THE breaks keep rushing in for gunslinging ex-Giant Plaxico Burress.
It’s civil war inside the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office over what to do about our favorite, mentally challenged football player.
One faction inside DA Robert Morgenthau’s lair wants to give Plax a break, sources near the case told me. He’s accused of firing an illegal gun into his thigh at a Chelsea nightclub last year — narrowly missing innocent bystanders and his own sensitive regions.
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We’re talking little or no jail time. A few months, max.
A conflicting faction wants Plaxico, who faces felony gun-possession charges, “to be treated like everybody else,” said one source.
That means indictment, prosecution and, if convicted, hard time.
Fat chance.
The war inside the DA’s office already has drawn things out so long that a grand jury has yet to be convened over what seems a relatively simple incident that took place back in November. His next court date is Sept. 23.
But be sensible. We’re talking about a multimillion-dollar football career!
“He may be stupid, and he used bad judgment, but the only one he hurt was himself,” said one source.
“A lot of people think there should be a reasonable way to resolve this matter that doesn’t end his career. If he loses more than one season, his career could be over for good.”
Oh, my God. Not his career!
But another passel of prosecutors is pressing to throw the book at Plaxico, potentially putting him away for years.
“Why wouldn’t they proceed like every other case?” asked another source. “Give a plea deal. Don’t give a plea deal. There are definite camps. One wants to give him a real break.”
Morgenthau, said the source, may be planning to pass the “hot potato” case to the next district attorney, who takes office in January, after Morgy retires.
Morgenthau refused comment.
“You’ve got [Burress attorney] Ben Brafman and a celebrity. It’s never simple,” said the source.
“I can see a trial convincing some jurors that this wasn’t serious. Especially if they’re sports fans.”
That hasn’t stopped the chorus of “special treatment!”
DA candidate Leslie Crocker Snyder told me, “I find it bizarre” that a grand jury has not been seated seven months after the shooting.
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Another DA candidate, Richard Aborn, said he found jail time “appropriate” for Plaxico.
Brafman said, “I refuse to discuss any specifics about my discussions with the DA’s office, but my ultimate objective in this case is to save Plaxico from a career-ending disposition.”
Good news, football fans.
There is no equal justice.