In military-speak, once is accidental, twice is a coincidence and three times is enemy fire. And 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times reporter Chuck Philips is being dogged for the third time over accusations he's become too cozy with jailed PI-to-the-stars Anthony Pellicano.
The criticism comes with the appearance that Philips has a vested interest in making sure Pellicano goes free. He has ties to the pokey dwelling shamus that date back to mid-'90s, when Pellicano supposedly fed Philips information for his award-winning stories discrediting Dr. Nomi Fredrick, the psychiatrist to the late producer Don Simpson. One source close to the stories (who declined to be identified for fear of retribution) says Pellicano was employed by Simpson in various capacities, including allegedly" sanitizing" Simpson's house of drugs after the producer's death. "There is no doubt in my mind that Pellicano fed Chuck Philips stories about Nomi Fredrick," the source tells Radar. "[Pellicano] wanted to put up a smokescreen to protect his clients, and Philips was his little lapdog. Everyone knew it—the Los Angeles Times certainly knew it." Fredrick lost her California license to practice medicine after the stories were published but has since had it reinstated.