Thursday, May 9, 1996

Cowboys Used Informant's Residence for Wild Sex, Drug Parties, He Says

By MELISSA WILLIAMS
Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) - A confidant-turned-informant says he ran the operation of a residence, known as "the White House," where Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin and other players had wild parties.

Dennis Pedini, 31, made the revelation in a taped interview shown Wednesday night on KXAS-TV on the Fort Worth station's fourth installment of a "Tarnished Star" investigative series on Irvin, who was indicted April 1 for possession of drugs.

Pedini appeared in court Wednesday in answer to a subpoena Tuesday from Irvin's attorney and was sworn in as a potential witness in Irvin's trial, scheduled for June 24. State District Judge Manny Alvarez instructed him to abide by a gag order in the case.

However, that action did not bar KXAS from broadcasting already-taped interviews with Pedini and hidden camera footage that purports to show Irvin discussing with Pedini his acquisition and use of drugs.

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

Pedini told the station he clandestinely filmed Irvin and got him to talk about drug use because after all he'd done for the players, it became clear they had no respect for him.

KXAS said records show "the White House" to which Pedini referred was leased by former Cowboys receiver Alvin Harper. After Harper went to Tampa Bay, KXAS said, the two-story brick residence in Valley Ranch, near the Cowboys' practice facility, went into the control of a property management company and of a company by the name of Spectrum Foundation, owned by Pedini.

Asked why the house was in his company's name, Pedini said:

"So that if anyone looked into it, there would be stumbling blocks. ... I basically ran everything, to keep everything private and protect them from the public, from prying eyes."

The house gave Irvin and other Cowboys players a place to do anything they wanted, including drugs, Pedini said. "There was a lot of drugs ... a lot of marijuana, cocaine."

Asked if players used the house as a place to have sex with women, Pedini said, "Yeah, it was like going there instead of going to a hotel."

The station quoted two other men, including an unnamed former Cowboys player, as saying they had been in the house during parties and saw heavy use of drugs and witnessed "group sex" in which as many as eight to 10 women were having sex with players.

But the two also said this was not unique to the Cowboys, that similar activities were occurring all over the league. The Cowboys players also used a house in nearby Coppell and an apartment in Valley Ranch, the unidentified former Cowboys player told the station.

"It's amazing what goes on, but when you have that kind of money and access to whatever you want, anything is possible," Pedini said.

Pedini said he ran the house and has phone recordings, photographs, films and other documents to prove it.

The station played what it said were recordings of messages left for Irvin on an answering machine at the house.

Most of messages were from women:
"Hi, Michael, this is Jennifer ..."; "Hi, Michael, this is Courtney ..."

One was from a male caller, who said: "Michael, I understand you've been with my sister. I would like to talk to you."

Pedini said the players who used the Valley Ranch residence stopped using it last July, as well as the Valley Ranch apartment, which he said was used by the same players.

Pedini until recently lived down the street from the Cowboys' Valley Ranch facility and once had an office in a building near the practice field.

According to county records, he formerly operated the nonprofit Spectrum Foundation Inc. and a business, The Dallas Cigar Lovers Association.

Officials with the building's management company said he was evicted last July for not paying his rent.

Pedini's attorney, Mike Heiskell, said after Pedini's court appearance Wednesday that his client was "holding up real well."

A Dallas County prosecutor indicated Wednesday the video and other documents aired by KXAS might become part of the evidence against Irvin, who was indicted after 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," assistant district attorney Mike Gillett said.

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

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