Details emerge in Jackson probe

Details about Michael Jackson's shadowy inner circle are coming to light. As Los Angeles police continue to investigate the death of the music icon, here are some of the key figures:

• Grace Rwaramba, nanny/associate: The 42-year-old native of Rwanda has been the mystery woman in Jackson's life for more than a decade.

No one had more access. From office assistant, she became nanny to his children, Michael Jr., 12; Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, nicknamed Blanket.

She was with him when he arrived in Las Vegas from Ireland on Dec. 23, 2006, and cared for Jackson and his children until she was dismissed in December, when he was still living in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas deal maker Jack Wishna, who orchestrated Jackson's move to Las Vegas, met her on a number of occasions.

Her influence extended far beyond being the nanny, Wishna said.

"She was the gatekeeper. She held everybody at bay. When he moved here, I had to go through her. Once or twice she even had to be in the same room (during conversations)," said Wishna, who was in regular contact with Jackson for more than six months in 2007.

Rwaramba, in an interview published in the London Times on Sunday, said she witnessed Jackson's abuse of prescription drugs

"I had to pump his stomach many times. ... He always mixed so much of it. There was one period that it was so bad that I didn't let the children see him," she told the author of the article, celebrity journalist Daphne Barak.

Jackson was furious with her, Rwaramba said, for getting his mother and sister Janet to organize an intervention in Las Vegas, which Wishna revealed to Vegas Confidential last week.

"It was me, Janet, his mother," Rwaramba said. "I coordinated it. He was so angry with me. He screamed at me, 'You betrayed my trust. You called them behind my back.'"

It was one of several times that Jackson dismissed her. But he allowed her to return because she was the closest thing to a mother that the children had.

• Dr. Tohme R. Tohme, manager: Tohme surfaced as Jackson's new manager late last year, about the time Rwaramba was dismissed.

Tohme, who lives in the Los Angeles area, told Vegas Confidential he had a number of meetings with Jackson in Las Vegas in 2008. Accompanying Tohme was Tom Barrack Jr., the founder of real estate giant Colony Capital. Barrack has a large ownership position in the Las Vegas Hilton and rescued Neverland Ranch for Jackson by paying $23.5 million for the mortgage a year ago.

According to the London Daily Mail, Tohme has been "alternately described as a Saudi Arabian billionaire and an orthopedic surgeon, but he is actually a Lebanese businessman who does not have a medical license. At one point, Tohme claimed he was an ambassador at large for Senegal, but the Senegalese embassy said they had never heard of him."

• Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's live-in doctor: Murray, a cardiologist who left his Las Vegas medical practice in the past month to join Jackson, attempted to revive the singer Thursday when it was clear he was not breathing.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Erich Bergen of "Jersey Boys" (Palazzo) indicated on his Twitter site over the weekend that he's involved in organizing a tribute show to honor Michael Jackson. ...

There are rumblings that Playboy has scouted "Peepshow" (Planet Hollywood Resort) to do one of their pictorials featuring a Las Vegas show. That would, in a sense, put co-lead Holly Madison back between Hugh Hefner's glossy sheets. Cast members of "Zumanity" were featured four years ago.

SIGHTINGS

"Transformers" hottie Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green at Dos Caminos (Palazzo) on Sunday on their way to "Mystere" (Treasure Island). ... Lindsay Lohan, dining at N9NE Steakhouse (Palms) on Saturday with DCMA clothing line partner, Tal Cooperman. She had a cocktail with a dinner of spring salad, halibut and s'mores. ... Anna Kournikova, at Tao (Venetian) on Saturday for the HardBat Classic All-Star Table Tennis Tournament at The Venetian. She was one of the hosts, along with Biljana "Biba" Golic and Judah Friedlander of NBC's "30 Rock." ... Miss USA Kristen Dalton, watching the U.S.-Brazil soccer game Sunday during the Pajama Brunch at Simon at Palms Place. ... Los Angeles Lakers standout Derek Fisher at Pure (Caesars Palace) on Saturday. ... At ghostbar (Palms) on Saturday: former NFL defensive star John Randle, with friends. He also was spotted at Parasol Up (Wynn) over the weekend.

THE PUNCH LINE

"On Facebook, lists his relationship status as, 'It's complicated.'" -- From David Letterman's "Top Ten Surprising Facts About Gov. Mark Sanford."

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.

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