell: "No"

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Trell: "I know the statement is not accurate. You have to speak with Mr. Phillips about what he meant to say"
Panish: "Do you agree with the CEO of your company making untrue statements?"
Trell: "I don't know that he didn't know it wasn't true when he said it"

Trell said Phillips never told him that he checked Dr. Murray out. As to reference in Phillips' email about Dr. Murray being unbiased, ethical, not needing this gig, Trell said it was Phillips' impressions. He said AEG typically only runs background checks on candidates applying for full-time jobs with AEG, not independent contractors.
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Panish: "Isn't it true AEG Live does not do background check on independent contractors?"
Trell: "That's true"

Trell said that no one from AEG interviewed Dr. Murray because he was an independent contractor.
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"Did anyone from AEG ever at any time interview Dr. Murray", asked Brian Panish
"No", Trell replied.

Panish showed a document used by AEG entitled "Disclosure and Authorization to Conduct Background Check". Doc is used for employment, promotion, retention, contingent or the rate staffing, consulting, sub-contract work, or volunteer work. Panish asked if there was any reason why Dr. Murray was not given a background check. "He wasn't an employee, he wasn't applying for a full time position with the company," Trell explained. Trell said theoretically they could've asked to check Dr. Murray's background and credit.
AEG Cross
Jessica Bina began her examination by showing the letter submitted by AEG's CFO to the Estate of Michael Jackson for their review. She asked Shawn Trell about the estimate presented to Jackson's estate that included Murray's $300k fees. She asked why it was prepared. Shawn Trell said it was done at the request of the estate. He said Jackson's estate wanted to know state of tour finances when Jackson died. Trell said the report was requested by the Estate after a series of meetings after Michael's death. "The purpose of the meeting was to wind up the business affairs of the tour due to Michael's death", Trell said. "It was my understating in June Tohme was back in the picture in some capacity. I'm not sure which, Mr. DiLeo was in it too," Trell said
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Bina: "Is there any request for payment?"
Trell: "No, there's no demand for payment, it's for review"

Stebbins Bina asked about the inclusion of Murray's fee in the document. Bina showed the report that was attached to the letter. Murray's fee on the document had a footnote. Trell read what that footnote said, and explained why estate wasn't asked for Murray's fee. Next to "Management Medical" there's a reference to footnote 3. Note 3: 'Contract is not signed by Michael Jackson and such signature was condition precedent to any payment obligation' - Footnote on Murray fee. Trell testified Webking, the CFO for AEG, did not ask Michael's Estate for payment of Dr. Murray's salary
"You testified you were somewhat confused (by the inclusion of the $300,000)?", Bina asked Trell as she projected the list, dated July 17, 2009, on a screen for jurors.
"Do you see there's something in parentheses?', Stebbins Bina asked, zooming in to blow up a footnote from AEG CFO Frederick Webking that stated Michael Jackson never signed Murray's contract, so its terms were not enforceable.
"Is Mr. Webking asking the estate to pay?", Stebbins Bina asked Trell. "No", he replied, explaining that upon reflection he believed Mr. Webking was just being 'thorough' by including the $300,000 as a budgeted cost.
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"Did Mr. Webking make a mistake as you thought yesterday?",she asked.
"No, he did not", Trell answered

Second report made to the Estate on 9/18/09, there was no amount next to management medical. Stebbins Bina then showed a Sept. 2009 report of This Is It's finances to Michael Jackson's estate. Murray's fee is not listed in that document
Trell went through his job description with AEG. He said he has five lawyers in his department and has worked on thousands of agreements. Trell explained what PMK is -- Person Most Knowledgeable, identified by the company to testify on its behalf. Trell said he didn't know about all the topics he was designated, so he had to do some studying and interviews with people
As to Ortega's contract, Trell said he was aware of a string of emails being at least a part of the original agreement with Kenny. "When we were done here yesterday, I looked at Kenny Ortega's original agreement," Trell said. Trell noted he hadn't looked at Ortega's agreement since it was entered into in 2009. Before the afternoon break, Trell and jury were shown Kenny Ortega's tour agreement. It was signed in April 2009. The agreement was three pages of legalese, with several pages of emails attached that confirmed the terms. The first three pages included some paragraphs that described who owned the rights to This Is It content. A large number of emails are part of the agreement as exhibits. Trell said he recalled the emails exchange and admitted again not being proud of forgetting the cover contract portion. Bina showed Ortega's executed contract with everyone's signature on it. Trell said Kenny Ortega was paid after his contract was signed.
Trell, Phillips and Kathy Jorrie were involved in drafting and negotiating the contract with Michael Jackson. For MJ, Trell said Dr. Tohme Tohme and attorneys Dennis Hawk and Peter Lopez represented him. He said there were multiple drafts. "It's my understanding they were talking to, or at least receiving offers from, a competitive of ours, Live Nation," Trell said. Trell also said that before signing an agreement with AEG, Jackson had been considering a tour offer from its main competitor, Live Nation.
Bina showed the jury the final tour agreement. Trell said he went to MJ's home at Carolwood to sign it. Upon arrival, Trell said Mr. Jackson got up from where he was seated, and said 'Hi, welcome, I'm Michael." Trell said it was pretty funny, since he was a very distinct person. Trell said they shook hands, he had a good firm handshake and his voice was not what people think
"He popped up, came over, introduced himself, was very cordial, there was a real positive energy, good vibe in the room," Trell said. "He seemed genuinely enthused," Trell added. "He had the contract in front of him, said he read every page, seemed very enthused." Trell said they all signed it and Mr. Jackson was really keen on the 3-D stuff, that he was already down the road in his mind. "I was probably there just a little less than an hour. And that was the only time I met him," Trell recalled.
Bina discussed the contract for the tour agreement:

A first class performance by Artist at each show on each of the approved itineraries. Contract: Artist shall perform no less than 80 minutes at each show, and the maximum show length for each show shall be 3.5 hours. Artist shall approve a sufficient number of shows on itineraries proposed by promoter or producer as to recoup the advances made. Trell said compensation was agreed on 90-10 split. Artist received 90% of what's defined contingent compensation.

