Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- The FBI on Tuesday released files it collected over 17 years on Michael Jackson, most of them from the agency's support of California investigations of child molestation allegations against the entertainer.
Journalists began scouring the 333 heavily redacted pages -- published on the FBI's Web site -- for any new insight into Jackson's life and the investigations of him.
The FBI, noting that Jackson was acquitted of all charges, said the case files were made public following Freedom of Information Act requests filed after the pop star's June 25 death.
Los Angeles police, who were investigating child molestation allegations against Jackson, called the FBI's Los Angeles office in September 1993 to suggest the agency look into a "possible federal violation against Jackson concerning transportation of a minor across state lines for immoral purposes [Mann Act]," one document said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Donahue "advised that she checked with her front office and they had made the decision that the United States attorney was not interested in prosecuting Michael Jackson for a violation of the Mann Act," the report said.
Still, the FBI office decided it could offer support to the Los Angeles police and Santa Barbara County sheriff's investigation, it said.
That support included providing a driver and stenographer for California investigators who traveled to Manila, Philippines, to interview the couple who had managed Jackson's Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County from 1988 until 1990, it said.
The FBI file included newspaper clippings of the detectives' trip to interview Mariano Quindoy and his wife.
An FBI agent wrote that the detectives "said they felt they had been successful in their interviews."
The FBI also helped Los Angeles police follow up on a lead in Ottawa, Canada, where they thought a social worker might have information about Jackson.
The woman said she was on a cross-country train trip when she "heard questionable noises through a wall." Michael Jackson was in an adjoining compartment in the train, she told investigators.
The files also include notes from the FBI's investigation of a man who sent letters threatening to kill Jackson and President George H.W. Bush in 1992. The man pleaded guilty and was sent to a federal prison, the FBI said.
Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:10 pm
