Update: Rumor: Hit ordered on Kevin Federline?

Update:  TMZ is reporting that earlier media accounts of an FBI investigation are "not accurate."  The LAPD, for its part, says that there was an investigation two months ago, but that it was closed due to insufficient evidence.  Entertainment Tonight is yet to retract it’s story, however, and Kevin’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan was non-committal when asked about the rumored hit. 

Originally posted 3:32 p.m.: MSNBC is reporting this afternoon that a possible hit has been put out on Kevin Federline’s life. 

The startling accusation was made today by attorney Gloria Allred, who was in court representing an individual identified as Tony Barretto, a one-time bodyguard for Britney Spears.  In a press conference following the proceedings — at which Tony did not testify — Gloria told reporters that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) were currently investigating an unspecified threat to Kevin’s life.  Media outlets appear to be divided on the issue –  Entertainment Tonight reports that the threats are legitimate and at least two months old, as well as that the FBI contacted Kevin to inform him of the potential danger; Access Hollywood apparently refutes that claim, however, citing an unnamed source at the LAPD who said that there is no active investigation at this time. 

Today is a pivotal day in the custody battle between Kevin and Britney; The estranged couple split their time with sons Jayden James, 1, and Sean Preston, 2, 50-50, but Kevin reportedly is seeking a 70-30 custodial arrangement.

According to Gloria via MSNBC, Tony is "concerned for the safety of the" Federline children, having witnessed "nudity, drug use and safety issues" during his tenure.  Tony stopped working for Britney in mid-May 2007; Gloria said that her client was fired after he did not hear Britney when she asked him to pick up her hat.  Although he did not testify, Tony filed a sworn declaration detailing his concerns which was ultimately admitted into the record by the court.  Attorneys for Britney did not refute or challenge the document.

Sources:  TMZ, ETonline.com, MSNBC

Comments

And what does this have to do with celebrity baby news? The Federline children are ALWAYS in danger, and I don’t really think this is news for CBB.

- sasha on September 17th, 2007

what a crock!!! give me a break!!! boy does kfed have awesome PR or what!! I don’t believe for one second that Brit would order a hit on Kevin. I am really starting to think that Kevin has promised the moon and stars along with loads of money to anyone who will badmouth Britney. Don’t get me wrong, the girl needs to wear panties and not go out so much, but other than that…her boys are happy and healthy in every pic I see of them with her or Kevin. Drug use??? what about Kevin??? He admittedly uses marijuana and Shar even confirmed that!!! kevin still does not have a pool fence at his house, hows that for a safety issue? I think this Tony guy is probably PO’d that he was fired…and I doubt its because he didn’t pick up her hat…ludacris. I am really rooting for Brit here. This whole thing just screams from KFed…MONEY!

- tink1217 on September 17th, 2007

TMZ is now reporting that it isn’t true.

- amby on September 17th, 2007

TMz is reporting that it’s not true – there was an investigation 2 months ago!

- Nicole on September 17th, 2007

Is she insinuating that Britney put a hit on Kevin? Britney is alot of things but I don’t believe she would hire someone to kill him. She couldn’t be that stupid or heartless. I don’t know the details, but I know I don’t like Gloria Aldred. She’s a media hog who is known to grandstand.

What really saddens me is that those two boys are being pulled in two directions and some really nasty tactics are being used. In the heat of the moment they sound good but 10-15 years down the line when this stuff resurfaces and they ask questions their parents are going to have to some tough questions to answer.

I wish everyone involved would grow up (lawyers included who are using this nonsense for their own profit) and think of those babies. Britney needs to get help for whatever in the wold is going on with her and grow up and Kevin needs to get his a** in line and act like the grown man he is. Think of those boys, enough already! Sheesh.

- Grayson's Girl on September 17th, 2007

A hit? This whole thing sounds ridiculous to me! Who would care enough about K-Fed to want to see him dead? As for the 70-30 custody arrangement he’s seeking, that doesn’t sound too bad to me. I thought maybe he was going for full custody with only visitation rights for Britney so 70-30 seems a lot more fair unless it’s proven that Britney truly is a danger to her children, but if that were the case I think Kevin would be going for sole custody.

- legemc on September 17th, 2007

Why am I not surprised that Gloria Allred is behind a publicity stunt such as this?

- Robin M. on September 17th, 2007

I don’t believe the hit story, but boy, do I think Britney should lose custody!

- cats on September 17th, 2007

Well, not only is there this bit about a hit on kevin (which apparently was investigated 2 months ago) things just continue to get worse for Britney. Her new manager, Jeff Kwatinetz, just dropped her as a client for her “erratic behavior” and her lawyer, Laura Wasser asked to be removed as her lawyer…which is never a good sign. and some news outlets are reporting that she could be temporarily losing custody of her kids sometime soon. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297107,00.html

*sigh* I’ve totally lost faith that she will finally get her act together. Its a shame and a waste. My heart totally goes out to those babies.

- expostfacto on September 17th, 2007

Well I believe that Britney is that heartless, but it doesn’t mean that she’s behind it. But there are two separate issues, the investigation that the LAPD closed 2 months ago and these new allegations that the FBI is investigating.

- terri on September 17th, 2007

It doesn’t bode well for her that her manager and lawyer have both decided not to represent her anymore. I wonder what happened in court? I just hope that everything works out for the best for all concerned.

- legemc on September 17th, 2007

fox news isn’t the most reliable. guess we’ll just have to wait and see. It just kills me that so many other mothers do things so much worse than Britney has(aside from driving with SP on her lap she hasn’t done anything to endanger the kids as far as we know) keep custody of their children. I hate to see her lose custody even temporarily. AND, there are conflicting reports that Brit was the one who fired her management. Her lawyer is still behind her and says she will be in good hands. Jamie Lynn and her brother Brian were seen coming from her new home today also.

