Tuesday, May 7, 1996

Report: Irvin's Attorney To Serve Subpoenas For Hidden-Camera Videos

By Associated Press
(May 7, 1996)

DALLAS (AP) - Michael Irvin's attorney said he would try again to subpoena videotapes in a television report showing the Dallas Cowboys' star receiver purportedly discussing his use of cocaine.

Kevin Clancy said he has obtained subpoenas for all tapes made for reports that aired Sunday and Monday nights on Fort Worth television station KXAS.

Monday night, the station showed excerpts for the second straight night from secretly recorded tape filmed by a camera hidden in the back seat of the vehicle in which Irvin was riding.

As Irvin and a former confidant turned informer drove away from an apartment complex after making what the driver told KXAS was a cocaine buy, Irvin was heard to say:

"Here, you want some? ... A couple lines will help you."

The driver, identified on the tape as "Dennis," declined, saying, "It stunts your growth."
Irvin laughed and said: "I already been stunted, then. If that's the case, I should have been stunted a long time ago."

They drove on, with Irvin talking about steps he would take to keep his fingerprints from turning up on the bag with the cocaine in it.

"Before I give this to anybody, I'm gonna rip this off. Bam! There you go!"

Irvin has insisted he doesn't have a drug problem, and Dennis told KXAS he never saw Irvin use the cocaine he bought while with him. Once, he said, Irvin gave what he bought to two women.
The station said it tried to talk to Irvin on several occasions about whether he had bought drugs in the past month, but that Irvin refused to talk to its reporters.

KXAS said it would show more excerpts tonight in which Irvin discussed the NFL's drug-testing program and evaluation process and how it involves him. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told KXAS on Monday that it was in the process of getting copies of the station's reports on Irvin, although not from KXAS.

KXAS, which said it spent three months investigating Irvin, aired video Sunday night that showed Irvin getting back into the vehicle after a purported drug purchase. Those excerpts were replayed Monday night.

Dennis told KXAS that Irvin had a small bag of cocaine in his left hand while he talked with a woman and a small boy who recognized him and walked up to visit.

While Irvin held the cocaine in his left hand, Dennis said, Irvin chatted with a young fan who said he wanted to be like Irvin. The player told the boy and his mother not to believe what the news media had been saying about him.

The first two installments of the series contained little of substance and nothing damaging to Irvin's defense, Irvin's attorney said Monday.

"I still think we'll get a fair trial in Dallas," he said.

Clancy has subpoenaed, in addition to the station's tapes, any information available on the identity of the KXAS informant and any money paid to him.

WFAA-TV of Dallas identified the KXAS informant as Dennis Pedini, a former Cowboys employee and security systems installer. WFAA said the Cowboys fired Pedini after accusing him of forging a game-day pass for the Cowboys bench and making improper business contacts with owner Jerry Jones.

KXAS officials declined comment on the WFAA report. Pedini's Irving telephone number is not listed.

Irvin, indicted April 1 on felony drug possession charges in connection with a March 4 seizure of cocaine and marijuana at an Irving motel room, faces trial June 24.

Prosecutor Norman Kinne, the first assistant district attorney for Dallas County, said following Sunday night's broadcast that his office may subpoena the station's videotapes.

"We'll look into this," he said, adding the report might make it tougher for Irvin to get a fair trial. Kinne's office said Monday he would have no further comment.

The Cowboys had no comment on the television reports.

Irvin's troubles also include a recent charge he assaulted a man near an Irving sports bar.

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Irvin is "entitled to a presumption of innocence" and not to have widespread comment at this point.

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