There are many reasons to want to secretly tape Michael Jackson: perhaps you want to see if he can really turn into a car like in Moonwalker, or to see if he adopts Christlike poses in his day-to-day life.

Jeffrey Borer and Arvel Jett Reeves, though, had other ideas. They installed recording equipment inside Michael Jackson’s private jet to get rich from selling the footage to the media. But they buggered it up, and got caught, and have just pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy.

Everyone always wants a piece of Michael Jackson (CDs). Whether it’s PETA
claiming that he makes giraffes stand in their own blood for kicks, or
the press chasing him around just because he dresses up as a Muslim
woman now and again, or – allegedly – Jermaine Jackson writing a book
all about his kiddie-love, Michael Jackson is constantly a source of
scrutiny from the world.

And that includes Jeffrey Borer and
Arvel Jett Reeves, who have just pleaded guilty to charges of
conspiracy after they were caught trying to make a secret tape of
Michael Jackson and his lawyer in a private jet during his child
molestation court case. And they would have got away with it, too, if
only they were able to work rudimentary recording devices. The BBC
reports:

According to the plea agreement, Borer instructed Reeves
to buy and install the devices. Borer intended "to sell these
recordings to the media for a large sum of money", it said. Reeves bought video and audio equipment and, with an
unindicted suspect, secretly installed the equipment in the cabin of
the aircraft. But he was unable to use the remote microphones he had
purchased because he did not have the proper connectors, so the two
recordings were made without sound.

Obviously,
without sound, Jeffrey Borer and Arvel Jett Reeves were unable to get
the footage they wished for, presumably that of Michael Jackson and his
lawyer going, "Phew, I can’t believe we got away with that!" which put something of a spanner in their plans.

Jeffrey
Borer – who owned XtraJet, which flew the plane Michael Jackson
chartered, and Arvel Jett Reeves – who owned maintenance service
company Executive Aviation, both face up to five years in prison and
will be sentenced on July 12.

Read more:

Guilty plea over Jackson taping – BBC 

[story by Stuart Heritage]