In 1962, MCA’s dominating presence in Hollywood ran smack into the Department of Justice. Its investigation into the company’s “monopolistic practices” resulted in a face-off between Wasserman (whose beloved allies included Ronald Reagan, then in the midst of leaving the Democratic Party and becoming a Republican) and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To avoid criminal and civil penalties for alleged antitrust violations, MCA agreed to divest itself of its talent agency at the same time that the company bought struggling Universal Pictures and Decca Records.