Trell explained to jury how concerts get paid for. One scenario is artist pays for production up front. A second scenario is that the promoter gives artist an advance, and then they use the money to put together the show. The third option, Trell said, is the artist pays someone like AEG Live to produce and promote the show, with costs to come out of their pay. Trell called the second and third option like an interest-free loan. In Jackson's case, AEG agreed to a 90/10 split of show's proceeds. Jackson would have received the 90 percent portion, Trell said. Jackson was also on the hook for a 5% production fee
AEG Live was promoter & producer. "We advanced the money necessary to mount the tour," Trell explained. "It's interest free money". Trell testified that Jackson's advance, which covered his $100,000-a-month rent on his mansion and a $3-million payment to settle a lawsuit that would free up his performance rights, was considered a loan to be paid back to AEG.
Part of the advance was to pay off the settlement agreement of $3 million in London court. The underlying dispute was that a company owned the rights for Jackson's live performance. "The rights needed to be freed up," Trell said. The advances were to be paid back to AEG Live before the split of revenue. Production Advances were capped to $7.5 million. Contract:

Artist was responsible for all the production costs in excess of the cap and had to reimburse promoter.

"Michael Jackson was known to have very elaborate productions," Trell said. "Production values can get significant, for lack of a better word, it really depends on how many bells and whistles they want," Trell said. Trell said AEG would not advance money without the artist requesting it.
Trell said it's not only typical and customary, but standard and artist needs to secure either non-appearance or cancellation insurance. Their interest in the policy, Trell said, was to cover the advances and production costs incurred with the production of the show. "If the were no obligations to AEG, the payout would go back to the artist", Trell explained, "It just recoups our loan made to the artist."
Trell was also asked about elements of tour insurance policies and an agreement with former manager Tohme Tohme. Jackson's contract called for him to represent to AEG that he didn't have any health conditions that would keep him from performing.
Contract:

Artistco hereby represents and warrants that artist does not possess any known health conditions, injuries or ailments that would reasonable be expected to interfere with Artist's first class performance at each of the shows during the term

Oh Tohme's $100k per month agreement, Trell was shown a January contract that Jackson signed to pay that amount. However, Trell said Tohme's agreement was predicated on Jackson getting tour cancellation insurance by a certain date. Deadline passed and by that point Tohme was no longer Jackson's manager, so he wasn't entitled to be paid his monthly fee.
January 24, 2009 -- agreement entered with Dr. Tohme Tohme. Trell said Michael was involved and signed this agreement. "This agreement was entered into January 26, Trell testified. "There are conditions that needed to be met before any payment could be made." One of the the conditions was placement of non-appearance insurance, Trell said. That placement was done in late April, early May. In May, AEG received letter from MJ saying Tohme didn't rep him anymore. "No payments were ever made under this agreement," Trell explained.
Julie Hollander Transcript
Shawn Trell Transcript

