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November 19, 2003
DA built case against performer in 1990s
By RHONDA PARKS MANVILLE
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Tom Sneddon
He's become known as perhaps the only law enforcement officer in the country to have a pop star pen a song about him.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, who tried and failed to bring charges against Michael Jackson 10 years ago, is once again pursuing the reclusive singer, whose Santa Ynez Valley home, zoo and amusement park were swarming with criminal investigators on Tuesday.
"He's tenacious — a prosecutor through and through," said Santa Barbara defense attorney Steve Balash.
During his tenure, Mr. Sneddon — nicknamed "mad dog" early in his career — never shied away from controversial cases. He prosecuted former UCSB chancellor Robert Huttenback on embezzlement and tax fraud charges in the late 1980s, and got around Israel's extradition laws by going to the Holy Land in 1991 to help prosecutors there convict two Israeli hit men who shot and killed a couple in their Montecito home.
The hard-nosed, bespectacled district attorney spent more than a year building a case against Mr. Jackson, based on allegations of sexual misconduct made by three boys in 1993. But the case fell apart at the end when the 13-year-old key witness accepted a multimillion settlement from Mr. Jackson and then declined to testify against him.
Mr. Sneddon never hid the fact that he felt the allegations were credible. He objected to the characterization of Mr. Jackson as "cleared" of the charges, saying in 1995, "The state of the investigation is in suspension until somebody comes forward."
The attempt to prosecute Mr. Jackson made Mr. Sneddon a worldwide celebrity in his own right, with tabloid reporters swarming his office in the County Courthouse and his phone ringing off the hook. The intrigue surrounding him was made even stronger by his refusal to toss sound bites into the crowd and by his tendency to avoid the media throng by slipping out side doors.
His stature as a tough law-and-order type was boosted even further when Mr. Jackson wrote a song, called "D.S.," accusing the prosecutor of being a "cold man" out to get him on the HIStory album. The singer used the name "Dom S. Sheldon" in the lyrics instead of "Thomas Sneddon," but it is the prosecutor's name that is sung, or at least it sounds like it.
Mr. Sneddon told reporters he hadn't bothered to listen to the song and couldn't care less about it.
He's not the type to brood or to mope over a trial loss, colleagues say, and if he was more than disappointed over the outcome of the first Jackson case, he never showed it.
"He is of the highest moral integrity and he is viewed that way," said Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley, who tries sex abuse cases in the office. "His directive is you have to do the right thing, even if you don't get the conviction. He's very black and white on issues of the law — you're either on one side or the other."
He can accept a loss, Ms. Dudley said, but what he can't accept is unethical behavior, laziness or sloppiness.
Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that Mr. Sneddon directed Tuesday's dramatic search of Mr. Jackson's ranch.
Mr. Sneddon did not return phone calls Tuesday and other law enforcement officials were tight-lipped about the focus of the search. But one county source told the News-Press that it dealt with another allegation of sexual molestation.
If law enforcement officials can collect enough evidence to charge the pop singer this time around, Mr. Sneddon may decide to try the case himself. He's been known to assign himself to high-profile cases once a year or so, not only to sharpen his courtroom skills, but to prove to his staff and his foes that he still can.
Mr. Sneddon is known for his commitment to assisting victims of crimes and has developed a strong victim/witness program. His office also plays a key role in the Sexual Abuse Response Team and has strong partnerships with the Rape Crisis Center and in Child Abuse Listening and Mediation (CALM), where he is credited with taking a progressive, leadership role.
If Mr. Jackson is charged and goes to trial, it could be the dramatic finale of Mr. Sneddon's 35-year legal career. After being elected six times, he said this term would be his last, ending in 2006.
Once Mr. Sneddon retires as chief prosecutor, his life will take on a slower pace. Instead of overseeing a staff of 245, including 50 lawyers, he plans to golf and play softball — he's been coaching youth sports for years. And wants to do pro bono work with troubled youth.
LYRICS FOR "D.S."
Michael Jackson wrote "D.S." for HIStory: Past, Present And Future Book 1, released in 1995. The "Dom S. Sheldon" in the song was widely interpreted as an attack on Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon, who investigated the pop star in connection with allegations of sexual molestation in 1993-1994:
They wanna get my ass
Dead or alive
You know he really tried to take me
Down by surprise I bet he missioned with the CIA
He don't do half what he say
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
He out shock in every single way
He'll stop at nothing just to get his political say
He think he bad cause he's BSTA
I bet he never had a social life anyway
You think he brother with the KKK?
I know his mother never taught him right anyway
He want your vote just to remain TA.
He don't do half what he say
Dom Sheldon is a cold man ...
(repeat line 7 times)
Does he send letters to the FBI?
Did he say to either do it or die?
Dom Sheldon is a cold man ...
