John McTiernan released from prison

John McTiernan has been released from prison in South Dakota after being convicted of lying to the FBI.

The 63-year-old Die Hard director spent 328 days behind bars after pleading guilty to making false statements during investigations into celebrity private detective Anthony Pellicano.

John McTiernan’s wife Gail said he had returned to his home in Wyoming, where he is under house arrest until April 3.

He plans to appeal his conviction.

A spokeswoman for John McTiernan said he was filing a complaint with the Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility to have his conviction reversed and erased, saying the director believes he was treated unfairly.

His lawyer Hank Hockeimer said his client had been in prison “not only for a crime he did not commit, but for conduct that simply is not a crime”.

“McTiernan, though incarcerated, has never been given proof of any evidence the government alleged to have against him.”

John McTiernan pleaded guilty in 2006 to hiring Anthony Pellicano to wiretap film producer Charles Roven after they worked on the 2002 movie Rollerball, and then lying to FBI agents about it.

Shortly after, John McTiernan sought to reverse the plea, claiming he was drunk and jetlagged, but he was sentenced to four months in jail and fined $100,000.

In 2008, an appeals court allowed his not guilty plea and quashed the fine, however he was charged on federal offences a year later.

John McTiernan was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison in October 2010, but stayed free until last year pending appeals in the case.

Anthony Pellicano was convicted of 78 crimes at two separate trials in 2008 for obtaining the private records of a number of Hollywood stars including Sylvester Stallone. He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for racketeering, conspiracy and wiretapping.