1973 - The Jackson 5 play at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
1977 The Jacksons perform “Show You The Way To Go” on Top Of The Pops in London.
1979 - On their Destiny Tour, the Jacksons play the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
1979 - The Jacksons song "Shake Your Body Down To The Ground" peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100
1984 - The song "Thriller" falls off the Billboard Hot 100, ending a run of hits from the Thriller album that started on 11/6/82, when "The Girl Is Mine" entered the chart. In that stretch, only two weeks went by without a Thriller song on the chart.
1993 - Michael receives the first ever lifetime Achievement Award from Norris McWhirther, the Editor of the Guinness Museum of World Records in Los Angeles. He also was presented with a plaque from the Michael Jackson Observer Fan Club.
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1995 - 'Scream", the first single from the album HIStory is officially launched on radios worldwide. The song was leaked to radio stations early, despite Epic Records' attempt to keep it off air until the release date of May 29th. "Scream" would become the first single in the 37-year history of Billboard to debut at #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked
1998 - During the Forum Summit, Michael has a private meeting with President Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Kabila and Jackson met privately for about 20 minutes over water and orange juice at the World Economic Forum's Southern African summit in the Namibian capital.
Most reporters were kept out of view by guards protecting the two men, but a Congolese television team travelling with Kabila was allowed to film the encounter.
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They told reporters that Kabila had proposed an anniversary concert in Kinshasa. One said Jackson promised to "seriously consider the invitation."
2005 - Trial Day 56
Michael goes to court with Katherine.
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Judge Melville ruled that the jury would be unable to hear the testimonies of CNN talk show host Larry King and publisher Michael Viner as impeachment material against civil attorney Larry Feldman. Melville's ruling effectively handicapped the ability of Jackson's defense team to counter testimony offered by Feldman under oath.
Feldman represented Jackson's current accuser some time between March 2003 and June 2004. The attorney also represented Jordan Chandler, the first boy who brought accusations against Jackson in 1993
During direct examination on 4/1/05, DA Thomas Sneddon used Feldman to drive home the notion that the accusing family was not out for money, as the defense contends. Feldman stated that the family was not seeking to file a lawsuit, and that he had never been asked to file a suit against Jackson on behalf of the family.
On cross-examination, lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau attempted to undermine Feldman's credibility by asking him about a conversation that allegedly transpired between himself, King, and Viner. Feldman repeatedly denied ever meeting with King and Viner at an eatery in Beverly Hills some time in 2004, where he purportedly relayed to the two men his belief that the accuser's mother was fabricating the allegations against Jackson. He also denied even personally knowing who Viner was, claiming that he had "never had a meeting with Michael Viner in [his] life."
However, according to a memo attached with a defense motion, Viner recalled Feldman stating that he didn't believe the accuser and referred to the boy's mother as a "flake." Feldman had also allegedly stated that both mother and son were sent out to "another expert and they failed the smell test," and felt they were into the case solely for "money."
When asked by defense investigator Scott Ross if this was a statement actually made by Feldman, Viner replied, "Absolutely." Upon being told by Ross that Feldman had testified that he didn't know who Viner was, Viner stated that was untrue, that they had met many times. Viner added that he was clueless as to why Feldman would deny knowing him.
In a hearing outside of the jury, King stated that Feldman had told him during this lunch that the accuser's mother was "wacko," was "in it for the money," and that the accusations against Jackson "didn't hold water." King added that Feldman met with the mother and "didn't want to represent her," advising that she contact authorities with the allegations. The civil attorney did end up representing the woman and her family, but later withdrew as counsel for reasons unknown.
Viner testified that he "walked away believing that [Feldman] did not believe the allegations." When cross-examined, Viner could not recall Feldman directly quoting anything the accuser's mother may have told him, which would have been a violation of the attorney-client privilege.
After listening to the proposed testimonies, Judge Melville declared them to be "irrelevant," stating that it was unclear if Feldman was sharing an opinion or if he was quoting the accuser's mother. Depending on the media slant, various reasons have been given as to why King and Viner were rejected, including references to the testimony as "hearsay" and an inability to "verify" the statements as "fact."
There have been a number of statements offered during the course of this trial that were allowed in, but not "for the fact of the matter" be it "verifiable" or not. The judge could have allowed both King and Viner to testify to having met Feldman for lunch and to state that the attorney had in fact expressed negative opinions about the accuser's mother. That would not have been hearsay, and it would have been enough to impeach at least a portion of Feldman's testimony, particularly since King and Viner's statements seemed to corroborate one another.
Given this recent ruling, it seems that there is a differential application of law in the case, one that puts Jackson at a disadvantage. Statements offered by any number of prosecution witnesses, particularly those of the accuser and his family, are not in a different category than the testimonies of King and Viner.
It should be clear by now that there seems to be two sets of standards operating here: one set favoring the prosecution, and one that appears to impair Jackson's constitutional right to a fair trial.
The highlight from the day was Azja Pryor, a Hollywood casting assistant & the girlfriend of Chris Tucker. Early in her testimony, Pryor broke down and cried when about the family. “It’s hard for me because I really do love the kids a lot,” she said in an apparent reference to her reluctance to testify against them.
Pryor became friends with the boy’s family after she was introduced to them through Tucker when Gavin was battling cancer & a number of celebrities became involved in efforts to help them. Pryor testified that she met the family at the Laugh Factory club in Hollywood in 2001. Pryor said she and Tucker began taking the children places. Tucker took them by private jet to an Oakland Raiders game and invited them to his brother's wedding, she said.
Under questioning from Mesereau, Pryor said Janet Arvizo had asked her to take the family back to Neverland in February 2003, just after the family met with a social worker investigating possible child abuse. On that trip, Gavin & Starr spent the day playing at Neverland & even asked the ranch manager to be allowed to stay in Michael's bedroom at a time when the entertainer was away.
She told the jury the accuser's mother complained to her in early March 2003 that two German associates of Jackson had stepped in to keep her family away. "I asked, "Does Michael know anything about this?' She said, "They won't let us around him because they know the children tug at his heart strings' ", Pryor testified.
The time period she cited is critical because prosecutors allege the abuse happened between Feb. 20 & March 12, 2003. When Janet testified in the trial, she spoke out against "the Germans" and said they were conspiring with Jackson to hold her family captive.
Pryor testified she and the boy's mother would talk for hours on the phone, but the mother never complained to her about Michael. Pryor said that she never spoke critically of Jackson and praised him in lavish terms. “It was something to the effect (of) what a great man he is. He is an angel. His love is great,” Pryor said.
The woman also talked with excitement about heading to Brazil for Carnival, Pryor said. That countered prosecution claims Jackson had planned to spirit the boy’s family away to head off trouble
The mother’s participation in a “rebuttal video” in Jackson’s defense was voluntary, Pryor said. “She was very anxious to tell the world that this beautiful friendship was nothing more than they saw -- a beautiful friendship,” Pryor said.
Court Transcript
2009 - Michael Jackson visits the American Idol rehearsals at to the Nokia Theatre then he visits Dr Klein in Berverly Hills.

