L.A. business leaders' names pop up in Pellicano case.

When Laura Buddine was targeted by a stalker in 1998, it started with annoying emails.

The chief executive of Downey-based Net4TV.com and its parent, Iacta LLC, told her would-be suitor she didn't want anything to do with him, but she said matters got worse. She said the man tried to disparage her reputation in online communities using his job title to leverage his accusations. So, Buddine said, she got serious, called the man's employer and got him fired in 2000.

Buddine thought the nightmare was over-but it wasn't.

Two months ago, she was visited by two FBI agents at her home who informed her that the stalker had hired detective Anthony Pellicano, who allegedly had illegally listened to her phone calls for two years.

"The FBI showed up and told me the dates and I said, 'No. Really?," recalled Buddine. "It was a great surprise to me."

As it turns out, Buddine's situation was far from unique.

Buddine was one of several Los Angeles business people whose names were revealed last week as targets of wiretaps and other allegedly illegal activities in an indictment of Pellicano and six of his associates by the U.S. Attorneys Office in Los Angeles.

Pellicano, who built a reputation as a leading Hollywood private investigator, and the other defendants have denied the charges. Three are being held in custody, three have posted bond and one was released.

While much of the focus of the sensational case has been on Hollywood figures allegedly targeted by Pellicano--including actor Sylvester Stallone and comic Gary Shandling--the list of business figures allegedly targeted has raised eyebrows too.

It includes real estate mogul Robert Maguire, billionaire Tom Gores and deceased Herbalife International Inc. founder Mark Hughes. Other victims included security guru Gavin de Becker of Gavin de Beeker & Associates, lawyer Greg Dovel of Dovel & Luner LLP and Hollywood power brokers Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane.

While the indictment doesn't make clear what prompted the executives to be targeted, in several cases it appeared that divorce and other personal matters may have been the cause, rather than business disputes. For example, a spokesman for Maquire said he was targeted while going through a divorce.

"Rob Maguire was wiretapped by Anthony Pellicano," said Peggy Moretti senior vice president at Maguire Properties Inc. "ft was not regarding a business-related matter but a personal divorce, and beyond that I don't know the outcome of the results."

However, that was not always the case.

Dovel, six witnesses and his client were all allegedly wiretapped in 2001 when he represented Bo Zenga in a lawsuit against producer Brad Grey (now Paramount Studio's chief executive) for the proceeds from "Scary Movie."

Both had been executive producers on the film and the deal had been to split the profits, Dovel said. Zenga alleged that Grey was withholding at least $3 million.

Leading Hollywood entertainment lawyer Bertram Fields, a frequent Pellicano client, defended Grey in the 2002 trial. Fields has acknowledged that his Century City firm of Greenberg Giusker Fields Claman Machtinger & Kinsella LLP had retained Pellicano to investigate litigation opponents but has denied any knowledge of illegal tactics.

Grey denies knowledge of any wrongdoing, and has been told that he will only be a potential witness in the Pellicano case, a Paramount spokesperson said.

"At the time it was scary how much they knew about everything," said Dovel, whose Santa Monica-based firm even consulted with an expert to see if he was being wiretapped and was told it was impossible.

Dovel didn't learn about the alleged wiretaps until the U.S. Attorney's office contacted him last summer, showed him transcripts of his phone calls and asked for help in their investigation.

"When I think back, it still really bugs me," he said "You're an attorney having an attorney-client (privileged) conversation. Five years later I'm reading the transcripts of all those conversations. You just don't think that can happen."

Dovel claimed that the wiretaps uncovered defense weak points and contributed to the judge dismissing the lawsuit. "If I were watching it in a movie, I wouldn't believe it," Dovel said.