Israeli supermodel's dad convicted in attack (AP)

JERUSALEM – A court has convicted the father of Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli for malicious damage over an altercation with paparazzi photographers.

The Kfar Saba Magistrates Court on Thursday convicted Rafi Refaeli, 57, for the incident that took place in 2007.

According to court documents, Rafi Refaeli received a call from his supermodel daughter complaining that she was being followed by photographers while driving to his house in Tel Aviv.

The documents say he broke one of the photographers' cameras and damaged one of their motorcycles when they reached his home.

A date has not yet been set for sentencing.

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Designer Galliano convicted in anti-Semitism case (AP)

PARIS – John Galliano's drunken anti-Semitic ravings cost him his job at Paris luxury house Christian Dior and gave him a criminal record but didn't land him in jail, a Paris court ruled Thursday.

The court found Galliano guilty on two counts of "public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity" — charges that carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison and fines of up to (EURO)20,000.

But the three-magistrate panel showed leniency, sentencing the legendary designer to a (EURO)6,000 ($8,400) suspended fine, which means it goes on Galliano's criminal record but he does not have to pay it. The court did not give Galliano prison time.

Presiding judge Anne-Marie Sauteraud said the magistrates' clemency was in part due to the fact that the designer had apologized to the court and the plaintiffs — who contended the designer showered them with a litany of racist and anti-Semitic insults in two separate run-ins at a Paris watering hole.

In testimony before the court in proceedings in June, Galliano said he didn't recall anything about the spats and explained he had been under the influence of a "triple addiction" to alcohol, barbiturates and sleeping pills. Still, he added he was sorry for "the sadness that this whole affair has caused."

Lawyers for both sides welcomed Thursday's ruling.

"It is a wise ruling," Galliano lawyer Aurelien Hamelle told journalists outside the courtroom. "Mr. Galliano is clearly relieved ... and asked me to apologize for him once again."

Galliano "is looking forward to a future of forgiveness and understanding, hopefully, and to put all of this behind him."

Yves Beddouk, an attorney representing one of the plaintiffs, said his client, Geraldine Bloch, was "perfectly satisfied."

Although Galliano will not have to fork out any money in fines, he was ordered to pay (EURO)16,500 ($23,200) in court fees for Bloch and two other plaintiffs, as well as five anti-racism associations. The court also ordered him to pay a symbolic (EURO)1 ($1.40) in damages to each.

Although Galliano's remarks would not be punishable in the U.S., France has strict laws aimed at curbing anti-Semitic and racist language. The laws were enacted in the decades following the Holocaust.

Galliano did not attend Thursday's ruling, and judge Sauteraud explained his absence as an attempt to keep him out of the media spotlight.

The saga of Galliano's undoing has riveted the fashion industry since allegations surfaced that he accosted a couple at Paris' hip La Perle cafe on Feb 24. The story made headlines worldwide, and soon another woman came forward with similar claims about a separate incident in the same cafe.

Days later, Britain's The Sun tabloid posted a video showing an inebriated Galliano insulting a fellow cafe client, slurring "I love Hitler," among other incendiary remarks.

As the video went viral, the house of Dior took swift action against the man it had long treated as icon, sacking Galliano days before the label's fall-winter 2011 runway show in March. Galliano was also later ousted from his eponymous label, also owned by Dior's parent company.

At his daylong trial in June, Galliano was a shadow of his former self. The man whose proud rooster-like post-fashion show strut had long been a thing of legend appeared stooped and addressed the court in a faltering, barely audible voice.

In his testimony, Galliano was contrite and humble, telling the three-judge panel that he was sorry "for the sadness that this whole affair has caused."

He said he'd kicked his addictions during a stint in a rehab clinic in Arizona and was "feeling much better." He said he'd resorted to the potent cocktail of drugs and alcohol to escape the ever-increasing pressures of the high-stakes fashion industry.

Galliano — a 50-year-old who was born Juan Carlos Galliano to a Spanish mother in the British Iberian enclave of Gibraltar — rejected any suggestion he was fundamentally racist, saying his multicultural-infused work spoke for itself.

His extravagant, theatrical collections culled their inspiration from cultures as far-flung as Kenya's Massai people and the geishas of Japan.

In the wake of the scandal, Galliano was replaced at his signature label by his longtime right-hand man and fellow Briton, Bill Gaytten, in June. Gaytten was behind the Dior haute couture collection presented in July to nearly universally disastrous reviews — though officials at the storied house have stressed he has not been appointed Dior creative director.

Rumors about Galliano's possible successor at Dior have swirled for months, with Lanvin's Alber Elbaz, Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci and Colombian-born star Haider Ackermann emerging as possible contenders. A report last month in Women's Wear Daily cited unnamed sources as saying that New York designer Marc Jacobs was in talks for the plum gig. Neither Jacobs nor Dior or parent company LVMH would comment on the report.

The fashion industry is waiting to see whether Galliano will manage to rehabilitate his image and make a comeback, much as supermodel Kate Moss did after images of her taking cocaine hit newspapers the world over.

