Lawyer hires hitman to kill him... then blames president in YouTube video made before his death

The body of Rodrigo Rosenberg lies next to a Guatemala City road after he was shot by a hitman last year. A video recorded before his death accused the country's President Alvaro Colom of his murder

No conspiracy: A UN commission this week cleared Mr Colom of any involvement in Rosenberg's death, concluding that he hired his own assassin

A Guatemalan lawyer hired a hitman to kill him then accused the country's president of his murder in a video made before his death and later posted on the internet.

Rodrigo Rosenberg, 47, orchestrated his own demise amid severe personal problems - but only after first recording an 18-minute video in which he claimed President Alvaro Colom was planning to kill him.

Looking into the camera while seated behind a desk, the lawyer said: 'Unfortunately, if you are watching this message it means that I, Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano, have been assassinated by President Alvaro Colom.'
He went on to accuse the president of a corruption scandal linked to a government bank and said that his murder would be an attempt to cover that up.

Rosenberg was shot dead as he rode a bicycle in Guatemala City on May 10 last year.

His accusations were distributed to reporters on DVDs at his May 11 funeral. They immediately set the already polarised Central American country into a frenzy of protests, allegations of corruption and calls for President Colom's resignation.

He denied any involvement in the killing and arranged for a United Nations commission to investigate.

The commission this week concluded that Rosenberg had hired his own assassin after persuading two distant cousins that he needed to find a hitman to kill people who were extorting him.

In an elaborate scheme he then bought two mobile phones. One was to communicate with the hitmen and the other to deliver threatening messages to himself.
UN investigators also found that Rosenberg was driven by personal problems, including the recent death of this mother and losing custody of his children, and believed that the government was behind the murder of two close friends.

The cousins implicated in the investigation, Francisco and Estuardo Valdes Paiz, are considered fugitives from justice. Investigators allege they contacted the head of security at their pharmaceutical company to help them find someone to carry out the killing for $40,000.

His posthumous accusations of corruption became a rallying cry for members of Guatemala's dominant elite, many of whom are angry over Colom's attempts to eliminate tax loopholes for corporations and criticise his inability to reduce high rates of violent crime.

Colom is overwhelmingly backed by Guatemala's mostly Mayan Indian poor for his efforts to tax the rich and build schools and clinics for disadvantaged communities.

The president has suggested that criminal or political interests were behind the video and expressed relief on Tuesday.

He said: 'The day has arrived that I have waited for in silence and patience, where this crime finally been clarified.'

The commission's investigation has led to 11 arrests with three of those people working with investigators as protected witnesses.

Watch footage of Rodrigo Rosenberg accusing President Alvaro Colom of his murder

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Michael Jackson family seeks delay in naming will executor

Michael Jackson’s family wants a judge to delay the appointment of two men as temporary administrators of the pop superstar’s estate, a person close to the Jacksons said.

The family is looking for the delay so they can look deeper into his affairs, to see if another will emerges, and to accommodate Jackson’s memorial service on Tuesday, said a person close to the family who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly.

“It has been very insensitive, particularly to this family, that you would even schedule a court hearing on the status of the mother, the day before she has to go to the cemetery for her son,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, a friend of the Jacksons, said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday. “It’s almost insulting.”

Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, was granted some limited powers over the singer’s estate days after his death. But because Branca and McClain are named as executors in the 2002 will, it’s expected that they would be granted more authority to oversee Jackson’s estate, estimated in court filings as being worth more than $500 million, in Monday’s scheduled hearing.

Entering into a business relationship with Michael Jackson rarely meant a long-lasting partnership. Over time, especially in the waning years of his life, Jackson hired — then fired — a litany of associates, from managers to attorneys to publicists.

Most were dispatched after the relationship soured, and the trust had evaporated.

Perhaps the one exception in his financial life was Jackson's mother, Katherine.

Jackson relied on his 79-year-old mother for more than emotional support: Documents show he put her in the position of trustee on contracts, including his lucrative Sony-ATV catalog, and associates say he also sought her input on other financial matters as he became more wary of those in his business circle.

"Any deal Michael did, he always called his mother up," said Steve Manning, a close friend of the Jackson family. "She was the backbone of his spirit."

"What he trusted was that she would make sure that his wishes were carried out," said Mrs. Jackson's attorney, L. Londell McMillan, who is representing her interests as the singer's estate is sorted out. "He understood that she was the most loyal person in his life. Her loyalty did not stop for Michael with merely personal matters."

