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Today's NY Times nudges the Anthony Pellicano Wiretapping Trial of the Century incrementally closer to embattled Paramount emperor Brad Grey's doorstep, reporting that when the studio chief told the FBI that he was "casually acquainted" with the "colorful" Pellicano, he probably meant something slightly cozier than just nodding a "What's up?" to the detective across the room at a cocktail party:

Brad Grey, Paramount's chairman, told the F.B.I. that he spoke with Anthony Pellicano about two lawsuits in which Mr. Pellicano, a private detective, was working on Mr. Grey's behalf, and that he learned information about his legal opponents directly from Mr. Pellicano. A former employee of Mr. Pellicano, who was charged in February with wiretapping and conspiracy, separately told the F.B.I. that Mr. Grey had met with the detective at least five times.

Publicly, Mr. Grey has said that he was only "casually acquainted" with Mr. Pellicano, and that his lawyers were responsible for hiring and overseeing the detective.

Unsurprisingly, Grey's attorneys have already rebutted in the LA Times, intoning their "Why is everyone so whooped up? Brad's only a witness!" mantra, and assuring that there is no inconsistency between Grey's "I hardly know the guy! Who are we talking about again?" and "We had lunch five times" accounts because of Grey's waiving of his attorney-client privilege in his second FBI interview. They're already drafting a clarifying statement for the next round of revelations, in which Grey will admit that even though Pellicano tried to hand him a manila envelope marked ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING TRANSCRIPTS OF YOUR ENEMIES' PHONECALLS at one of their sitdowns, the thoroughly scrupulous then-manager slapped the private detective with his open palm, then stormed out of the deserted parking structure screaming, "I have never seen this man before in my life!"