A onetime Beverly Hills dentist, Chandler was the father of Jordie Chandler, now 29, who was paid a reported $20 million by Jackson to stop speaking about his claims that he was abused during sleepovers with the King of Pop in 1992, when Jordie was 12. His parents reportedly received $1.5 million each as part of the settlement, according to Diane Dimond, author of “Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case.” Dimond told ABCNews.com that Chandler was suffering from a rare metabolic disorder called Gaucher disease, a hereditary condition most prevalent in the Ashkenazi Jewish population.
The disease causes a slow, painful deterioration and if left untreated can be excruciating. Dimond said Chandler, who was also bipolar, did not take care of his condition. Moreover, Chandler was estranged from Jordie, his two ex-wives, his children from his second marriage, and his two brothers. “He had pushed everybody away,” Dimond said. “He was very sick. He needed crutches to get around. He couldn’t earn money on his own. He had spent all his money. All he had was a monthly stipend from the son (Jordie) who wouldn’t talk to him.”
Dimond said the cop who responded to Chandler’s apartment found medication and medical paraphernalia all over the room, indicating that Chandler was a “very ill man in a lot of pain.” Chandler’s troubles began years earlier, even before Jordie met Jackson, according to Victor Gutierrez, author of “Michael Jackson Was My Lover: The Secret Diary of Jordan Chandler.”
“This family did not fall apart right after the settlement,” Gutierrez told ABCnews.com. “This family was dysfunctional way before.”
ABC.com
