Michael Jackson is selling
his Neverland Valley ranch for $44.8 million to California businessman Bill
Wyatt and is in the process of purchasing property in Gary, Indiana, a source
close to Jackson has told The Hoosier Gazette.
Gary, best known for being
named “Murder Capital of America” in 1993 for having the highest per capita
homicide rate in the nation, is Jackson’s birthplace and where his family formed
the Jackson Five.
Jackson’s friends in show
business are perplexed by his recent decision to relocate to one of the most
crime-ridden and rundown cities in the nation.
“I can’t believe this! It
is not like Michael to do something so strange. I am really worried he might be
losing it mentally,” said close friend and confidant Elizabeth Taylor.
“Poor Mikey is moving back
to that horrible, horrible place!” added friend Liza Minnelli; “I hope being
around so many bad influences doesn’t get him into trouble.”
It has been speculated
Jackson is making the move to Gary to cut expenses to help pay for his recent
legal problems and to toughen up his image.
“Most people don’t know
what a bad-ass Mike is,” says ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley, “That is why I was
attracted to him. He is a nice guy but if you mess with him you better watch
out. Moving to Gary will show the public this side of him, something they
haven’t seen since his video ‘Bad’ back in ’87.”
There is no word on which
street gang Jackson will join upon moving to Gary, but there are several
possibilities. He is the hottest free agent on the market, and all the major
gangs have invited The King of Pop to join.
“It’s been tough ‘round
here since GRIT has been on our asses,” says G-City Ballaz member Rashon Carter,
“Somebody with M.J.’s wallet would put us over the top and in control of drugs
in the whole city.” The Gary Response Investigative Team (GRIT), formed in
1997, is “comprised of members of the
FBI, the DEA, the Gary Police Department, the Indiana State Police, the United
States Attorney's Office, the Lake County Prosecutor's Office, and the Indiana
Army National Guard to combat the high crime problem in the city of Gary,
Indiana.”
Jackson could elect to
start his own gang, one that he could be head of and call his own shots. “Mike
just adores ‘West Side Story’ so I wouldn’t be surprised if he started a gang
called either The Jets or The Sharks,” said Presley.
