Blitz
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- Mar 20, 2019
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Friday night’s news that a search warrant suggests witnesses received $55,000 to recant allegations of a robbery involving Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar (pictured) and Giants cornerback Deandre Baker became the latest twist in one of the most bizarre stories of the offseason. Predictably, the lawyer representing one of the men contends that the latest allegations are false.
Michael Grieco issued a statement to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times denying the contention that the players paid the witnesses to change their stories.
“Law enforcement, both local and federal, was advised from day one and beyond that the alleged ‘victims’ in this case were actively extorting Baker and Dunbar,” said Grieco, who represents Dunbar. “These men fabricated a robbery story after waiting an hour to call police and then immediately began contacting the players demanding money.
“My office obtained accurate and truthful affidavits consistent with the independent witness and my client’s account. These ‘victims’ are seasoned career criminals who have been arrested and/or convicted of crimes ranging from conspiracy to commit murder, to human trafficking, to filing a false police report. Mr. Dunbar took and passed a polygraph confirming that he did not participate or witness any robbery.”
Grieco’s motivation to deny the allegation of payment to witnesses aimed at getting them to change their stories extends beyond his representation of Dunbar. If the allegations as reported by the New York Daily News are true, Grieco faces potential criminal jeopardy along with possible disciplinary action from the bar association of the states in which he’s licensed to practice law. Indeed, video evidence reportedly shows the witnesses in Grieco’s office with Grieco present when the payments allegedly were made.
And so this story will surely continues as the case winds its way through the court system. Weeks after the lawyers insisted that it all would go away quickly, it hasn’t. Which tends to undermine the repeated claim that their clients did nothing wrong.