10-19-2007, 11:38 PM
Times Online
Chris Ayres in Los Angeles
He has made the Statue of Liberty disappear, levitated over the Grand Canyon, and walked through the Great Wall of China.
It appears, however, that clairvoyance is not among David Copperfieldââ¬â¢s many magical talents. Otherwise he might have known in advance that the FBI was about to raid his warehouse in Las Vegas and seize nearly $2 million in cash, the source of which remains a mystery.
Although the reason for the raid on the 51-year-oldââ¬â¢s property has not yet been confirmed, the Las Vegas Review Journal claims that it is related to an allegation of ââ¬Åsexual misconductââ¬Â outside the United States, citing as its source an anonymous person with ââ¬Ëknowledge of the investigationââ¬â¢.
The newspaper added that the case had fallen under the FBIââ¬â¢s jurisdiction because the accuser is a US citizen.
ââ¬ÅIf in fact those are the allegations, unfortunately false allegations are all too often made against famous individuals,ââ¬Â said Mr Copperfieldââ¬â¢s lawyer, David Chesnoff, who confirmed that his client was under FBI scrutiny.
ââ¬ÅWe are respecting the confidentiality of the investigation,ââ¬Â he said.
The target of the raid was a warehouse used by Mr Copperfield (real name, David Kotkin) as a rehearsal studio and prop storage facility.
The warehouse - known as the International Museum & Library of the Conjuring Arts - also houses an apartment on the second-floor, a ââ¬Ëcareer archiveââ¬â¢ and a private museum featuring 80,000 pieces of magic memorabilia, which are stored by a full-time curator in climate-controlled cases. Mr Copperfield - who earns an estimated $57 million a year and was once engaged to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer - has been known to give midnight tours of the warehouse, taking his guests into his office through a secret door in the lobby, which is disguised on street-level as a lingerie shop.
The raid was carried out on Wednesday by 12 agents who seized a computer hard drive and a digital camera, along with the $2 million of cash. The FBI said the investigation was related to a case in Seattle, but wouldnââ¬â¢t elaborate.
Mr Copperfield has owned the warehouse in question since 1991 under one of his companies, Boy Magician, Inc.
Mr Copperfield is a veteran performer at the 740-seat Hollywood Theater at the MGM Grand casino-hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, where he performs in six-to-eight week stints, several times a year. On Wednesday night, the magician performed two regularly scheduled shows, which were at the end of his most recent run. Although many performers choose to stay in Las Vegas permanently, Mr Copperfield - who began practicing magic at the age of 12, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians - tours for at least half the year and remains hugely popular around the world.
It was at the age of 18, while performing in the musical The Magic Man, that Mr Copperfield came up with his stage name, taken from the Charles Dickens book of the same name.
His next performance is expected to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia.
David Copperfield
1968 Copperfield gave his first performance as a magician, aged 12
1970 He became the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians
1972 He became Professor of Magic at New York University, aged only 16
1983 Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear before a live audience of New Yorkers, and a television audience estimated at 50 million
1984 He levitated across the Grand Canyon
1986 He walked through the Wall of China
1987 He became the first person to escape from Alcatraz, a feat unsuccesfully attempted by Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly
1991 He made a 70 tonne Orient Express Car vanish in front of a live audience
1993 For the television special ââ¬ËFires Of Passionââ¬â¢, he hung 10 stories above a bed of flaming stakes, from burning ropes, and wearing a straight jacket - an escape Houndini refused to attempt
(Source: http://www.dcopperfield.com)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...697351.ece
Chris Ayres in Los Angeles
He has made the Statue of Liberty disappear, levitated over the Grand Canyon, and walked through the Great Wall of China.
It appears, however, that clairvoyance is not among David Copperfieldââ¬â¢s many magical talents. Otherwise he might have known in advance that the FBI was about to raid his warehouse in Las Vegas and seize nearly $2 million in cash, the source of which remains a mystery.
Although the reason for the raid on the 51-year-oldââ¬â¢s property has not yet been confirmed, the Las Vegas Review Journal claims that it is related to an allegation of ââ¬Åsexual misconductââ¬Â outside the United States, citing as its source an anonymous person with ââ¬Ëknowledge of the investigationââ¬â¢.
The newspaper added that the case had fallen under the FBIââ¬â¢s jurisdiction because the accuser is a US citizen.
ââ¬ÅIf in fact those are the allegations, unfortunately false allegations are all too often made against famous individuals,ââ¬Â said Mr Copperfieldââ¬â¢s lawyer, David Chesnoff, who confirmed that his client was under FBI scrutiny.
ââ¬ÅWe are respecting the confidentiality of the investigation,ââ¬Â he said.
The target of the raid was a warehouse used by Mr Copperfield (real name, David Kotkin) as a rehearsal studio and prop storage facility.
The warehouse - known as the International Museum & Library of the Conjuring Arts - also houses an apartment on the second-floor, a ââ¬Ëcareer archiveââ¬â¢ and a private museum featuring 80,000 pieces of magic memorabilia, which are stored by a full-time curator in climate-controlled cases. Mr Copperfield - who earns an estimated $57 million a year and was once engaged to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer - has been known to give midnight tours of the warehouse, taking his guests into his office through a secret door in the lobby, which is disguised on street-level as a lingerie shop.
The raid was carried out on Wednesday by 12 agents who seized a computer hard drive and a digital camera, along with the $2 million of cash. The FBI said the investigation was related to a case in Seattle, but wouldnââ¬â¢t elaborate.
Mr Copperfield has owned the warehouse in question since 1991 under one of his companies, Boy Magician, Inc.
Mr Copperfield is a veteran performer at the 740-seat Hollywood Theater at the MGM Grand casino-hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, where he performs in six-to-eight week stints, several times a year. On Wednesday night, the magician performed two regularly scheduled shows, which were at the end of his most recent run. Although many performers choose to stay in Las Vegas permanently, Mr Copperfield - who began practicing magic at the age of 12, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians - tours for at least half the year and remains hugely popular around the world.
It was at the age of 18, while performing in the musical The Magic Man, that Mr Copperfield came up with his stage name, taken from the Charles Dickens book of the same name.
His next performance is expected to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia.
David Copperfield
1968 Copperfield gave his first performance as a magician, aged 12
1970 He became the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians
1972 He became Professor of Magic at New York University, aged only 16
1983 Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear before a live audience of New Yorkers, and a television audience estimated at 50 million
1984 He levitated across the Grand Canyon
1986 He walked through the Wall of China
1987 He became the first person to escape from Alcatraz, a feat unsuccesfully attempted by Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly
1991 He made a 70 tonne Orient Express Car vanish in front of a live audience
1993 For the television special ââ¬ËFires Of Passionââ¬â¢, he hung 10 stories above a bed of flaming stakes, from burning ropes, and wearing a straight jacket - an escape Houndini refused to attempt
(Source: http://www.dcopperfield.com)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...697351.ece