Private investigators have always been surrounded by an addictive dose of mystery. Usually, you imagine them wearing a trench coat and a hat that falls down over their eyes, as they were depicted in the old noir movies. Their charm stemmed from the fact that they knew everything about you, your loved ones and your enemies.
 
Such a mysterious figure is Anthony Pellicano, also dubbed “the sin eater”. He is the one you go to if you need private information about your former girlfriend or boyfriend, possible business partners or Hollywood celebrities.
Anthony Pellicano is of Sicilian origin and is infamous for being very abrupt with the information he holds on people. He assured Chris Rock, for instance, that his career was safe, as he won’t let anything happen with it.

Pellicano’s methods are usually on the brim of legality, and some are even placed outside the law. For instance, the Sicilian sleuth was sentenced to 15 years in jail just today. The reasons included illegally wiretapping people, on orders from his famous and infamous clients, but also bribing police officers and a wide range of public officials in order to obtain precious information. In addition, he was also found guilty earlier this year for no less than 78 charges, in two different trials. In those instances, the charges included wiretapping, racketeering and wire fraud, for which he was ordered to pay a fine of $2 millions.

In the prosecutors’ words, Pellicano is a “well-connected thug who ran a lucrative business by charging clients a nonrefundable retainer fee that started at $25,000 and could reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.” He will be eligible for parole in 2018, the earliest.