Big Picture
Good Morning, Nicki! Plus, Daniel Radcliffe works his magic and Bruce Jenner blasts to the past. Get the latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (700)
- Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Photos Galore! New Pics From Their Post-Twilight Flicks! (606)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (506)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (399)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (397)
- Twitter Name Change: Introducing @Ted_Casablanca (306)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
- Morning Mail! Céline Dion Talks Whitney Houston's Tragic Death (223)
Top 10 Stories
- Whitney Houston's Funeral: "Totally Opposite" of Michael Jackson's
- Oscar Winner Marcia Gay Harden Files for Divorce
- Matt Bomer Comes Out as Gay: "So Proud of Him," Says White Collar Costar
- So True? So False? Is Jessica Simpson Really Going on The Biggest Loser?!
- Kids' Choice Nominations Are In: Harry Potter, Tim Tebow, Taylor Swift and More Score Nods
- Teen Mom's Amber Portwood Headed to Halfway House Drug Program
- Did Stephen Colbert Shut Down Report Due to Mother's "Serious Illness"?
- One Tree Hill's Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols Break Up
- Awkward Alert: Jon Stewart's Underwear Joke Hits Close to Home With David Letterman
- Jennifer Lopez Tweets, Then Deletes, Steamy Casper Smart Shot—Check It Out!
Fashion Police
Our Partners
Celine Hubby's Extortionist Convicted
A woman whose lawyers allegedly warned would go "hog wild" with a cry of rape against Celine Dion's husband has been found guilty of hatching a multimillion-dollar extortion plot.
Yun Sung, 49, was convicted Thursday in Las Vegas of conspiracy to commit extortion and bribery.
Sung faces up to 16 years in prison. She's scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 16, court officials told E! She also faces deportation on a separate charge of violating federal immigration law.
No reaction yet on the big-voiced Dion.
Sung and her husband, Ae Kwon, were arrested in January 2003 after their lawyers allegedly demanded $13.5 million on the couple's behalf from the pop diva's manager and spouse, Rene Angelil.
"I think he [one of the lawyers] used the phrase, 'If I'm not involved, they will go buck wild or hog wild and go to the media," Angelil attorney Martin Singer testified Tuesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. "But if you pay us, they'll shut up and go away."
In the end, Sung and Kwon did go away--turns out the lawyers' conversation was part of an undercover sting operation.
Kwon is scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 10.
Four years ago, Sung walked away with $2 million of Angelil's money. She'd accused him of assaulting her at the Las Vegas Strip's Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino; he'd paid her seven figures to keep her unflattering claims out of the headlines.
In 2002, Sung went public with the story anyway, breaking a confidentiality agreement by filing a civil lawsuit and encouraging police to open a criminal investigation. Angelil denied any wrongdoing, and authorities seemed to concur, dropping their probe in 2003.
On Thursday, prosecutor L.J. O'Neale told jurors that Sung needed more money from Angelil because she'd gambled away her millions. That, and she was greedy.
Defense attorney Robert Langford argued his client was the real victim.
"This case is not about extortion," Langford said, per the Review-Journal. "It's about silence...This was about making sure nobody would ever believe her again because she had been accused by the state of Nevada of extortion."
Jurors needed just five hours to decide on Sung's guilt.
Dion, 36, and Angelil, 62, wed in 1994.
The two have been a professional team since she was 12. Dion became a headliner-in-residence at Vegas' Caesars Palace in March 2003. Her latest album, Miracle, a collection of power lullabies, opened at number four last week on the Billboard charts and sits at number eight this week.
0 Comments
Now loading...