1973 - The Jackson 5 play at the Spectrum (closed -2009) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1979 - On their Destiny tour, The Jackson's play at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee
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1987 - Michael decided to leave the Jehovah's witnesses.Their headquarters in Brooklyn, NY issued a statement dated today that they "no longer considered Michael Jackson to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses," by mutual agreement. The final breakup would take place on June 6, 1987.
Per LaToya Jackson in La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family

′′ On Victory's turn,..., [Michael] hired someone whose sole job was to place a Kingdom venue in every city so that Michael would not miss a single meeting... Michael...won these records eight honors at the 1984 Grammy Awards. The next morning, an old man gave him an ultimatum that my brother had to choose between music and the [Jehovah's Witness] religion... Because Michael diligently studied the Bible, by I could usually quote chapters and verses supporting their claim that entertaining people was not wrong. ′′ I continue to live by the (Jehovah' s Witness) teachings," he noted, as he had done so many times before. 'I still go door to door wherever I am, even though I'm on tour. I can't stop people from hanging up my poster on the wall or booting up my picture from a magazine. I'm not asking you to idolize me. I just want you to enjoy my music. .... Many Jehovah's Witnesses often gathered outside the Kingdom Hall in hopes of seeing Michael Jackson, knowing full well that this type of flattery was forbidden. Michael did everything humanly possible to prove his devotion to Jehovah. Once, when an old man criticized him, 'Your movements on stage suggest sex; don't do them anymore,' my brother accomplished without protest and quickly changed the routine. He also invited an old man on tour to see for himself that he lived in harmony with all the rules of the faith, survey. Door to door, and and attended all the meetings... One day I walked into Janet's room and found Michael crying in living tears. LaToya,... I can't talk to you anymore... There was a big meeting, and they told me never to talk to you because you hadn't come to the Kingdom Hall.... They said if I didn't stop talking to you, they would kick me out religion. ... Michael decided to disobey the elders' edict and after that he never attended another meeting... he then severed his ties with the organization via a formal letter. What made this painful episode even more agonizing was that for a long time I thought Michael might be one of the remnants, the 144,000 selected"

1988 - Michael moved out of Hayvenhurst, the family's Encino home, to his recently purchased ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley about 100 miles north of Los Angeles. The 2,700 acre Sycamore Valley Ranch was soon renamed Neverland Valley Ranch from Michael's favorite book,Peter Pan
1988- Michael’s first movie Moonwalker is previewed at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. Michael does not attend the preview. The movie is scheduled for a Christmas release
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1993 - Michael receives two awards total for "Black or White"and "Remember The Time" at the BMI Pop Awards Dinner at the Regency Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. BMI awards honor the year's top songwriters & publishers. He did not attend
1998 -Michael & Don Barden visit an orphanage at the SOS Village in Komasdal outside Windhoek, Namibia. As he arrived at the orphanage, he was mobbed by the children, who according to the finance coordinator idolized him. "Some can do perfect imitations of him", she said. He brought gifts for the 123 children housed there. He also donated a large screen television, a video recorder and $20,000
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2005 - Trial Day 55
Michael goes to court with Katherine & Randy
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The parade of defense witnesses continued as two more of Michael's relatives and a videographer took to the stand to defend him
First up was the soft spoken 12-year-old, Rijo Jackson, the younger brother of Simone Jackson who took the stand yesterday. He testified to seeing the accuser and his younger brother watching naked women on television while appearing to masturbate under the covers.
When confronted by the then 10-year-old Rijo, the Arvizo boys allegedly urged him to join them in masturbating. The youngster said he refused and opted to retire in his famous cousin's bed that night.
Rijo testified: "they said, 'Why don't you do that, too.' I said, 'I don't want to because it's nasty and wrong"
During cross examination Rijo said that he had told Michael about what the boys were watching on television but that he didn't take his comments seriously.
"He didn't believe it. He thought they were cool and they wouldn't do that",he said.
Prosecutor Ron Zonen asked whether he had told Jackson specifically about the masturbation.
Rijo said he had not, saying "I didn't wanna like tell him 'cause I was scared."
After testifying to spending the night in Jackson's bed Zonen asked, "did you do that often?"
"Yes," replied Rijo.
The incident, which occurred in 2003, contradicts testimony previously given by the Arvizo boys who claimed that Jackson had introduced them to alcohol, pornography and masturbation.
Rijo then told of another incident that took place when Michael had ordered wine to his room. The bottle was delivered to the lower quarters of his bedroom suite by chef's assistant, Angel Vivaco.
Rijo said he then saw the Arvizo boys take the unopened bottle of wine up to the second floor of the bedroom while Michael was in the bathroom & later return downstairs before leaving. He said that the bottle had been opened and some wine was missing. The boy said that when Jackson returned, he did not question why there was wine missing. He did not tell him what he had seen because he could not be certain the boys had consumed the wine.
Rijo also testified to witnessing the Arvizo boys stealing money belonging to Neverland employees from a kitchen drawer and also stealing other objects from Jackson's office.
Following the young witness was yet another Jackson relative. Michelle Jackson, Michael's aunt and Rijo's grandmother. She told jurors about a conversation with Gavin
She said that he told her that "we don't want to go to Brazil. That's my mother who wants to go. We want to stay here."
Gavin's mother claims that Jackson planned to whisk the family away to South America in an attempt to get rid of them.
In other testimony, star of the 90's hit series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, testified to becoming suspicious of the accuser's mother.
Vernee Watson Johnson said she became uneasy about the woman's fund-raising activities for her then cancer-stricken son in 2000. She was called to support the defense claim that the mother has a history of schemes to get money from celebrities and that Jackson was merely another target.
Johnson testified that she had been the boy's acting teacher and was asked to help raise money for him but abandoned plans to help the mother "because I didn't trust her."
Johnson said that she had asked Janet Arvizo to set up a special bank account for donations to her son but that Arvizo had asked her to put the money into her own (Arvizos) account instead.
She also testified that the family had once visited her home and that the children had run around, gone through her things and jumped on her son's bed. She said she never allowed them back.
Next on the stand was videographer= Christopher Robinson, who had a part in filming Jackson's Take 2 rebuttal video. The Arvizos claim the video was highly scripted, right down to every laugh and gesture.
"Were any of the answers scripted?", asked Jackson defense attorney Robert Sanger.
"No," Robinson said.
"Did he (Robinson) have any of the answers in advance?" Sanger queried.
"Of course not," Robinson said, adding that he had given the family the questions beforehand but had not discussed the answers.
"Was there anything that you saw that indicated she [Janet Arvizo] was unwilling to do the interview?" Sanger asked.
"She was adamant about wanting to do the interview," Robinson said, but he noted that she was hesitant to sign a release form that would allow the video to be aired. The family's interview was never aired due to time constraints.
He said he was asked to emphasize a series of talking points: Jackson was a good person; he'd made the accuser's family part of his own; he was a father figure to them; he was a good parent to his own children; he was misunderstood as a person and he helped the accuser overcome a bout with cancer.
Robinson described the family as "very eager" and "very happy" at the taping and said their answers were "spontaneous." He said there was no indication that they were being held against their will or being mistreated, as the prosecution alleges.
Before court was adjourned, Judge Rodney Melville ruled that the defense could not present testimony from two people about the family's alleged beating by J.C. Penney security guards. The family received a settlement of more than $150,000 in that case.
Sanger said one of the guards would have testified that the family was restrained but not beaten and that the mother even returned the next day, gave him a hug and apologized. He said a bystander would testify that the family was non-violently restrained.
Sanger told the court that the defense team had eliminated a number of witnesses from their list but he did not estimate when the defense would conclude its case. Jackson's spokeswoman,Raymone Bain, has denied reports that the defense may rest as early as next week
Court Transcript
2009 - A new video is premiered on Michael's official website showing the dancers’ auditions.
2013 - Cirque du Soleil opens the third of four nights of the Michael Jackson The Immortal International Tour performance at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama
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2014 - Michael , in hologram form, performed “Slave to the Rhythm” at the Billboard Music Awards, with a five-piece band and 16 dancers live onstage.
John Branca on the performance:

“It’s so important to experience Michael Jackson in a live setting. This is something where we wanted a live performance in front of a live audience and nothing speaks to that more than an awards show.”

https://youtu.be/jDRTghGZ7XU

LINK For PART 2 (Q&A)
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Leonard's Remarks:
So with that, let me just give you an overview of the company and what we have here. So presently, we are a development stage biopharma company, so we're not realizing revenue yet, but our goal is to get to the revenue stage as quickly as possible. So with that in mind, the very first asset that you see there is is I/ONTAK, it has a biological license application filed BLA, which is equivalent to an NDA. If it was a small molecule, this is a protein. So as a result, it's considered to be a biological drug. It's a purified reformulation of an IL2 diptheria toxin fusion. For cutaneous T cell lymphoma, which is a very rare rare cancer. That's part of something known as non-Hodgkins lymphoma, it's a type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
So we also have in phase 3, Mino-Lok, which was really our first asset that we we started the company with. And this is in phase three at the moment, we're in the process of doing everything we can to get that clinical trial completed so that once it is approved, that would be the first and only FDA approved drug to salvage infected catheters that are the cause of something known as CLABSI, or central line associated bloodstream infections.
We also have in phase 2B a hemorrhoid drug, which was a legacy drug that we acquired when we merged in with with Citius back a number of years ago. And this one has, again does have the potential to be the first and only FDA approved prescription treatment for the treatment of hemorrhoids. What's interesting in the 21st century, there isn't a single prescription drug approved by the FDA for the treatment of hemorrhoids. You have the over the counter side of the market, which has preparation-H products of that type, which comport to the to the the over the counter monograph. But on the prescription side, there's nothing there and it's a giant market with lots of opportunities.
So the other assets that we have are all preclinical assets. I'm not going to describe those at the moment because we're really not spending hardly any money or time. Our emphasis is on, really it's on Mino-Lok and I/ONTAK for the most part plus, we spent a smaller amount of funds on the Halo-Lido drug.
These are the market opportunities here are substantial. The CTCL market even though it's a rare disease market, it's at this point about $300-$400m and has been growing with each new entry that's come in that market has shown the potential to take on the entry and, and grow with each new entry. The CLABSI/CRBSI market, there's nothing there at the moment. We're estimating that that market is half of it is in the US 900 million, and the rest of it is outside the US where that problem is a lot worse. The prescription hemorrhoid market, it could be $2B, it could be $10B for anybody knows what would happen once something like this gets gets approved.
So we've had some major cattle catalysts and 2023 that are occurring. The most important catalyst for us right now is, is getting an approval from the FDA. So for I/ONTAK, that decision date on that is July 28. The FDA has given us what's known as a PDUFA date. And so that's the date by which they come back to you and they give you an indication of where your application is in terms of approval, or other modifications to your work.
We, in 2023, we will be completing the phase 3 trial for Mino-Lok. We're not targeting a date, it's somewhere in the course of this year. The Halo-Lido of phase 2b trial is last patient is already in, everything's being calculated for a top line data readout, which we're targeting the end of June.
So in terms of financial profile, as of 3/31, which we just recently released, the company has $29 million cash. We also raised capital, we did a $15 million raise, which would be added to that. And something that really separates us out probably from everybody else in this market. And that is that we put our own money on the line here. So this is not money for stock options or anything like that. We invested directly side by side as we did our raises. So I have $22.5 million invested. Myron Holubiak, co-founder and Vice-chair of the company has $4 million invested in the company.
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So I call this our mugshots. So basically, this is the team. I'm not going to describe my background because I think everybody's heard enough of it. But I've been in the industry for a fair number of years. My background is a combination of working at midsize to large size Pharma. And then ultimately, I went the entrepreneurial route and formed my own company with with successful exits.
Myron Holubiak, who's our vice chair and co founder, spent the bulk of his career at Hoffman LaRoche left there after he rose to become vice president of marketing. He really launched all the major antibiotics for them and went off form his own company and then sold his company at Dunn and Bradstreet when he was running that unit for DNB. Roche called him and asked him to come back to the company as as president of Roche Labs us which he served in for a number of years before he and I got together formed, formed our company.
So I'm not going to highlight everybody, let me just tell you a little bit about Dr. Myron Czuczman, who we brought on board of just about two years ago, probably. So Myron's background is really impressive. He's an oncologist. He spent 23 years in practice at Roswell Park and Buffalo where his expertise was he was the chief of lymphoma myeloma. He published over 180 papers while he was there, so he's really considered to be a true KOL or key opinion leader. He then left academia and joined Celgene where he was vice president of Global Research for for lymphoma myeloma as well. When they were acquired by Bristol Myers. He no longer was interested in being being part of a large company prefer to work on a smaller company where he thought there was significant potential so he came on board with us.
So I also like to draw your attention to Kelly Creighton, who's our VP of manufacturing, CMC. Kelly has probably worked on more filings related to the manufacturing side than just about anybody. We we took him out of Clinipace, which was a consulting company that we were working with. And he came on board with us, along with Katherine Kessler, who's EVP of Regulatory Affairs she was with Clinipace as well and has a strong background on the on the Regulatory Affairs side. Nick Burlew also is our EVP of Quality Assurance and great experience with Clinipace, has great knowledge there. So we have a, we have a great team of people on board, I would like to highlight for you that at this point, we're at about 21 people in a company. We have no interns, no training programs, every person in the company is a professional and highly experienced in their field.
