Jacko, His Rise and Fall: The Social and Sexual History of Michael Jackson (78 page)

Even after Michael's trial on
a charge of child molestation in
2005, Miller said, "I realize
Jackson was found not guilty, but
I still like to use the Milken
example to show the forgiveness
of Nevadans when it comes to
prominent people who have had
run-ins with the law. After the
six-week trial revealed so much
about his personal life, it's no
doubt Jackson will need a lot of
forgiving if he wants to continue his career. But, if he chooses to seek social acceptance in Sin City, he'll be
making the right choice!"

That piece of civic boosterism, however, seemed rather fragile after the
first charges of child molestation were aired against Michael by Jordie
Chandler. As Michael made his way through the casino of the MGM Grand on
New Year's Eve in 1993, a drunken crowd greeted him, many with angry
shouts. CHILD MOLESTER! PERVERT! SUCK ON THIS, FAGGOT! Yet
earlier in the day, he'd signed autographs for several kids.

In a black chador, looking like a repressed Arab woman, a disguise he'd
don in the future, Michael toured the MGM Grand Theme Park with Milken.
In the evening he was in his braided Sgt. Pepper drag when he showed up at
the MGM Grand again to hear Barbra Streisand in concert. Introduced by the
great diva, Michael received a thunderous applause, so maybe Steve Miller
was right in his assessment of Vegas as "a second chance town."

Although Michael occasionally toured amusement parks with adults who
in the past had included not only Milken but also Jackie Onassis, he much preferred to enjoy these attractions with children, whose ranks now included
Frank and Eddie Cascio.

Michael, even back in the 80s, had a sharp eye for beautiful boys. Once,
when visiting New York, he was introduced to the concierge of New York's
Helmsley Palace Hotel, Dominic Cascio. Cascio greeted Michael warmly.
During a discussion of the star's needs at the hotel, Michael spotted a picture
of Cascio's two sons, Frank and Eddie. They were just babies at the time, but
Michael stayed in touch with Dominic and his interest in the boys continued
over the years. A meeting was arranged. Michael sent occasional presents to
the boys as they grew older. By the time Eddie turned nine and Frank a robust
thirteen, they were entertained at Neverland where, it was reported, "they
played day and night."

Michael continued his kindnesses to the Cascio brothers while still entertaining Brett Barnes and his new young friend, Jordie
Chandler.

Michael Milken

The year was 1993, the very same year that
Michael would take the young Cascio brothers on a
world tour-with their parents' permission, of course.
This was a blatant act on Michael's part, as charges of
child molestation against him were being aired at that
time around the world. But instead of at least trying to
be discreet, he openly traveled with these two underage
boys and allowed himself to be photographed with
them, which only caused more speculation about what
he was up to.

As headlines about Michael and child molestation blazed, he traveled with
the two young boys in August, September, and October of 1993. Diane
Dimond, the investigative reporter, stated the obvious. "It seemed odd that a
man accused of molesting a prepubescent boy would continue to travel with
two of them."

She even traced the parents to their home in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey,
where they ran Aldo's Restaurant. Both parents, according to the reporter,
asserted that "we trust Michael Jackson with our sons."

Michael's main interest was in Frank Cascio, who would later change his
name to Frank Tyson. He slept with Michael in his suite whenever they traveled together. In the words of publicist Bob Jones, Michael "adored the young
fellow. Michael even had clothes made for Cascio so that the youngster would
look just like him. Michael Jackson would even cancel business meetings if
Frank instead wanted to go to Disneyland or just play with water guns or just
sleep."

Dominic Cascio and his wife, Connie, often traveled on the road with
Michael, serving as "advisors" to him. Once, when Bob Jones confronted
Michael about the "impropriety" of having the Cascio brothers in his suite,
Michael exploded in anger, sending his publicist back to the States from
Romania.

The Cascio brothers were a pleasant diversion for Michael, although a
life-long friendship would develop with Frank, who would become Michael's
trusted aide. But in 1992 and 1993, the one boy who occupied Michael's
thoughts both day and night was Jordie Chandler. How could things have gone
so wrong between them?

When they had first come together one bright May day in 1992, Michael's
world was so very different. Elvis was no longer "The King" since Michael
had replaced him on the throne. He presided over his fans as the king of music
and was, indeed, a crowned king of a tribe in West Africa. Those were heady
times.

When he first gazed into the beautiful face of Jordie, with his dark skin,
beautiful hair, delicate eyes, and fine bone structure, the boy looked so innocent and trusting.

Michael, of course, would have no way of knowing that Jordie would
have the power to bring Michael's carefully structured kingdom to an end, a
drama that would be played out before the world.

"With Michael you can establish in a few days the kind of good
friend relationship it takes years to develop with most people.
Or at least that's what you believe. He's the opposite of intimidating. He's accessible and vulnerable. You get the feeling
that not only would he never hurt you, but also that he's incapable of hurting you.

