Former superstar Giant Plaxico Burress today was indicted on weapons charges that have already cost him his $35 million football contract — and will now likely cost him his freedom.
The devastating legal blow to the star athlete proves that all are equal under the eyes of the law, authorities said.
GIANTS RELIEVED PIERCE IN CLEAR
“We certainly won’t let someone avoid charges because he has football games he wants to play,” said chief assistant district attorney Mark Dwyer, the No. 2 man to Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau.
This afternoon, Morgenthau announced that a grand jury had indicted the suspended receiver on felony gun possession for admittedly carrying a loaded, unlicensed gun into the crowded VIP section of the Latin Quarter club in Midtown last November, where it slid down the waistband of his pants and fired as he tried to grab for it. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 3-and-a-half years.
This, despite Burress having testified before the grand jury Wednesday and giving all his reasons for carrying a gun — the bling and cash he carries, the robberies he suffered in the past — and telling them he was “truly remorseful” for his actions.
The grand jury cleared Giants defensive captain Antonio Pierce of all charges for admittedly keeping Plax’s gun overnight at his own home in Totowa, NJ, instead of handing it over to cops as soon as he got Plax to the hospital.
“Antonio was confident that once the grand jurors were able to weigh his demeanor and he was able to explain the workings of his mind on that extraordinary evening, they would conclude that he acted as any reasonable person would have,” said Pierce’s lawyer Michael Bachner. Pierce had testified Thursday and Friday.
Also cleared by the grand jury was the unnamed Latin Quarter security guard who — because Plaxico asked — picked up the blood-splattered Glock from the floor of the VIP section and carried it to Pierce’s car.
“Bad judgement in the first degree is not a crime,” Morgenthau said of the security guard.
No charges were sought against New York-Cornell Hospital personnel for letting Plaxico check in under an assumed name, “Harris Smith,” and not reporting his gunshot wound as the law requires.
“The evidence showed that was a screw up rather than a cover-up,” Morgenthau said.
The bad news left Plax’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, sounding as much like a sports manager as a defense lawyer, promoting the prospects of the one-time football hero who caught the touchdown pass that won last year’s Superbowl.
“Mr. Burress continues to train and is available to play this season, pending what action, if any, is taken by the commissioner of the NFL,” the lawyer said in an issued statement. “Given the complexities of the legal proceedings that lie ahead it is unlikely that a trial of this indictment would be scheduled before the Spring of 2010,” he said.
Brafman also took a swipe at the DA and Mayor Bloomberg for “publicly demanding a maximum prison sentence” — something neither had actually done, although both men had indeed demanded prison.
But given the publicity, “It was perhaps too much to hope for the grand jury to conduct a sympathetic review of the unique facts of this sad case,” Brafman said.
The charges against Plax — and the reprieve for Pierce — were announced at a DA press conference where prosecutors gave their most detailed public statement yet about the occurrences that night at the Latin Quarter.
There were some new, and some corrected, details.
* Plaxico’s Florida carry license had expired in May of 2008 — a full six months before the self-inflicted shooting.
* The gun had been in the waist-band of Plaxico’s jeans — not sweatpants, as had been widely reported.
* It fired in a room crowded with some 20-to-30 employees and customers. After traveling clear through Plaxico’s thigh, the bullet clattered to the floor, where it was picked up by a bartender, said lead prosecutor John Wolfstaetter.
“He wanted to keep it as a souvenir,” Morgenthau told reporters, smiling. “We told him he couldn’t keep it.”
* The bullet came within inches of striking a security guard but nowhere near Pierce, who was not standing near Plaxico as had been previously reported.
* As Pierce helped the bleeding Plaxico out of the club, a second security guard — on Plaxico’s request — scooped the blood-splattered Glock and its loaded magazine off the floor and, carrying them, accompanied the two Giants to Pierce’s car, an Escalade parked about a block away. The guard, whose name was not revealed, placed the gun and magazine in the Escalade’s glove compartment.
* After dropping Plaxico off at the hospital, Pierce did not immediately drop the pistol and magazine off at Burress’s house in Totowa, NJ, as has been reported. Instead he “transported the pistol and magazine back to his home” in the same Jersey town. Prosecutors declined to say just how Pierce then “arranged” for the gun to be returned to Burress’s home.
* More than 20 witnesses testified before the grand jury.
Morgenthau has taken some heat for taking so long — more than seven months — to convene a grand jury in the case, time that has allowed Plaxico to market himself as available to play this season for potentially millions of dollars.
Yesterday, the DA said he simply needed the time to do a thorough investigation. “The case required a more protracted investigation than does a typical weapons possession case, given the number of witensses and the need to investigate events both before and after the shooting,” Morgenthau said.
Meanwhile, the following NFL and Giants officials weighed in on the good news for Pierce:
President John Mara: “We certainly agree with the grand jury’s decision.
We said last week we felt strongly that Antonio’s actions did not warrant criminal charges, and obviously the grand jury, having heard all of the testimony, felt the same way.”
Chairman Steve Tisch: “This was an extremely serious matter that Antonio and our organization responded to in an appropriate way. Needless to say, we are happy with the decision announced today by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.”
General Manager Jerry Reese: “Antonio is a leader on this team, but he is still human, and this has been an emotionally draining experience for him. We know he was happy to get to training camp yesterday, and with this behind him, he can focus all his energy and efforts on football. He took this matter very seriously.”
Head Coach Tom Coughlin: “As I said yesterday, we are anxious to start the new season, nobody more than Antonio. Today’s decision allows him and this team to move forward and focus on our preparation for the season.”