- tink1217 on September 17th, 2007

tink: I’m really confused as to why you’re so quick to assume the worst of Kevin at the same time that you’re cutting Britney so much slack no matter how many dangerous, reckless things she does. What a double standard.

- Kate on September 17th, 2007

This is exactly what I don’t think belongs on this forum. I don’t know if it’s true or not but everyone seems to be jumping to conclusions. One, no one is saying that Britney is the one who put the hit out and two, they said the FBI has BEEN investigating the case for two months (not did investigate it)…

I think everyone should just wait and see what pans out. I’m not automatically jumping on the “Britney put a hit on Kevin bandwagon” so neither should Britney supporters blame Kevin right off the bat when he may well have had nothing to do with it.

Britney’s behavior recently has been quite shocking but I would never see her doing something quite so evil. I think everyone should just sit back and watch. It’s in the hands of the court system now… hopefully they’ll have the boys best interests at heart.

- Rachel on September 17th, 2007

And Tink…

If I’m not mistaken Jamie Lynn and Brian are and have been the two individuals in the family who still see Britney. It’s really not unusual for them to be seen coming from her home…

- Rachel on September 17th, 2007

Okay, I missed the TMZ update (my apologies). But all that means is that they did an investigation and the evidence wasn’t significant enough (doesn’t mean there was never a hit out on him). Just sayin’.

As for the witness “Fat Tony”. I think it speaks VOLUMES that Britney’s attorneys allowed the testimony in and did not call him to the witness stand to testify. One of the reasons cited for Britney ‘firing’ Tony was him attempting to leak information about her… perhaps the information for which he was fired for trying to leak is the exact same information he revealed to the courts today and perhaps he was fired because he knew too much. I don’t know if that’s the case but again, it speaks volumes he was not asked to testify in court.

- Rachel on September 17th, 2007

Well I think she is that stupid and heartless, but I hope that it isn’t true. It seems they were investigating two separate instances, one that the LAPD closed and another that the FBI investigated. It could have just been some overzealous fans talking but not really having any intentions of going through with anything.

- terri on September 17th, 2007

Sorry K-Fed, I don’t think anyone is falling for this PR stunt this time.

Brittany should follow Pam Anderson’s lead on having two little boys from a deadbeat dad and move on and try to stay low profile compared to her past.

- J on September 17th, 2007

Kate, I assume the worst of Kevin because I smell a money hungry jerk, plain and simple. Its my opinion. I cut Britney slack because I am rooting for her to get her life together and I hope she still does. And, I am a mother. My ex husband tried all kinds of mind games saying he would take the kids from me just to prove he could do it…citing my going out and “partying” a couple times a week when the kids were 2 and 3. No, I didn’t get photographed without my underwear, but if I had been a celeb and photographed while out when I was 23 and 24 yrs old…you would have seen me hanging with male strippers and drinking and smoking. I never let that aspect of my life interfere with taking care of my children. I had some party days back then and it lasted about a year. I got sick of it, met a nice guy and settled down. The only difference…I wasn’t in the public eye. And, no…I never drove with my baby on my lap. I totally admit that was a stupid move on Brit’s part. Completely!! The no panties…stupid. Of course it is!!! Suffering from PPD…not her fault. Smoking around her children…not good, but she is not the only parent in the world to ever do it…I am sure Kevin has done it before. I don’t care if Brit chased Kevin or not…he had the choice to either stay with Shar and his kids or go to brit and he chose Brit…and her money. I feel bad for Brit because I think she had the best of intentions from the beginning. Thinking getting married and having a family was the way to go. It blew up in her face and why??? Because after having SP and getting pregnant again she saw Kevin for what he truly is. A player. Do we forget all the times Kevin was off playing around while Brit was the one at home??? Seems everyone does forget. People are so hateful of britney….because she has made lots of mistakes. Only one of those mistakes put her child’s life in danger and that was the car seat/driving with SP fiasco. tripping was an accident. There are lots of other things I could think of besides the things people chastise Brit for that are so much worse.

I read that the ex bodyguard tried to extort money from britney just a month or so after being fired. Shows what kind of “concern” he has for those boys. Brit+$$$$ That is the bottom line to most people in her life. Unfortunately.

Oh and Rachel, I was not aware that Jamie Lynn and Brian had been to see their sister in quite a long time. There haven’t been any sightings in quite some time until yesterday.

- tink1217 on September 18th, 2007

I think the court ruling was completely fair. The judge said that “Based on the evidence presented, the Court finds that there is a habitual, frequent, and continuous use of controlled substances by Petitioner (Britney)”
Britney and Kevin will maintain 50/50 custody (Kevin was seeking 70/30 btw not 100%) and both will have to have biweekly drug testing, neither can drink during or up to 12 hours before they get custody of the kids, can’t use corporal punishment, must go to parenting classes, joint parent counseling etc… (pretty much what you would expect)
Britney has quite a list of additional programs she must attend though including individual counseling and meetings with a parenting coach.

Again, seems pretty dang fair to me.

- Rachel on September 18th, 2007

I think the ruling was somewhat fair. In addition to Brit’s drug testing, I still think KFed should have to be tested too. I mean, he does smoke weed and he does drink. We have seen him out partying just a day before getting the kids. I think they should BOTH have that stipulation. Other than that, it was pretty fair. Obviously the judge didn’t think the kids were in immediate danger or he would have granted Kevin’s request for 70/30 custody or full temporary custody. The corporal punishment thing worries me…has someone been hitting the kids??? They mention both parties AND family members/spouses…hmmmm…makes you wonder. I sincerely HOPE this turns things around for Britney. I hope she proves everyone wrong.

- tink1217 on September 18th, 2007