Joseph Medawar pitched his idea for a series on homeland security at high levels of government. Officials say it was all a scam.....
His lead actress brainstormed with two influential California congressmen, Christopher Cox and Dana Rohrabacher, as well as House Homeland Security Committee staffers, on how to make the show more realistic.
....
And Medawar's political contributions smoothed the way for a photo with President Bush, attendance at invitation-only GOP events and an introduction to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger at a Staples Center skybox.
....
If anyone had checked, they would have found that Medawar had a paper trail of business disputes and lawsuits going back 15 years, one of which drew FBI attention. Yet, he pulled off his alleged scam under the noses of top local law enforcement and national security officials.
"How did anybody buy his act?" said acting coach Sal Dano, who attended a meeting two years ago at the Peninsula Hotel to assemble a production team for Medawar's series.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homeland13oct13,0,5350987.story?coll=la-home-local