By Alan DukeLos Angeles (CNN) -- The promoter for Michael Jackson's comeback concerts expressed doubts about the star's ability to be ready for the shows but expressed confidence in the private doctor eventually convicted in Jackson's death, according to e-mails published in Sunday's Los Angeles Times.
AEG Live President Randy Phillips was responding to "This Is It" director Kenny Ortega's e-mail, which said Jackson had "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" and suggesting they hire a "top Psychiatrist in to evaluate him ASAP."
Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from what the Los Angeles County coroner ruled was an overdose of a surgical anesthetic and sedatives, drugs that Dr. Conrad Murray told police he used to help the entertainer sleep as he prepared for the concerts set to start two weeks later.
Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison last year.
The e-mails, leaked to the newspaper, were gathered for an insurance company's lawsuit, which seeks to void a $17.5 million policy that AEG Live purchased in case Jackson was not able to perform the 50 shows scheduled for London's O2 Arena. The newspaper did not disclose the source of the leaks.
Lloyds of London contends AEG Live hid Jackson's health problems from the insurer and failed to respond to repeated requests for his medical history.
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While Phillips called Jackson's death "a terrible tragedy" in an e-mail weeks after he died, he added "but life must go on."
"AEG will make a fortune from merch sales, ticket retention, the touring exhibition and the film/dvd," Phillips wrote. In fact, AEG Live was allowed to sell Jackson tour merchandise and share in the profits from the documentary "This Is It," produced from rehearsal video.
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