PARIS Hilton's billionaire grandfather donated money to the election campaign of the sheriff who released the 26-year-old American hotel heiress from jail, it has been revealed.
The contribution from William Barron Hilton, 78, co-chairman of the Hilton Hotel chain, to Sheriff Lee Baca's re-election campaign is revealed in financial records.
A friend of the Hilton family said the temporary release of the heiress last week may have been a "quid pro quo".
"A member of her family has been a contributor to Baca's campaign and this may have been payback time," the friend said.
"Her entourage initially were confident she would be out of jail in a few days."
Mr Baca, who has faced heavy criticism for attempting to overrule the judge in the case, has in the past been accused of favouritism towards the Hollywood elite.
He was the officer who failed to report actor Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade after the star was arrested for drink-driving.
Gibson had filmed television advertisements for one of Sheriff Baca's pet causes - an education fund for policemen's children.
Celebrities including Sylvester Stallone and Dustin Hoffman have also backed Mr Baca's election campaigns since 1998.
A spokesman for Hilton declined to comment on the report, as did officials for the sheriff's department.
Last Friday, Mr Baca said Hilton would serve another 18 days behind bars.
Hilton, sent to jail for violating probation in a drink-driving case, will finish her sentence in the prison medical ward where she ended up after a day of house arrest, celebrity website TMZ.com reported today.
New reports today said that Hilton's health collapse last week was caused by dehydration.
"She didn't eat or drink a single thing for three days because she didn't want to use the toilet," a source also told the New York Daily News, adding that Hilton suffered from claustrophobia and hyperventilation.
"She was absolutely terrified that one of the guards or staffers would get her with the cellphone cam and it would wind up on the Internet," a source identified as a Hilton insider told the newspaper.
"She cried the entire time, and that wasn't helping the dehydration," the source told the paper.
Hilton was visited by sister Nicky Hilton and ex-boyfriend Stavros Niarchos today according to news reports.
"She's being strong," Nicky Hilton told reporters after the 30-minute visit at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility's medical ward, according to People Magazine' online edition.
Hilton was being given psychotropic drugs, TMZ reported on Saturday, citing law enforcement sources.
She was being held in a room by herself with a glass door guarded at all times and her psychiatrist spend all day Sunday with her, the report said.
Psychotropic medications affect a person's emotions and behaviour and include drugs like lithium, which is taken for depression, and Valium, which eases anxiety.
Hilton, who was dragged sobbing back to jail, said being in prison was the hardest thing she had ever done, but she would not appeal her sentence.
"Today, I told my attorneys not to appeal the judge's decision," Hilton said in a statement, reported by the Los Angeles Times.
"Being in jail is by far the hardest thing I have ever done," she said.
She was initally sentenced to 45 days in jail in May for violating her probation and driving on an suspended licence. That was reduced to about three weeks for good behaviour before she even started her sentence.
Her early release last Thursday, after just three days in jail, triggered a wave of outrage and an angry judge demanded she be brought back to court on Friday, when he ruled she had to go back to prison.
Images of a dishevelled, distraught Hilton, far from the cool, glamorous blonde seen gracing catwalks and red-carpet soirees, were seen around the world as she was handcuffed by police and brought before Judge Michael Sauer.
"During the past several days, I have had a lot of time to think, and I believe that I am learning and growing from this experience," Hilton said.
Mr Baca had released Hilton. tagged her with an electronic ankle bracelet, and ordered her to serve out her sentence under house arrest for unspecified "medical reasons".
Stunned prosecutors filed a petition in protest and on Friday Judge Sauer ordered Hilton back to jail to serve out her sentence.
Hilton apparently broke down, wailing "mum, mum, mum", as the judge ordered her back to prison saying "the order is final and forthwith."
In her statement, Hilton thanked her fans for their support which she said she had been reading in her cell, and took a swipe at the relentless media coverage.
"I would hope going forward that the public and the media will focus on more important things, like the men and women serving our country in Iraq and other places around the world."
Ocean's 13 star George Clooney believes the Simple Life star is a hypocrite for manipulating the press attention to create her current "star" status, only for her whinge about the current media frenzy.
WENN reported Clooney as saying, "You can only get so far without discernable talent - then you either work, or use cheap publicity tricks to keep the public's attention.
