Sep 29, 2006 11:58 pm US/Eastern
CBS 2 Exclusive: Al Pirro's Hidden Camera Games
Soap Opera Continues Following Jeanine Pirro Bombshell
by Tony Aiello
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Al Pirro's problems with the law have haunted his wife's career.
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Jeanine Pirro defended herself at a news conference on Wednesday. (AP)
AP
Republican candidate Jeanine Pirro is under investigation for talking about secretly taping her husband, Al.
Turns out, Al has his own history of secretly taping a member of the Pirro family.
It was 1998, and Al and his brother Anthony were under investigation for a million dollars in tax evasion. Al hid a camera in his office to record a meeting with Anthony, who was also his accountant, apparently hoping to prove the tax troubles were due to Anthony's negligence.
The tape, obtained by CBS2, opens with Al addressing the camera directly.
"It's Monday morning, I'm Al Pirro, and I'm about to have a meeting with my brother," Pirro said on the tape.
A few moments later Anthony walks in, holding a cup of coffee. Al begins to question him about his work as an accountant, and whether he properly audited Al Pirro's business records.
"I never went beyond the checks, so what does that mean?" Anthony asked at one point. "That means I've committed a crime or I'm negligent?"
Al also pressured his brother to sign an affidavit, clearing Al of any wrongdoing.
"What are you going to do to protect me and my family?" Al Pirro demanded of his brother.
When the secret taping became public in 1999, Anthony Pirro's attorney, Roger Stavis, said "it is shameful Al Pirro would secretly record a meeting with his own brother. Anthony is hurt and dismayed by his older brother's conduct."
Now, Jeanine Pirro's conduct is under investigation.
"Although I spoke about taping him, there was no taping by me of anyone," Jeanine said this week.
Still, one critic called it a story out of a soap opera.
"She sees her husband electronically eavesdropping on his brother, maybe she feels comfortable electronically eavesdropping on her husband," said Pace Law School professor Ben Gershman, a former prosecutor.
"It's difficult for many of us to understand, but I guess these are the morals, the values of these people," Gershman said.
But a longtime friend of Al and Jeanine Pirro said Al's past taping is irrelevant to Jeanine's current problems.
"Jeanine did not commit a crime, if she had they would have indicted her already," said GOP consultant Mike Edelman. "They used the leak about this investigation to hurt her politically."
Asked how Jeanine felt about Al's taping of his brother, her campaign had no comment.
It was not illegal for Al Pirro to tape his brother under New York law.
The tape Al made was never shown to the jury at his tax evasion trial. The prosecutor argued the tape could have been staged, and the judge ruled the tape was "unreliable."
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Watch CBS 2's Full Interview With Jeanine Pirro
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