Thursday, May 9, 1996

Judge puts gag order on paid informer

DALLAS (AP) - A onetime associate whose clandestine tape purports to show Michael Irvin in possession of cocaine was sworn in Wednesday as a potential witness in the Dallas Cowboy star's pending drug case.

State District Judge Manny Alvarez swore in Dennis Pedini, 31, at the request of Irvin's attorney and instructed him to abide by a gag order in the case.

"I don't want any questions in your mind as to what's expected of you," Alvarez told Pedini, a Cowboys "hanger-on" who was heckled with cries of "snitch" by members of a high school government class on a field trip to the Frank Crowley Courts Building.

The action, however, does not bar Fort Worth television station KXAS from broadcasting already-taped hidden camera footage that purports to show Irvin discussing cocaine buys and use with Pedini, a onetime associate who had installed security cameras at the Cowboys' Valley Ranch headquarters.

KXAS revealed Tuesday that it paid Pedini $6,000 "for licensing and assigning rights" for his secretly recorded footage.

Meanwhile, a Dallas County prosecutor indicated Wednesday more legal problems could face Irvin, who is scheduled to stand trial June 24 on charges stemming from a raid of an Irving motel room on March 4 where cocaine and marijuana were found.

"Our office is in the process of procuring video/audio tapes as aired on (KXAS) relating to Michael Irvin for grand jury review to determine whether one or more provable criminal offenses occurred," said Assistant District Attorney Mike Gillett.

The station's first two installments in its investigative series showed Irvin - allegedly two days before his indictment and a couple of weeks after - in a car driven by Pedini after what Pedini said were cocaine buys.

Pedini was sworn in in the pending case after one of Irvin's attorneys, Kevin Clancy, issued a subpoena ordering the step.

Pedini's attorney, Mike Heiskell, said his client is "holding up real well."

Asked what's ahead for Pedini, Heiskell replied, "I'm not sure. It's going to be up to Mr. Clancy and Mr. (Royce) West, Michael's attorneys, as to what's going to be the next step with respect to Dennis."

Irvin's defense team also is pursuing leads stemming from the tapes and Pedini's involvement.

"We're going to look at filing a motion in court, requesting the court to allow us to take his deposition," West said. "He has a lot to say to everybody else on TV. We want to see what he has to say to us."

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