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No fooling Williams' poor judgment may result in harsh penaltiesPosted: Wednesday March 06, 2002 6:59 PM
It could have been really simple for Jayson Williams -- a terrible accident, a quick police investigation, expressions of remorse and contrition, a plea bargain and an insurance settlement. It all could have been over and done with in a couple of weeks. Instead of ironing out a simple series of settlements, however, Williams now finds himself the target of a major investigation. He may soon face felony charges and jail time. And, it appears, he has only himself to blame. Williams had trouble on his hands as soon as a shot was fired in the master bedroom of his New Jersey mansion, leaving limo driver Costas (Gus) Christofi dead. Instead of calling for help immediately, Williams allegedly began an awkward and clumsy effort at a cover-up. A witness told Sports Illustrated that he and other guests at the estate saw Williams and another person attempt to place Christofi's palm print and fingerprints on the gun that killed him. The witness also said that Williams changed clothes and disposed of the bloody ones he had been wearing at the time of the shooting. Assuming the veracity of the eyewitness account, Williams is learning what Richard Nixon discovered 30 years ago: It's not the initial incident that brings trouble, it's the attempts to hide the act. If Williams had left everything alone in his bedroom, the police would have arrived at the scene of a tragedy and gone through the steps necessary to determine whether to officially label the shooting an accident. Everything changed when, according to Hunterdon County prosecutors, Williams's adopted brother, Santiago, reported Christofi's shooting as a suicide. There is no more certain way to antagonize a police force than to lie and give it the impression you think it can be fooled. It's hard to imagine how anyone ever could have thought the suicide claim would fly. Andy Sipowicz would have figured out the truth, without a script, before the first commerical break interrupted NYPD Blue. Even if Williams had hired Vernon Jordan , James Carville and Bill Clinton as spin doctors, the suicide scenario would not have worked. Williams's only recourse now is to settle quickly with the Christofi family and to negotiate a plea bargain with the authorities. With homeowner's insurance, personal liability insurance and his own fortune, Williams should be able to put together an attractive settlement proposal for the victim's family. Christofi had managed to stay out of trouble the last 13 years, but had gone to prison four times (twice on burglary convictions) for a total of eight years between January 1976 and December '88. As crass as it sounds, Williams is more than capable of compensating the family for its loss. Wrangling a plea bargain may be tougher. Williams has been charged with second-degree manslaughter; without the cover-up attempt it would have been easy for him to bargain down to a significantly lesser offense involving probation and community service. But now investigators are taking statements from everyone at the house at the time of the shooting and are using offers of immunity to gather evidence against Williams. It will require some artful begging and pleading, but Williams must admit culpability, show remorse and persuade the authorities that he should not be incarcerated. If Williams cannot reach an agreement, he will face trial on a set of serious charges. There's an urban myth that states that a man who grows up the hard way turns out "street smart." It's a nice theory, but it doesn't always ring true. It certainly does not hold for Williams, whose conduct after this shooting qualifies as street dumb. Sports Illustrated legal analyst Lester Munson regularly holds court on
sports law and business matters on CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are
solely those of the
writer.
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