Asked by journalists about Galliano's plans, attorney Hamelle said only that his client is "looking forward to the future" and "will continue to care for himself."

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Convicted H'wood wiretapper says he upholds "honor" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) – How about a little respect for the guy who pioneered phone hacking, huh?

That seems to be imprisoned former Hollywood detective Anthony Pellicano's viewpoint in his recent exclusive talk with Newsweek (the weekly news publication's sister site, The Daily Beast, published the transcript Sunday).

Serving a 15-year term at Texas' Big Spring Federal Correctional Institution, the 67-year-old Pellicano told Newsweek that, when it comes to tapping telephones, "I was ahead of my time."

As for the phone-hacking scandal currently rocking the core of the News Corp. media empire, well, Pellicano is not impressed.

"I was the top of the ladder," he said. "Just to talk to me it cost $25,000. These guys were stringers who worked with reporters to try to get information on a celebrity."

Convicted three years ago on 76 counts including wire fraud, racketeering and wiretapping, Pellicano apparently showed Newsweek reporter Christine Pelisek a tattoo he had done on his shoulder, shortly before going to prison, that reads, "honor."

Pellicano said the tat is to remind him that the government tried to break him -- tried to get him to spill the beans on all of the Hollywood secrets he supposedly knows -- but break he did not.

"When you are my client, you become my family," he told Pelisek.

While he might not break, Pellicano certainly bends, offering a few teasers.

Recalling when the FBI raided his office, he said, "They come to my business ... I have personal stuff on Arnold ... If they found that stuff, he never would have been governor."

Pellicano also revealed that he agreed to work for Michael Jackson during the late star's 1993 child molestation trial on one condition -- that the singer wasn't guilty.

"I said, 'You don't have to worry about cops or lawyers. If I find out anything, I will f--- you over.'"

Regarding his later decision to dump Jackson as a client, Pellicano explained, "I quit because I found out some truths ... He did something far worse to young boys than molest them."

Later in the article, Pellicano insists he isn't bitter, but says he doesn't think his sentencing is fair, at least compared to Norway's recent mass killer.

"I don't have any hard feelings against the government," he told Newsweek. "Every U.S. citizen is subjected to the laws of this country. This guy in Norway (faces) a maximum sentence of 21 years."

Pellicano -- who has been married four times and says he gets few visitors these days -- added that he has been asked to pen an autobiography. The crowded conditions at Big Spring, however, aren't optimal for writing.

"Imagine trying to write a story with 100 guys around you," he said. "There is nowhere to go for quiet."

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2 year sentence for convicted Hilton trespasser (AP)

LOS ANGELES – A man convicted of attempting to burglarize Paris Hilton's home has been sentenced to two years in state prison.

City News Service reported that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Kellogg also recommended during Wednesday's hearing that Nathan Lee Parada undergo mental health counseling.

A jury took less than an hour in April to convict the 32-year-old of felony attempted residential burglary for trying to break into Hilton's house in August.

The socialite testified during Parada's trial about being awoken early Aug. 24 to the sound of Parada banging on Hilton's window with a knife. Parada told a detective he planned to steal as much as he could carry and move to a deserted island.

His defense attorney argued that Parada had not taken antidepressant medication for days before his arrest.

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German hackers convicted of stealing Lady Gaga songs (AFP)

BERLIN (AFP) – Two young hackers were convicted in Germany Thursday of stealing new songs from stars such as Lady Gaga and Mariah Carey and offering them for sale on the Internet, a court said.

The local court in the western city of Duisburg found the defendants, aged 18 and 23, guilty of dozens of counts of violating copyrights and hacking confidential data, a spokesman said. Their names were not released.

The teenager was handed an 18-month sentence at a young offenders' institute while the older defendant received an 18-month suspended sentence.

The two used Trojan horse software to gain access to the computers and e-mail accounts of the managers of high-profile artists, took unpublished songs and offered them for sale or download in 2009 and 2010.

The new material came from top-selling stars including Carey, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Leona Lewis and Kesha, the court said. Prosecutors say the two earned more than 15,000 euros ($21,000) with the scheme.

In addition, the 18-year-old downloaded explicit private photos from Kesha's computer and blackmailed her to give him an audio "shout out" which he could use to boost his own status in the hacker scene.

"The court considered the fact that both defendants are attested to be highly addicted to the Internet to be a mitigating factor," the spokesman told AFP, adding that full confessions given to the court had also counted in their favour.

Defence attorneys had asked the court to call the affected artists as witnesses but the judges rejected the bid.

The 18-year-old, identified in the German press only as Deniz A., had sent a letter of apology to Lady Gaga in December that was published in the daily Bild.

"Dear Lady Gaga," Deniz A., who reportedly called himself DJ Stolen, wrote.

"I am ashamed of what I have done. I did not think about the consequences."

The court said it would review his detention within six months and consider converting it to a suspended sentence.

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