LOS ANGELES - Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano said Tuesday he won't apologize to the people he snooped on for his rich and famous clients but he does takes responsibility for the investigative tactics that brought him a 15-year prison sentence.
In a phone interview from federal prison with The Associated Press, a cordial and relaxed Pellicano said he wasn't surprised by the sentence he received Monday from U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer.
The 64-year-old said he got careless while spying on the rivals of his clients.
"I got a little careless, I regret that strongly," Pellicano said. "Do I make apologies? No. I'm responsible for everything I've done."
Prosecutors said the private eye ran a criminal enterprise that wiretapped stars such as Sylvester Stallone and bribed police officers to run names of people including comedian Garry Shandling through law enforcement databases.
Pellicano was convicted of a combined 78 counts, including wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud, in two separate trials earlier this year.
Pellicano built a reputation as an investigator who could find information that others couldn't. His clients included comedian Chris Rock, high-powered entertainment lawyer Bertram Fields, superagent Michael Ovitz and one-time talent manager and now Paramount studio head Brad Grey.
None of the four were charged in the case. Each said he didn't know about Pellicano's tactics.
While acknowledging he was known to "bend the law," Pellicano asserted he was like any other private investigator when it came to poking into people's lives.
"When you investigate someone, you intrude into their lives," said Pellicano, noting that he was a licensed private detective. "My practices are no different than others'. I was just better at it."