But Jackson's last known will, drafted in 2002, left his mother, along with his three children, out of any decision-making role in his estate, leaving her only as a beneficiary.

Attorney John Branca and Jackson's former manager and close friend, John McClain, were named (along with a third party who has since removed himself) as the only people with the authority to guide his business matters after his death.

Mrs. Jackson is trying to change that, seeking to gain some kind of control over her late son's estate. The Jackson matriarch is adamant that she — or even another family member — have a role over Michael Jackson's business legacy, which may be worth more in death than when he was alive. Some estimates have valued his estate at $500 million.

Mrs. Jackson has filed a motion to determine whether contesting the two executors would lead to disinheritance — Jackson's will had a no-contest clause.

"She is concerned about how the trust is going to be managed. She wants to make sure that she has a seat at the table and the family has a seat at the table," said Dean Hansell, an attorney who spoke for Mrs. Jackson in court Monday. "She wants that and she has been coming up against resistance."

But in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Branca said he is amenable to having Mrs. Jackson, or someone in the family, in a trustee role.

"We are going to have a meaningful conversation with her about having one of her family members become a co-trustee," Branca said. "Our number one priority is to make sure this estate is run effectively."

Branca and McClain have control of Jackson's estate until at least Oct. 3. They have already made several deals on behalf of Jackson's estate, including a reissue of his memoir "Moonwalk" and a full-length motion picture filled with footage of his last rehearsals, which requires a judge's approval. In a sign that Katherine Jackson's input is already being considered critical, the judge has scheduled a hearing Monday to see, among other things, whether she has any objections.

Branca was Jackson's attorney for many years, working with him during the height of his fame and helping negotiate his deal to buy the Beatles catalog. But they split in 2005 until Branca was brought back shortly before Jackson's death as he prepared for his comeback concerts with the promoter AEG.

McClain has been very close with the family for decades, and was instrumental in building Janet Jackson's career. He also had played key roles in Michael Jackson's career in its later years.

Manning(Katherine Jackson lawyer) spoke highly of McClain, saying he has been "like a son" to the Jackson parents.

Legally, Mrs. Jackson may not be able to have an official role. Both Branca and Hansell said the addition of Katherine as an executor of the will or a trustee of the trust might raise tax questions because she is a beneficiary.

"She is a woman of great faith, and believes if you treat people right, (good) things will come back to you."

Jackson named his mother on at least two trusts — besides the Sony-ATV music catalog, she's a part of his Mijac publishing company — and McMillan said she was active in Jackson's business affairs, even attending depositions in legal cases.

Whether Mrs. Jackson has the business capacity to deal with Jackson's estate, which is complicated and tangled, is likely to be a key question. She and Joe filed for bankruptcy 10 years ago, listing nearly $24 million in debts that included court judgments, auto loans and credit cards. Court records show the only valuable asset listed was a house in Las Vegas then valued at $290,000.

McMillan said the role of a trustee does not require a person to be a business whiz.

"A trustee is one of trust as opposed to extraordinary skill," he said. "Trustees hire experts to administer business that requires experts."

Manning said Mrs. Jackson is confident that her legal team would do an excellent job with her guidance. He also raised the possibility that one of Jackson's five brothers could have a role in the estate: "That would be the right thing to do, the right thing to happen."

Legally, Mrs. Jackson may not be able to have an official role. Both Branca and Hansell said the addition of Katherine as an executor of the will or a trustee of the trust might raise tax questions because she is a beneficiary.

This July 5, 2009 file photo shows Katherine Jackson, left, and an unidentified driver entering the Jackson family home in the Encino section of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff appointed Katherine Jackson as the permanent guardian of the late singer's three children during a court hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.

In this artist's drawing Katherine Jackson, right, and her attorney L. Londell McMillan are seen at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on Monday Aug. 3, 2009 in Los Angeles.

FILE - This July 7, 2009 file photo shows Katherine Jackson, right, arriving with Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris, rear center, to the memorial service for the late pop star in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff appointed Katherine Jackson as the permanent guardian of the late singer's three children during a court hearing in Los Angeles on Monday

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-Writer Lorraine Ali discusses Michael Jackson's legal woes, and his fans, with CNN.-

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--Michael Jackson after dying is transported via helicopter from UCLA hospital too the Coroners Office for an autopsy..

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