For what it's worth, here's Friedman's latest Jacko "scoop":

"Jacko Back in NYC
Friday, March 24, 2006
By Roger Friedman

Michael Jackson is back in the USA. In fact, he's back in New York City.

Jackson sneaked back here on Wednesday, according to my sources. The purpose was to give a deposition in the $48 million lawsuit filed against him by Prescient Partners, aka Darien Dash, cousin of hip-hop entrepreneur Damon Dash.

The Prescient case is a typical Jackson dilemma: the pop singer or someone representing him — possibly his brother Randy — signed an agreement that if Prescient could find him financing to buy out his Bank of America loans, Jackson would pay them a 9 percent fee.

Prescient claims it found over $500 million in financing from Fortress Investments. Now Dash wants his money.

Jackson has other pressing financial problems at the moment which brought him back to the United States from Bahrain. Fortress could foreclose on him at any time on $270 million in loans.

Sony Music, Jackson's partner in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, is trying to buy the loans from Fortress with help from Citigroup. The latter is asking for a small piece of Jackson’s holdings in order to do this. Fortress, my sources say, won’t give up, and wants a 20 percent piece of Jackson’s pie.

Then, of course, there are the problems in California, most notably the closing down of Neverland. Jackson still has fines to pay to the Department of Labor. And if he ever wants to have a staff there again, he has to get a workmen’s compensation policy.

And where is Jackson exactly? Sources say the Four Seasons Hotel is his likely crib of choice, although he's also used the Palace on Madison Avenue. Paparazzi, start your engines!"

http://www.foxnews.com/st...76,00.html

Hard to believe MJ could come and go unnoticed like that, but maybe he's got a darn good disguise or something?!
[Edited 3/26/06 0:47am]

So I guess this means that damn charity single is never coming out?

CuntOMatic said:

It'll probably be on his next album.

More likely he would tape a deposition and send it over. If he were a witness during a trial he would show up, but for a deposition? Doubt it.

oh lord, i work right by the four seasons... and i do not want to have to deal with mj fans and paparazzi before i have my coffee

he is back in the US!!! Hide your kids!!!!

avasdad said:

so,I guess this is how the rest of his career is gonna be like...

***endless lawsuits
***embarassing financial problems
***no new music
***no concert tours

DavidEye said:

He's allready given 36 years of music and concert tours to us. He's done enough. Anything from now on is just a bonus. In fact, anything from Thriller on was a bonus. He could've stopped at Thriller but chose to treat his fans to 4 more studio albums and 3 huge world tours.

Wow maybe he'll come to the MJ vs. Prince party here in NYC tomorrow...

DarlingDiana said:

Now that would have been something if he had stopped recording after Thriller.
Imagine if he had reached the top only to retire. With Thriller under his belt & holding the Beatles catalog he could have retired as a performer & devoted his life to counting his money. Then every year there would have been rumours he is coming out of retirement or enormous offers of money to perform but he would brush these aside & say there is nothing for him in the record industry. He could have been the Garbo of music.

thedoorkeeper said:

So true.

Another Roger story.