Posted on 09/29/2007 8:54:08 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
PHOENIX — A man who agreed to plead guilty in a plot to extort more than $1 million from Tom Cruise for the actor's stolen wedding photos was found dead in his home, authorities said.
Investigators said it appeared David Hans Schmidt, 47, who was under house arrest and faced up to two years in federal prison, had committed suicide.
He was found dead in his townhouse around 3 p.m. Friday after police noticed a tracker placed on him had not moved and he had not checked in, Lt. Anthony Lopez said.
It wasn't known when Schmidt, who was free on $100,000 bail, was to enter his plea in court. He also faced a $250,000 fine under a plea agreement filed Aug. 24 in Los Angeles.
Schmidt, known for brokering deals involving compromising celebrity photos and videos, was arrested in July after, federal authorities said, a co-defendant obtained photos of Cruise's wedding to Katie Holmes in Italy last year from the event's official photographer, court documents show.
Starting in May, Schmidt had repeated contact with Cruise representatives and threatened to release the photos if he didn't receive between $1.2 million and $1.3 million, authorities said......"
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Why is it I keep hearing the theme music to Mission Impossible when I read about this?
hmmm. suicide, scientology style?
Was he ever logged on?
I doubt if Cruise or anyone else had anything to do with this.
Schmidt was going to do hard time and could not face it.
Methinks Tom has been consulting Hillary.
What a loser. I for one don’t understand these morons who think they have the right to mess with actor’s lives with crap like this. I saw an episode on paparazzi filmers who spend their entire lives trying to get pics and videos of celebrities so they can sell them to the tabloids. On the other hand though, I do think these celebrities secretly endorse this for publicity.
Bingo! The only thing these talentless clowns demand from paparrazi and the National Enquirer is that they spell their names correctly.
Lol. Me too.
Arkancide?
I wonder how much the pictures of his tiny condo shower squatting dirtnap are going for on the sleaze market?
But did Tom ever find out who it was who passed gas when he demanded a moment of silence in Germany last week?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.