Prosecutors accuse Kraft’s lawyers of lying in court

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Two of Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s high-profile defense attorneys lied during his misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution case and falsely alleged a police officer admitted to fabricating a traffic violation to stop another massage parlor customer, prosecutors asserted Tuesday.

The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office filed a motion asking Judge Leonard Hanser to hold attorneys Alex Spiro and William Burck in contempt and throw out their questioning of Jupiter police officer Scott Kimbark. While questioning Kimbark at a court hearing last week, Spiro accused him of telling other officers he would make up a reason to stop the customer who left the Orchids of Asia Day Spa directly before Kraft in January, using an obscenity to describe what he would do.

Prosecutors say Kimbark never did that.

“There are no rationalizations, justifications, or excuses for Spiro’s and Burck’s knowing presentation of false and misleading accusations directly affecting the credibility” of Kimbark, prosecutors Judith Arco, Greg Kridos and Craig Williams wrote.

Burck told The Associated Press by phone that he and Spiro “will not be intimidated.” He said they will provide evidence supporting their claims. Burck represented former White House Counsel Don McGahn during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Spiro also represents Jay-Z, Mick Jagger and other celebrities in various matters.

“They have made a series of false accusations against us,” Burck said. “This is all an obvious and desperate attempt to deflect attention away from the illegal and unconstitutional actions of the Jupiter Police Department and the state lawyers.”

Last week, Kraft’s attorneys asked the judge to throw out video recordings allegedly showing the 77-year-old owner twice paying for sex in January at Orchids of Asia. Kraft, who is worth $6 billion, is one of 25 men charged with paying between about $50 and $100 for sex. Kraft has pleaded not guilty but issued a public apology for his actions.

In court documents and proceedings, Jupiter police said that after receiving a tip from a neighboring county that Orchids of Asia might be a prostitution front, detectives placed it under surveillance in November and persuaded a judge in January to issue a warrant letting them install hidden cameras in the spa. Kraft’s attorneys accused them of lying to obtain the warrant, calling that a violation of the customers’ privacy rights.

According to testimony, if detectives monitoring the cameras saw a customer pay for sex, the suspect was tailed by Jupiter officers as he left the parking lot until he committed a traffic violation. He was then pulled over to obtain his identification so he could later be charged with solicitation. The men were not told immediately that they had been seen at Orchids of Asia. Police said they didn’t want to tip off the spa’s owner about the surveillance.