"The items were illegally seized," Hilton's attorney Elliott Mintz said. "Paris is incredibly upset and angry."
Adult marketing consultant Kevin “KB” Blatt, known for his heavy promotion of the infamous Paris Hilton sex tape, previously told XBiz he has lined up investors willing to pay $12 million to buy the contents of a storage locker believed to contain several items belonging to the “One Night in Paris” star.
The National Enquirer reportedly tipped off the socialite that computers, journals, tapes and hundreds of photos were missing from a storage space she rents in Los Angeles. Mintz said Hilton’s lawyers are looking into taking legal action.
"We wish to make it perfectly clear to anyone who elects to purchase or publish any of Paris Hilton's personal papers, photos, or tapes or any other personal possessions that we will prosecute them to the highest extent of the law," Mintz said.
Friday, Blatt said his investors want to use the locker to “get Paris’ attention” on a Hilton-branded casino they want to build in Europe. After Blatt failed to hook his investors up with Hilton, he said he decided the contents of the locker might convince the star to talk with them.
Additionally, sex tape hound David Hans Schmidt said he paid $2,775 to the storage facility for Hilton's 18 diaries, photos, clothing, computers, videos, furniture and sex toys, the Los Angeles Times reported. Hilton's publicist told the Times the items were put in storage when Hilton moved in 2004 and were mistakenly sold in November in a "bureaucratic foul-up."
Blatt said that Schmidt assured him all of the items were obtained legally after Hilton failed to pay the monthly fee for her storage locker.
Schmidt told the Los Angeles Times he's more than willing to return Hilton's belongings — for a starting bid of $20 million. Hilton's rep called the price "rather irrational" but said he wouldn't rule out the possibility of Hilton buying her stuff back.
According to other wire reports, Hilton's legal team has reportedly been in contact with attorneys for the individuals who originally contacted the Enquirer, and have threatened to file a formal complaint with the Los Angeles Police Department if the items are not returned.
"Forget the tapes — Hilton was most upset about losing her journals. When I first told her, the thing that upset her the most were her journals and her diaries — that is the most personal of the materials,” Mintz told The New York Post’s Page Six.
Mintz also told Page Six that no criminal investigation is currently taking place and that neither Hilton nor her attorneys have yet gone to the police for help.
“We haven't gone to authorities and are basically hoping to work this out [privately],” Mintz said. “My interest is to see to it Paris gets her things back. I don't know if any money will be involved."