(repeat line 8 times)
— Lyrics from lyricsdomain.com
article index »
© Copyright 2003 Santa Barbara News-Press
DA built case against performer in 1990s
By RHONDA PARKS MANVILLE
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Tom Sneddon
He's become known as perhaps the only law enforcement officer in the country to have a pop star pen a song about him.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, who tried and failed to bring charges against Michael Jackson 10 years ago, is once again pursuing the reclusive singer, whose Santa Ynez Valley home, zoo and amusement park were swarming with criminal investigators on Tuesday.
"He's tenacious — a prosecutor through and through," said Santa Barbara defense attorney Steve Balash.
During his tenure, Mr. Sneddon — nicknamed "mad dog" early in his career — never shied away from controversial cases. He prosecuted former UCSB chancellor Robert Huttenback on embezzlement and tax fraud charges in the late 1980s, and got around Israel's extradition laws by going to the Holy Land in 1991 to help prosecutors there convict two Israeli hit men who shot and killed a couple in their Montecito home.
The hard-nosed, bespectacled district attorney spent more than a year building a case against Mr. Jackson, based on allegations of sexual misconduct made by three boys in 1993. But the case fell apart at the end when the 13-year-old key witness accepted a multimillion settlement from Mr. Jackson and then declined to testify against him.
Mr. Sneddon never hid the fact that he felt the allegations were credible. He objected to the characterization of Mr. Jackson as "cleared" of the charges, saying in 1995, "The state of the investigation is in suspension until somebody comes forward."
The attempt to prosecute Mr. Jackson made Mr. Sneddon a worldwide celebrity in his own right, with tabloid reporters swarming his office in the County Courthouse and his phone ringing off the hook. The intrigue surrounding him was made even stronger by his refusal to toss sound bites into the crowd and by his tendency to avoid the media throng by slipping out side doors.
His stature as a tough law-and-order type was boosted even further when Mr. Jackson wrote a song, called "D.S.," accusing the prosecutor of being a "cold man" out to get him on the HIStory album. The singer used the name "Dom S. Sheldon" in the lyrics instead of "Thomas Sneddon," but it is the prosecutor's name that is sung, or at least it sounds like it.
Mr. Sneddon told reporters he hadn't bothered to listen to the song and couldn't care less about it.
He's not the type to brood or to mope over a trial loss, colleagues say, and if he was more than disappointed over the outcome of the first Jackson case, he never showed it.
"He is of the highest moral integrity and he is viewed that way," said Senior Deputy District Attorney Joyce Dudley, who tries sex abuse cases in the office. "His directive is you have to do the right thing, even if you don't get the conviction. He's very black and white on issues of the law — you're either on one side or the other."
He can accept a loss, Ms. Dudley said, but what he can't accept is unethical behavior, laziness or sloppiness.
Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that Mr. Sneddon directed Tuesday's dramatic search of Mr. Jackson's ranch.
Mr. Sneddon did not return phone calls Tuesday and other law enforcement officials were tight-lipped about the focus of the search. But one county source told the News-Press that it dealt with another allegation of sexual molestation.
If law enforcement officials can collect enough evidence to charge the pop singer this time around, Mr. Sneddon may decide to try the case himself. He's been known to assign himself to high-profile cases once a year or so, not only to sharpen his courtroom skills, but to prove to his staff and his foes that he still can.
Mr. Sneddon is known for his commitment to assisting victims of crimes and has developed a strong victim/witness program. His office also plays a key role in the Sexual Abuse Response Team and has strong partnerships with the Rape Crisis Center and in Child Abuse Listening and Mediation (CALM), where he is credited with taking a progressive, leadership role.
If Mr. Jackson is charged and goes to trial, it could be the dramatic finale of Mr. Sneddon's 35-year legal career. After being elected six times, he said this term would be his last, ending in 2006.
Once Mr. Sneddon retires as chief prosecutor, his life will take on a slower pace. Instead of overseeing a staff of 245, including 50 lawyers, he plans to golf and play softball — he's been coaching youth sports for years. And wants to do pro bono work with troubled youth.
LYRICS FOR "D.S."
Michael Jackson wrote "D.S." for HIStory: Past, Present And Future Book 1, released in 1995. The "Dom S. Sheldon" in the song was widely interpreted as an attack on Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon, who investigated the pop star in connection with allegations of sexual molestation in 1993-1994:
They wanna get my ass
Dead or alive
You know he really tried to take me
Down by surprise I bet he missioned with the CIA
He don't do half what he say
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
Dom Sheldon is a cold man
He out shock in every single way
He'll stop at nothing just to get his political say
He think he bad cause he's BSTA
I bet he never had a social life anyway
You think he brother with the KKK?
I know his mother never taught him right anyway
He want your vote just to remain TA.
He don't do half what he say
Dom Sheldon is a cold man ...
(repeat line 7 times)
Does he send letters to the FBI?
Did he say to either do it or die?
Dom Sheldon is a cold man ...
(repeat line 8 times)
— Lyrics from lyricsdomain.com
article index »
© Copyright 2003 Santa Barbara News-Press