"Paris has no reason to complain if she is on the end of bad publicity."
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21884884-1702,00.html
The contribution from William Barron Hilton, 78, co-chairman of the Hilton Hotel chain, to Sheriff Lee Baca's re-election campaign is revealed in financial records.
A friend of the Hilton family said the temporary release of the heiress last week may have been a "quid pro quo".
"A member of her family has been a contributor to Baca's campaign and this may have been payback time," the friend said.
"Her entourage initially were confident she would be out of jail in a few days."
Mr Baca, who has faced heavy criticism for attempting to overrule the judge in the case, has in the past been accused of favouritism towards the Hollywood elite.
He was the officer who failed to report actor Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade after the star was arrested for drink-driving.
Gibson had filmed television advertisements for one of Sheriff Baca's pet causes - an education fund for policemen's children.
Celebrities including Sylvester Stallone and Dustin Hoffman have also backed Mr Baca's election campaigns since 1998.
A spokesman for Hilton declined to comment on the report, as did officials for the sheriff's department.
Last Friday, Mr Baca said Hilton would serve another 18 days behind bars.
Hilton, sent to jail for violating probation in a drink-driving case, will finish her sentence in the prison medical ward where she ended up after a day of house arrest, celebrity website TMZ.com reported today.
New reports today said that Hilton's health collapse last week was caused by dehydration.
"She didn't eat or drink a single thing for three days because she didn't want to use the toilet," a source also told the New York Daily News, adding that Hilton suffered from claustrophobia and hyperventilation.
"She was absolutely terrified that one of the guards or staffers would get her with the cellphone cam and it would wind up on the Internet," a source identified as a Hilton insider told the newspaper.
"She cried the entire time, and that wasn't helping the dehydration," the source told the paper.
Hilton was visited by sister Nicky Hilton and ex-boyfriend Stavros Niarchos today according to news reports.
"She's being strong," Nicky Hilton told reporters after the 30-minute visit at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility's medical ward, according to People Magazine' online edition.
Hilton was being given psychotropic drugs, TMZ reported on Saturday, citing law enforcement sources.
She was being held in a room by herself with a glass door guarded at all times and her psychiatrist spend all day Sunday with her, the report said.
Psychotropic medications affect a person's emotions and behaviour and include drugs like lithium, which is taken for depression, and Valium, which eases anxiety.
Hilton, who was dragged sobbing back to jail, said being in prison was the hardest thing she had ever done, but she would not appeal her sentence.
"Today, I told my attorneys not to appeal the judge's decision," Hilton said in a statement, reported by the Los Angeles Times.
"Being in jail is by far the hardest thing I have ever done," she said.
She was initally sentenced to 45 days in jail in May for violating her probation and driving on an suspended licence. That was reduced to about three weeks for good behaviour before she even started her sentence.
Her early release last Thursday, after just three days in jail, triggered a wave of outrage and an angry judge demanded she be brought back to court on Friday, when he ruled she had to go back to prison.
Images of a dishevelled, distraught Hilton, far from the cool, glamorous blonde seen gracing catwalks and red-carpet soirees, were seen around the world as she was handcuffed by police and brought before Judge Michael Sauer.
"During the past several days, I have had a lot of time to think, and I believe that I am learning and growing from this experience," Hilton said.
Mr Baca had released Hilton. tagged her with an electronic ankle bracelet, and ordered her to serve out her sentence under house arrest for unspecified "medical reasons".
Stunned prosecutors filed a petition in protest and on Friday Judge Sauer ordered Hilton back to jail to serve out her sentence.
Hilton apparently broke down, wailing "mum, mum, mum", as the judge ordered her back to prison saying "the order is final and forthwith."
In her statement, Hilton thanked her fans for their support which she said she had been reading in her cell, and took a swipe at the relentless media coverage.
"I would hope going forward that the public and the media will focus on more important things, like the men and women serving our country in Iraq and other places around the world."
Ocean's 13 star George Clooney believes the Simple Life star is a hypocrite for manipulating the press attention to create her current "star" status, only for her whinge about the current media frenzy.
WENN reported Clooney as saying, "You can only get so far without discernable talent - then you either work, or use cheap publicity tricks to keep the public's attention.
"Paris has no reason to complain if she is on the end of bad publicity."
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21884884-1702,00.html
