Merv Adelson Options
LIES WITHIN LIES
About Nevada’s Judge Harry Claiborne
LAS VEGAS – Merv Adelson, who co-founded Lorimar Television and is now an executive advisor to Warner Brothers, has optioned a hard-hitting new book about a controversial Las Vegas federal judge for development as a feature movie.
The book, Lies Within Lies: The Betrayal of Nevada Judge Harry Claiborne, by Michael Vernetti, recounts Claiborne’s run-in with federal prosecutors in the 1980s. Claiborne became the first federal judge in U.S. history to be convicted of a crime allegedly committed while on the bench, served time in a federal penitentiary, impeached by Congress and removed from office.
“Harry Claiborne was the most brilliant lawyer of his generation and his rise began when I was a young real estate developer in Las Vegas,” Adelson said. “I have always thought he was unfairly targeted and prosecuted, and this book exposes all the malice and misjudgment of federal authorities who used every bit of their formidable power to get a judge they didn’t like. The book is extremely cinematic and I am confident it will become a major motion picture that audiences will embrace.”
Adelson’s former company, Lorimar Television, was responsible for mega-hits Dallas, The Waltons, and others. He sold Lorimar to Warner Brothers in 1989 and in his new role with the media conglomerate is responsible for enticing new media entrepreneurs to the company.
Lies Within Lies is Vernetti’s second book, following a biography of the late U.S. Senator from Nevada, Howard Cannon, who was responsible for Claiborne’s appointment to the federal bench in 1978.
Published in February 2011 by Stephens Press. LLC of Las Vegas, Lies Within Lies, is available at local bookstores and on Amazon.com. Details about the Claiborne and the book can be found at www.LiesWithinLies.com. Terms of the deal with Adelson were not revealed.