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So the milestones that, that we have ahead of us here, as, as you can see, we've indicated the July 28, date and the importance of that. With respect to to Mino-Lok, the Mino-Lok trial, as you'll hear shortly, is an event driven trial. And we are at 85 to 90 out of 92 required events. So we're, we're very close at this point, we're within probably within 10 percentage points of getting there. So we're keeping our fingers crossed, we've expanded that trial to India to really bring it across the finish line as quickly as we can. The Halo-Lido trial, that's completed, it's just going through calculations now. Putting all the data together. So we'll see, hopefully, we'll see. We'll see results on that shortly before before this quarter is over.
So as I indicated to you before, we've got $29 million cash as of 3/31. $15 million through the registered direct offering that just took place a little while ago. That offering I should highlight for you is something that I know that I've made comments before about the fact that I don't want to dilute the company I am I have as much a stake as, as everybody else. I'm the single largest shareholder in the company at the moment. And, and so for me, our position and what we have as shareholders is really important to us. But also I recognize that given all the financial uncertainty that was going on, it has been going on. Nobody knows where where everything is heading, we don't know if we're gonna wake up but a month from now, and suddenly two banks have failed and there's no money out there, there's nothing. So this opportunity came up with two funds came in on that raise one for $10m, one for $5m. And I thought we would take that just to give ourselves a little bit more dry powder. So with that we have a cash runway going through May 2024.
And we're also we've indicated that the plan is to take I/ONTAK and place it into a spin off company. That would be a cancer company. We're working with the with the financial advisors, at the moment advancing that process through that really cannot take place until the process for it can't take place until I/ONTAKis approved. So after that, everything would then start to accelerate as far as that whole spin off process.
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So let me start with Mino-Lok which is the antibiotic lock solution that we we licensed from MD Anderson and why we went we liked this drug is the fact that there's nothing else in the market for at the moment. So there are 7 million, as you can see, central venous catheters inserted annually in the United States. 4 million of them are long term, and most of those long term patients that have these central venous catheters inserted are cancer patients and so this central venous catheter really becomes a lifeline for them. These patients because it, it brings nutrients and brings chemo and brings other types of therapeutics that treatment that they're gonna require. The difficulty is that somewhere around 500,000, close to 500,000 of those 4 million long-term catheters get infected. And when they get infected, the only standard of care today is is to remove that catheter and replace it, which requires two separate surgical procedures.
So what most people don't realize is that that catheter is the way it's inserted, it gets initially inserted into by the collarbone area, and it's threaded to the heart to the superior vena cava. So, if it gets infected, what occurs is that that catheter has to be it has to be removed surgically, because it was surgically implanted, and then it has to be a new site has to be found for it. A lot of times, what will happen is, the catheter will be replaced, a new catheter will be placed by the groin area and threaded back up to that superior vena cava, causing complications thrombotic and mechanical. There's a high rate of, of discomfort, adverse physical, and psychological symptoms that can arise from that. As well as there's about an 18-20% serious adverse event profile associated with remove and replace. Also, there's a cost that we're estimating maybe a little bit higher, and some places have $10,000. To do both of those procedures. And across have an overall episode of this is anywhere, depending on the hospital, $45,000 to $65,000, it's a very serious issue. When that catheter gets gets infected for these patients, some of these patients can actually die as a result of having an infected catheter.
So what we have is, it's as you saw before, it's, it's it's simple to, to administer because the nurse will come in and inject that solution into the catheter, the catheter itself gets locked. So the solution does not go into man, it does not enter into the human body at all. So the catheter gets locked. It's the solution stays there for up to two hours. At the end of two hours, a nurse will come in aspirate out the contacts and flush the line and a patient then has 22 hours of uninterrupted IV flow, which is really critical.
One of the challenges that that the inventor had of this, his name is Dr. Issam Raad out of MD Anderson, was going to come up with something that could be administered in a short short period of time and not compromise the IV flow. So he finally hit it with that special combination of three ingredients, namely an antibiotic minocycline, sodium EDTA as a chelating agent and alcohol. So once that was done once he figured all that out, and he ran his tests, he found that this was the solution that really, really worked well and nobody had been able to do before and he filed a patent for it and ultimately, we licensed this technology from MD Anderson. So we ourselves, myself and Myron, we had a private company at this point and we funded all the phase 2B work to get that completed. And the phase 2B trials you can see the data here, it was a comparison of the Mino-Lok treatment arm to a remove and replace arm and all types of cancers whether they were solid tumors or blood cancers, gut bacteria, that was gram positive gram negative, all this was was included in that trial. And as you can see here, we had 100% effectiveness in the sense that we had no side effects, no complications, nothing no serious adverse events related to to this as opposed to about an overall adverse event profile 18% for the remove & replace arm.
