Football
State asks judge to hold Kraft lawyers in contempt of court for making ‘false statement’
By Carli Teproff
May 07, 2019 02:52 PM
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Patriots owner Robert Kraft charged with soliciting prostitution
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution at a spa in Jupiter, Fla.
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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution at a spa in Jupiter, Fla.
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Billionaire football team tycoon Robert Kraft wandered into the wrong “Asian spa” and got himself into a huge mess. Now his lawyers find themselves in a pickle. Prosecutors in the State of Florida vs. Robert Kraft wants his lawyers cited for criminal contempt of court.
In a motion filed Tuesday, the state is asking a Palm Beach County circuit court judge to hold attorneys Alex Spiro and William Burck in contempt for “knowingly and intentionally making a false statement of fact” while questioning a witness, who happens to be a cop. They were questioning him about a conversation picked up over a body cam.
The state also contends the lawyers approached the same witness in the hallway during a lunch break, despite the “sequestration rule,” which prohibits talking to witnesses.
Burck said the state was “sweating desperation” by filing the motion.
“They are trying to deflect from the unconstitutional and illegal acts of the police and the state attorney’s office in this case by making false and unethical claims against the lawyers,” Burck told the Herald Tuesday afternoon. “It demonstrates a degree of desperation that reveals that the state will go to any length to try to save its case.”
In January, Kraft was charged with two counts of solicitation to commit prostitution as part of an investigation into the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter. Kraft was one of dozens of men charged with paying for sex at the Jupiter massage parlor.
His attorneys filed a motion asking a judge to suppress evidence collected from a search warrant that allowed video cameras in the day spa.
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The more than 100 hours of video surveillance — from both inside and outside the spa — were the subject an April 29 court hearing in which a judge ruled the videos would remain sealed. The videos are part of the criminal case against spa owner Hua Zhang and therapist Lei Wang.
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