Private investigator Anthony Pellicano was sentenced in federal court on Monday to 15 years in prison over the illegal wiretapping of the ex-wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian.

Pellicano was convicted in August of conspiring to illegally wiretap Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, Kerkorian’s ex-wife, during a bitter child support battle. Pellicano was hired by prominent Century City entertainment attorney Terry Christensen to intercept and record the phone calls of Bonder Kerkorian.

Christensen was tried alongside Pellicano in the case, and was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wiretapping, and aiding and abetting a wiretap. He was sentenced last month to three years in prison and fined $250,000.

A probation officer recommended that U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer sentence Pellicano to 70 months in federal prison. Prosecutors recommended that the ex-private investigator be sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison.

At two separate trials this year, Pellicano was found guilty of 78 felonies, including racketeering, conspiracy, wiretapping, identity theft and computer fraud.

Fischer on Monday ordered Pellicano, and his two co-defendants in the first trial, to forfeit $2 million. The sum is the estimated amount Pellicano, former LAPD Sgt. Mark Arneson and former telephone company technician Rayford Earl Turner made while running the illegal private investigation enterprise.