Lawyers for two NFL players have denied reports that they paid off victims of an armed robbery to encourage them to recant their testimony. Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar is represented by Michael Grieco, a former Democratic state House member who is now accused of paying the victims $55,000 to change their story, according to a warrant reportedly seen by the New York Daily News. New York Giants cornerback DeAndrew Baker was also an alleged perpetrator of the armed robbery that took place in Miramar, Florida in May.
According to the warrant as reported by the Post, Grieco, who resigned as a city commissioner in 2017 after a campaign finance scandal, paid the four victims of the armed robbery in order to recant testimony against Dunbar and Baker. Grieco adamently denies the accusation, saying that the victims were in fact extorting Baker and Dunbar. “These men fabricated a robbery story after waiting an hour to call police and then immediately began contacting the players demanding money.” Grieco told the Seattle Times. “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.”
Baker’s attorney Bradford Cohen says his client was told that if the ‘victims’ didn’t get paid, they would “go to TMZ.” The victims are now said to be suing for damages of up to $500,000. Dunbar and Baker have not yet been charged with any crimes.
Read it at ESPN