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So with that what we did, we went to the FDA, we submitted our data. After a period of time we worked out a protocol with them the protocol was to compare the Mino-Lok solution to what I call a homebrew and that is, it's a solution at the hospital mixes up and what what happens in certain cases, when a patient, they're not able to do a remove and replace because there are no more access points left, they will try a mixing their own antibiotic mixture to see if they can't salvage that catheter. So that's the comparison arm that we have here. The endpoint is, is it's time to catheter failure, which is the event, it's a failure event. So the trial lasts about six weeks, and then basically, we analyze the data after that, to that point. So we have clinical sites, but we started here in the US. And the reality of it is that we would have been done, this trial would have been complete and over and we would have been approved by now in all likelihood, if it hadn't been for COVID, COVID came along, and it really stopped us in our tracks.
The reason being is because most of the trial was administered in hospitals, and I don't have to tell any of you what happened in hospitals over this three year period. Nobody was getting into the hospitals, nobody. So that included anybody doing clinical research or, or anything like that. So. So consequently, what we decided to do is is to, after examining our alternatives to go to India, where this problem is significant, and we'll be finishing up the trial, even though we still will start getting some data in from here on the US side, but the bulk of the data that remains is going to be coming out of out of India.
So what we like about this drug also is the fact that the FDA was was really impressed with this. And they recommended that we offer something called QIDP or Qualified Infectious Disease Product. It's a special status that's given to just for antibiotics only where that are considered to be breakthrough. And the review time for when you file your new drug application is reduced from 12 to six months. So most people probably don't realize this. But when you have a drug and you submit your approval, just like we did on the BLA for I/ONTAK, that that review time is 12 months normally. And here with this because again, they consider these to be breakthroughs, they want to get them on the market quickly, they reduced the review time to in half to six months, most critically and which which we really liked about this is that we get five additional years of market exclusivity.
So here, what happens is, most most drugs, when they're approved, they'll get three years three to five years, depending of market exclusivity under the Hatch-Waxman Act. With this, this adds another five years on top. So this means that no one no generic, nobody can come in, you can't get hit with something known as Paragraph 4 or anything like that. You have regulatory exclusivity is but the best way I can describe it. So we'll have somewhere between nine and 10 years is our estimate, once this is approved, and that that is that's going to give this it'll give the drug a lot of value at that point in the marketplace. We also have fast track, and also supplementary protection in in Europe where we get patent protection extended for up to five years.
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So with that, I'll move into into I/ONTAK or E7777 we have various nomenclatures for this, this drug has has some history to it. In a sense that will be our history. And that is that we acquired this the license to this from from Dr. Reddy Laboratories and it was an Eisai license. So we had a license with with Eisai Pharmaceuticals, a big Japanese company that that acquired this drug a number of years ago from Ligand. Ligand was the original developer, and we closed the transaction towards the end of September '21.
We were very confident about this drug because of the fact that number one, it was on its very last patient when we completed that license when we acquired that license. So we knew that this was heading towards the best completion and we would be BLA viable as you can see, last patient it was December '21. September of '22, we submitted the BLA and the FDA has 60 days to respond. They came back in November told us we had a July 28 PDUFA date. So those, those are the standards that timeline as you see here. So we expect that our launch will take place somewhere in '24.
So what is cutaneous T cell lymphoma? It's a disease that starts out really as a dermatological disorder. So a lot of times, as you can see, it's at when it's in a plaque stage. Most of the time, that dermatologist is treating this with a variety of different topicals, mostly, and may include photo-therapy as well. And it's more prevalent in men and women and usually appears in patients in their 50s and 60s, as I indicated before, as a part of something known as non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which covers about 80, some other lymphomas, for those of you that are curious about that. So when this drug, when the disease itself moves into the tumor phase, that's when it will become the province of the oncologist.
So, the history here is this prior to us, and I should we should explain this to the prior to our getting the license. What happened here was Eisai was the one that acquired it from Ligand. It got approved, it was on the market for three years. And what happened was that as part of their the approval from the FDA, the company as a Phase 4 requirement was required to reformulate the drug. And they had to remove some unfolded proteins. There was no there were no side effect issues or anything like that. And this drug is very hard to make. And the company had at that point, a low amount of inventory. So they decided to they had to make a choice either they kept selling it and could do nothing with it or they had to pull the drug off the market so they could use the inventory to do the reformulation work. When a they took the drug off the market, they reformulated the drug.
They came back to the agency, the FDA said, thank you very much. But you have a new drug here. And so you got to you got to do another phase 3 trial for this, which is what they did so. And that phase 3 trial was difficult to complete, they started somewhere in 2014, it took all this time to return for a very low number of patients. COVID didn't help either. In terms of situation. So here we are, and in 2023, just about nine years later, and this drug is getting finally approved. So put the history on it, it will work in our in our favor. It's an orphan indication, small market. What we like about it is that the prescriber base is really small, they're only about 5000 oncologists in the whole entire United States. And out of that the number of prescribers for this are even smaller, we think there's we do have some good protection here in terms of as far as market exclusivity and it is a very complex manufacturing process and expensive to initiate.
