LOS ANGELES, April 1, 2008 (AFP) - The private detective at the center of a Hollywood wiretapping scandal offered to murder a film producer involved in a business dispute with a client, a court heard Tuesday.

New York hedge fund manager Adam Sender told Los Angeles Superior Court that 'private eye to the stars' Anthony Pellicano offered to kill producer Aaron Russo, who Sender had accused of conning him out of 1.1 million dollars.

Sender, who testified under an immunity deal, paid Pellicano around 500,000 dollars to investigate and wiretap Russo from 2001 to 2002.

Eventually, Pellicano offered to have Russo killed, Sender said.

'If I wanted to, I could basically authorize him (Pellicano) to have him (Russo) murdered on his way back from Las Vegas ... have somebody follow him back, drive him off the road and bury his body in the desert,' he said.

Sender declined the offer. Russo, best known for producing the hit 1983 comedy 'Trading Places,' died after a long illness in 2007.

Pellicano, who is representing himself, asked Sender under cross-examination if it was possible the offer might have been made as a joke. 'Didn't Mr Pellicano say, 'You spend all this money, why don't you just whack him?''

'He might have phrased it that way,' Sender replied.

Prosecutors have charged Pellicano and four co-defendants on 107 federal charges, accusing them of illegally wiretapping clients and legal adversaries. The five men have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Pellicano is alleged to have paid a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant to run dozens of unauthorized background checks on law enforcement databases.

The case continues.