Celebrity Lawyer Mitchelson Found Guilty of Tax Fraud : Crime: Famed palimony attorney convicted of concealing nearly $2 million in income from 1983-86.

Celebrity attorney Marvin Mitchelson was led away in handcuffs Tuesday after a federal jury in Los Angeles found him guilty of tax fraud.

Mitchelson, whose clients have included Joan Collins, Sonny Bono and Rock Hudson’s lover, was convicted of concealing close to $2 million in income between 1983 and 1986, spinning what federal prosecutors called “a web of deceit” to fund a luxurious lifestyle.

“This is the West Coast version of the Leona Helmsley case,” U.S. Atty. Terree A. Bowers said, referring to the high-living New York hotelier convicted of tax evasion in 1989.

The famed lawyer--who pioneered the right of unmarried partners to bring a palimony suit against lovers--could face up to 12 years in prison and $1 million in fines. U.S. District Judge William D. Keller set sentencing for April.

Mitchelson, known for his flamboyance and an ever-ready sound bite, kept his head bowed as U.S. marshals took him into custody. He had no comment.

Soon after he was placed in a holding cell, the 64-year-old Mitchelson complained of chest pains and was taken to White Memorial Medical Center. He was in stable condition, according to Scott Clarkson, one of his attorneys.

After the verdict, which followed an eight-week trial and one day of deliberations, Keller set a bail hearing for Tuesday.

The verdict came a day after Mitchelson filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

In a statement released late Tuesday, Clarkson said: “Mr. Mitchelson is obviously disappointed about the verdict today but remains optimistic.”

During the trial Mitchelson blamed his accountant for the tax problems.

But Bowers said: “This type of case is particularly irksome to us when you have people who are famous and wealthy, yet they engage in manipulative conduct in order to cheat on their taxes.” More than 98% of the income that the IRS collected from Mitchelson since 1972 has been obtained through liens and other enforcement activities, Bowers added.

The case was the product of a three-year investigation that led agents to seek information from many high-profile clients whom Mitchelson had represented, including scientist-author Carl Sagan and Sheka Dena Al-Fassi, who once lived in a Sunset Boulevard home where the nude statuary had colorfully painted private parts.

According to Assistant U.S. Atty. Gary S. Lincenberg, Mitchelson hid fees paid by clients, overstated fees he said he had paid to other attorneys and claimed that payments to a girlfriend were professional fees.

“There were debts and spending out of control on personal luxuries,” the prosecutor said. “One day in 1985 he bought a Rolls-Royce for his wife and another car for his girlfriend.”