Opening arguments in the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping and racketeering trial are set to begin Thursday, with a jury already selected and the list of more than 120 potential witnesses bearing several prominent Hollywood names.

The trial for onetime private investigator Anthony Pellicano has been delayed a number of times but there’s no stopping the rolling ball this time around.

The jurors were selected Wednesday in a downtown Los Angeles federal courthouse and opening statements commence Thursday. The federal trial of Pellicano and four co-defendants is expected to last between 8 and 10 weeks.

Pellicano, once a must-hire private investigator in Hollywood, known for his expertise in solving difficult cases and helping his clients in their civil lawsuits and even criminal charges by uncovering existing “dirt” in their opponents’ lives, has been exposed as a man that is not shy of illegality in order to reach his goals.

A federal investigation began six years ago into Pellicano’s activity and it was soon found that it was largely illegal. He resorted to wiretapping and bribery of law-enforcement officials, telephone company employees and others. He now stands trial for racketeering, fraud and conspiracy.

Celebrities and powerful Hollywood figures were among his clients, including Paramount Pictures boss Brad Grey, former talent agent Michael Ovitz, attorney Bert Fields and billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian.

The witness list released by the prosecution names the above four, as well as Universal Studios chief Ronald Meyer, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, Sylvester Stallone, celebrity divorce lawyer Dennis Wasser, Farrah Fawcett, Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane of the Creative Artists Agency and others, according to media reports.

The four co-defendants are a former Los Angeles police detective Sgt. Mark Arneson, two phone company employees, Rayford Earl Turner and Kevin Kachikian and a former client by the name of Abner Nicherie. Along with Pellicano, they are accused of wiretapping and illegally accessing the information of more than 100 people.

Pellicano and the other four have pleaded not guilty.

Pellicano was sentenced to jail time in 2003 after pleading guilty to possession of illegal weapons; he was released from prison in 2006 and then indicted on the wiretapping charges. He remains in federal custody.