It's like finding a bird with a broken wing. In some ways
Michael's a little broken. You become protective of him. You
want to nurse him back to health. You want to make him
happy. But deep down a strange phenomenon is taking place.

In believing that you're safe and in control, you let your
guard down and become vulnerable to manipulation without
realizing it. His ability to sense who you are and how you can
be manipulated is highly refined. By the time you figure out
that the helpless sparrow is actually a vulture that can rip the
meat off your bones, it's too late.

He goes to great lengths to make you believe he's giving
and generous. But he's smart and cunning, like a fox on the
hunt. You must remain emotionally remote with Michael to be
safe. He means business. He's all business.

Nobody controls Michael Jackson. Nobody! He either controls you by manipulating you emotionally or by paying you
obscene amounts of money. Either way, you are going to be
controlled. "

--Evan Chandler

"Unfortunately for Michael, when you reach his level of stardom, there is not much you can do...You are up there alone
setting a precedent, making history-a living legend. Many
people hate to look up and so they must try to bring him
down. It's been the same throughout history, from Mozart to
Lennon. "

--Adrian Grant from Michael Jackson:
Live and Dangerous

"He hums things. He can convey it with his voice like nobody.
Not just the lyrics, but he can convey the feeling in a drum
part or a synthesizer part. "

--Bill Bottrell, co-producer of Dangerous

Driving incognito down Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, Michael's
Rolls-Royce broke down. The nearest auto repair shop and car-rental firm was
called Rent-a-Wreck. Its owner, David Schwartz, came to offer assistance and
was startled to encounter the pop star. Schwartz picked Michael up in his own
van and drove him back to his shop, after calling a tow truck to haul the vehicle in for repairs.

In his office, Schwartz called his wife, June. Within minutes she'd arrived
at Rent-a-Wreck with her daughter, Lily, age 5, and her 12-year-old son,
Jordie Chandler. The startlingly handsome young boy caught Michael's eye.
He was instantly smitten.

It was not the first time the man and boy had made contact with each
other. After Michael's hair was set aflame in the Pepsi commercial, Jordie had
written him a fan letter and Michael had called, thanking Jordie personally for
his concern. Jordie also had a younger half-brother, Nikki, the product of his
father's marriage to his new wife, Nathalie Chandler.

For most of his young life, Jordie had worshipped Michael Jackson. The
boy knew how to moonwalk to the sound of "The Way You Make Me Feel,"
and the child's grandmother had even knitted him
a sequined glove.

Jordie Chandler

At the shop, Michael presented Jordie with a
copy of Dancing the Dream, a coffee table book
published by Doubleday under the supervision of
Jackie Onassis in 1992. It was a sappy tome for
aficionados only. Elizabeth Taylor wrote the purple introduction, claiming that when she heard
the name of Michael Jackson, she thought of
"brilliance, of dazzling stars, lasers, and deep
emotions." The words didn't sound like the gutsy
and irreverent broad we all know and love, the
woman who on a winter's night in Gstaad would
call Peter Lawford a "cocksucker" for bringing
Richard Burton back drunk to her chalet.

After giving Michael his telephone number, Jordie took the book home
with him that night and read every word, studying the pictures carefully.

Astonishingly, full-page color photographs appeared of Michael as Julius
Caesar (Marc Anthony would have laughed); Henry VIII (Charles Laughton
would turn over in his grave); Napoleon (Josephine would have said, "Not
tonight!"), and as Romeo (without his Juliet).

In this vanity book, Michael revealed to all the world that, in spite of his
pretensions, he was not a poet:

Jordie Chandler (also known as Jordy or Jordan) was born in January of
1980, making him twenty-two years younger than Michael. His father, Evan
Chandler, was a Jewish dentist and aspirant screenwriter in Los Angeles, and
his mother, June, came from the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, from black and Chinese ancestors. Their multi-racial son had an
extraordinary beauty, as has been frequently reported in the press.

The next day Michael telephoned Jordie and "we talked for hours," the
boy would later testify. It was the beginning of a phone romance that would
last for weeks, preceding Jordie's actual visit to Neverland.

Beginning with Michael appearing at Rent-a-Wreck, he placed daily
phone calls, some lasting three hours, to Jordie. As was later revealed in the
police investigation of Michael, these calls began in May of 1992 and lasted
until February of 1993, the latter marking the end of the first leg of the
Dangerous tour.

When not phoning, Michael sent notes: "I have such golden dreams for
you. You are my new inspiration."

In late February, Jordie, along with his half sister, Lily, and his mother,
June, was invited to Neverland. They would return to Neverland nearly every
weekend (Jordie had school during the week). During those early visits, all the
Chandlers stayed in the guest house. Invited earlier for a sleepover, and occupying Michael's bedroom in the main house, was Brett Barnes.