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So, the upside potential here is that we can expand this indication ultimately into something known as peripheral T-cell lymphoma, which is a larger indication, and we can we we already have something known as investigator initiated trials with using our drug combined with with the Keytruda and also with with CAR-T. So, so the mechanism of action we have is, is differentiated from from anybody in the marketplace. The drug itself targets malignant cells by binding to IL2 receptors to deliver the diptheria toxin killing the tumor cells directly, it eliminates immunosuppressive T regs by reducing them subsequently enhancing anti-tumor immunity.
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So, there is competition in that market. As you can see, Seagen has the has the leading product in the market called Adcetris. To Kyowa Kirin, which is a Japanese company has Potilegeo so these two drugs, Bristol Myers has more or less backed off this drug because they had other larger priorities. So the two primary competitors are Seagen and Kyowa Kirin. And we think we have advantages against them. But at the same time, what we know in terms of our surveying of the market, and we've seen how, how these drugs behave when they were introduced.
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So this market segment when when ONTAK had it to itself was about a $30 million segment. So as each entry came in, it added to the overall size of the market. So the market right now is $300-$400m split among these, these entities. So we, we think there are some really good good growth drivers here, we think we can penetrate this market with a small number of sales books, most of the most likely will be using medical service liaison reps. We like the fact that it's an add on type of market that basically will be added to the existing treatments that are in that market.
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So the clinical trial that I spoke about, actually, it was that there was a lead-in study of 21 patients. And then the main study itself was 71 patients. With stage one through four CTCL. We had we submitted the data to the FDA.
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And as you can see here, we had an overall objective response rate of 36.2%. Nearly half the patients on the trial experienced a complete or partial response and or stabilize their their disease.
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So what also was a plus here is that the skin burden itself was reduced as far as in about 1/3 of the patients and also we had a rapid response time to the patients that were on a trial that got so 1.4 months and a durable response meaning that the disease was controlled among patients who responded for 6.5 months. There were no new safety signals. What I should also point out before I get into that is what everybody should be aware of is that none of these entities cure. So all that the oncologist is trying to do is extend that patient's lifespan.
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So the low we had no evidence of cumulative toxicity was very low grade in terms of low and low numbers of side effects. As you can see here, capillary leak syndrome being the highest one at 5.8%. And an infusion reaction, which you will see most of the time, once this has been infused, you'll see that in any drug study.
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So as I indicated before, that the upside potential here is as PTCL, but that PTCL indication has already been approved in Japan. By Esai. And we would require a clinical trial to get to to expand that potential, we're going to be examining that but but also we have these two investigator initiated trials with I/ONTAK combined with Keytruda, or I/ONTAK combined with CAR-T cell therapy.
So what what's happening give me an example here in the University of Pittsburgh trial, which is the the Keytruda. One, what the investigators looking at is he's taking the Keytruda failures, those that have failed on teachers is not CTCL, it's, it can be any indication that they're studying. And the patients that have failed on it are also administered ion tack, to see if there's been any material benefit as a result. So I can't predict what the outcome of this is. So we're, we're supporting that study. And those two studies. And if, if there is any sign of any positive activity, the plan would be then to to expand that trial to other centers around the country.
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So with that, I'd like to move into Halo-Lido, which is, for those of you that don't know the history of this, we this drug came to us really it's a legacy drug. We were private, we merged in with Citius, which was public, this, this drug was inside of Citius at the time. We almost didn't keep it but then after looking at what what the market itself looked like, we decided to go ahead with it. Ultimately, we wound up with a formulation that is a very high potency steroid, known as Halobetasol combined with with Lidocaine.
So we've had where we formulated a drug, we're getting a patent on it, we've applied for patent protection on it because it has a unique delivery system. And the phase 2B trial has been completed. So it's undergoing now all the statistical gathering of everything and calculating everything it was 300 patients five arms. The primary endpoint was a reduction in hemorrhoids symptoms. We used a Self-reporting Questionnaire where the patients had or subjects had either a laptop or not a laptop, or an iPad, or their cell phone, which they could enter in a daily data daily as they completed the trial.
So we're expecting that top line data read out at the end of this half. But as I indicated before, the potential here is tremendous. Because there are more than 10 million patient visits probably, or thereabouts in the United States for this and the only thing that's available for these patients are some older drugs or a combination of lidocaine and hydrocortisone, which is which is a very weak steroid.
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So with that, let me summarize. And indicators show you basically here the the catalysts that we see on the horizon. I've indicated these before. So the first one up will be the Halo-Lido trial at the end of targeted for the end of June. The Mino-Lok phase three completion is here, we're not going to predict any date for you here, except that we're shooting for 2023. We'll have the spin off in a standalone oncology company, as well as that PDUFA date of 7/28, which is really important for the company.
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In terms of the financial profile. The overview of the company is that presently, we have 146.2 million shares outstanding. But I'm looking at the wrong chart, we have 158.8 million shares outstanding. And with that fully diluted 219 million shares outstanding. As I indicated before $29 million cash plus the $15 million that we raised along with the fact that our own money is in, myself and Martin Holubiak are significant shareholders in a company. So with that, I'll open the floor now or for some questions.