Former FBI agent: Casey Anthony's defense spokesman sounds like felon he knew

And just when you think it can't get any more bizarre...

Right: Cabot California mug shot

Amy L. Edwards Sentinel Staff Writer
February 2, 2009 Orlando Sentinal

The spokesman for Casey Anthony's defense attorney -- a man who admitted to the Orlando Sentinel last week that he's using a fake name -- stated today that it doesn't matter that his company was founded by a man who spent time in prison for attempting to extort a journalist.

The spokesman who calls himself Todd Black did not name the company founder in a statement he e-mailed today, though he has earlier told the Sentinel it is a man named Gil Cabot.

The statement was released the same day the former FBI agent who investigated Cabot in the late 1980s told the Sentinel he thinks Black's voice sounds the same as Cabot's on recordings he listened to.

In 1990, Cabot was convicted of attempting to extort $30,000 from television journalist Jann Carl. According to reports, prosecutors said Cabot called Carl and told her that nude photos of herself would be sold to a magazine unless she made the payoff. According to California records, Cabot served five years in prison.

Former FBI agent and polygraph expert Jack Trimarco just told the Sentinel he listened to 16 hours of Cabot's voice as part of his investigation in the Carl case. He recently listened to statements Black made to the media and said both voices sound the same to him."I know that man's voice," Trimarco said. "That's Gil Cabot."

When a Sentinel reporter pressed Black on Thursday for more information on his identity, Black said the newspaper was wasting its time."It is an absolute lie that I am Gil Cabot," Black said Black, who operates under the corporate banner of Press Corps Media, has declined all requests to be interviewed in person. But he has said that the parent company of Press Corps Media, Arrested Media, was founded by Cabot.

He has said that Cabot is not involved in day-to-day operations of the company. Court records show the Carl case was not Cabot's only brush with the law. In the late 1990s, Cabot was charged with 18 counts of attempted extortion and extortion-related charges in the Los Angeles area.

Records state he pleaded in that case, most of the charges were dropped, and he was sentenced to three years probation. He had to write letters of apology to the victims: Ricoh Corporation, Carl's Jr. and Airtouch Cellular.

A 1989 Los Angeles Times article states Cabot posed as another anchorwoman's husband and used an actress's name to obtain appliances and a car. The article states Cabot was arrested when he posed as the anchorwoman's husband and bought $800 worth of suits. The charge became part of a 1982 grand theft case against Cabot. The article states Cabot was placed on probation but violated it, resulting in a 2-year prison sentence.

In his e-mail, Black stated, "It simply DOES NOT MATTER if our company was founded by a gentleman who spent time in prison over twenty-five years ago, especially since that distinction is a key selling point that brings credibility to our services assisting celebrities, politicians and others charged with a crime. "It simply DOES NOT MATTER that when he sold the company in 1996 he remained a consultant, just like it simply DOES NOT MATTER that security names are assigned to our company staff. Turning a prison experience into a successful business deserves respect, and in fact -mainstream news broadcasters and publications regularly employ as experts formally convicted individuals; G.Gordon Liddy, John Dean and Mark Fuhrman (?), to name a few. Working crisis media cases isn't fluff public relations, and in high profile situations using security names is required by Press Corps Media for employee safety."

In the 1989 Los Angeles Times report on Cabot, he was described as a con-artist and Hollywood predator.

He has ties to Tampa and multiple entertainment companies.

In a 2004 Internet listing for a company called Story Brokers, which lists its contact as "G.A. Cabot," the description states: "Acquires true-story properties and partners with actor-owned production companies for actors to star in or produce/direct."Another company Cabot has ties to is called Watsup Productions, where he is listed as an officer/director in annual Florida corporate filings.

Faxes that Watsup Productions sent the state of Florida for its filings appear to come from the same place as Black's Anthony-related press releases.