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Updated April 27, 2005, 10:40 a.m. ET

Travel agent: Jackson aide wanted accuser's family sent to Brazil
Michael Jackson, seen Tuesday, says he is the victim of a greedy family who took advantage of his hospitality.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. — A one-way ticket to Brazil was what Michael Jackson's aide had in mind for the singer's accuser and his family, a travel consultant testified Tuesday.

Cynthia Montgomery said she was given less than a week's notice by Jackson aide Marc Schaffel to book four one-way tickets to Sao Paolo for the 13-year-old cancer survivor, whom Jackson is accused of sexually molesting, as well as his two siblings and their mother.

"Is it possible for a U.S. citizen to enter Brazil with a one-way ticket?" prosecutor Mag Nicola asked the witness.

"No, it's not," Montgomery said, explaining that she took the initiative of booking an arbitrary return date.


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"Assuming they made that flight that left on March 1, 2003, was there any requirement for them to make that return flight?" Nicola asked.

"No," she said.

Montgomery's testimony appeared to support the prosecution's theory that Jackson and his unindicted aides conspired to falsely imprison the family at Neverland in February and March 2003, eventually hoping to spirit them away to a far-off locale after a damaging TV documentary showed Jackson holding hands with his accuser.

But the trip to Brazil never took place, and the four coach-class tickets, priced at $15,000, were never purchased, according to Montgomery. Schaffel called her back, she said, informing her there was a "change of plans."

The accuser's mother previously testified that, after she was forced to apply for passports, purchase luggage, and get her legs waxed — all while under surveillance and false imprisonment — she finally escaped Jackson's clutches with her kids and the Sao Paulo flight to obscurity was foiled.

In addition to the false imprisonment charges, Jackson is also charged with sexually molesting the boy and plying him with alcohol as a means to commit the felonious acts.

Jackson maintains he is the victim of a greedy family that took advantage of his generosity.

Drinking on board

Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau attempted to distance Jackson from Schaffel, alluding to a lawsuit and falling-out between the two men. Montgomery admitted that she never spoke about the Brazil travel arrangements with Jackson. She also said that 99 percent of the time, she received travel requests through Jackson's personal assistant Evvy Tavascio.

Montgomery, a travel consultant to musicians and entertainers for 21 years, said she first met Jackson through Schaffel, with whom she was close friends until Nov. 20, 2003. That's the date Jackson and his former attorney Mark Geragos were surreptitiously videotaped on a private jet from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara and efforts were made to sell the tape for money.

Montgomery, who booked the jet, is currently being investigated by the FBI.

Montgomery was allowed to testify under "use immunity," meaning that the federal government could not use her testimony against her in its investigation.

Mesereau pointed out that Montgomery, like many of the state's witnesses, is currently involved in a lawsuit against Jackson. She claims Jackson owes her $50,000 for the cost of the chartered jet he was on when he was secretly taped.

Jackson and Geragos, in turn, are suing Montgomery for invasion of privacy.

"You're aware if Mr. Jackson is convicted in this case, you would have an easier time winning your suit, wouldn't you?" Mesereau asked.

"No, I would not," Montgomery replied indignantly.

Mesereau had less success in trying to counter Montgomery's claim about Jackson's drinking habits on his private flights.

Montgomery testified that she was responsible for catering his jaunts, and she identified a 2003 invoice including, among other items, $725 worth of bagels, lox, fruit, egg salad and Orange Crush in bottles for a February 2003 Gulfstream flight from Boca Raton to Los Angeles.

Jackson, she said, also had unwritten instructions about how he liked his wine served.

A flight attendant, Montgomery said, relayed to her in no uncertain terms that Jackson "had requested that his wine be put into soda cans."

Prosecutors say that Jackson gave his accuser wine in a soda can during a private flight from Miami to Los Angeles.

The accuser and his mother both testified that Jackson once told the boy — who had only one kidney because of his medical condition — that the wine was "Jesus Juice" that would aid his ills.

But Montgomery's testimony conflicted with that of another stewardess, Cynthia Bell, who was on the Miami flight and asserted that it was her idea to put Jackson's wine in a Diet Coke can because she knew he was a "private drinker."

Montgomery insisted that the idea was Jackson's alone.

The making of the rebuttal video

Jurors also heard from Jackson's former personal director of photography, Hamid Moslehi.

From 1996 to 2003, Moslehi was hired to document Jackson's life, from birthdays and family picnics to tours and special events at Neverland.

He was also given the task of filming interviews with the accuser and his family, which were intended to be part of a rebuttal film to the controversial Martin Bashir documentary, "Living with Michael Jackson."

He said that Schaffel made the odd request of filming the accuser's video interviews at Moslehi's house.

"Marc didn't want the family to know where he lived," Moslehi explained.

He also testified that he was surprised to see private investigator Brad Miller, who worked for Jackson on behalf of attorney Geragos, present among the half-dozen or so crew and aides de camp who came to his house for the filming.

Jackson was not present.

At one point in his testimony, Moslehi confirmed the prosecution's contention that the accuser and his siblings were being targeted by Jackson's security as Neverland captives.

He said when he drove the children from Neverland to his home, he was at first rebuffed by Jackson's ranch manager Joe Marcus, who said the kids were not allowed to leave the property.

A former Neverland security guard previously testified that, around the same time, he saw instructions scribbled on a grease board that the accuser and his family were barred from leaving the property.

Moslehi also corroborated the accuser's mother's claim that she was reluctant to do the rebuttal video.

"I believe at the beginning she was not happy," he told jurors. "She said her life had been turned upside down because of the media and press following her and the last thing she wanted to do was another video exposing herself."

Moslehi told jurors that he too is currently involved in a lawsuit against Jackson, who he says owes him approximately $250,000 in fees and expenses, as well as a percentage of the profits from the rebuttal film, which was subtitled, "The Footage You Were Never Meant to See."

Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe was featured in that documentary and is expected to take the stand Wednesday.

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