New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft could have faced a felony charge — and up to five years in the slammer — in connection with his prostitution case, Florida prosecutors said in a new court filing.
In court papers filed last week, prosecutors argue Kraft — who was busted in February and slapped with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution at a Jupiter, Florida, massage parlor — may have committed a third-degree felony, the Florida Sun-Sentinal reported.
The 78-year-old billionaire pleaded not guilty, but he also issued an apology of sorts with a statement that said, “I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard.”
Florida’s state attorney general’s office is trying to convince a three-judge appeal panel to reverse a lower court judge’s May ruling that tossed out most of the evidence in the case.
Judge Leonard Hanser forbid prosecutors from using the secretly recorded videos and other evidence taken from the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in a ruling that found the cops did not have a lawful “sneak and peek” warrant to run surveillance cameras at the spa, and violated lawful customers’ privacy by doing so.
At issue in the appeal is a constitutional question that puts the ability of police to investigate crimes using secret cameras against individual privacy rights.
Kraft’s lawyers called the surveillance “dragnet video surveillance scheme that breaks from Fourth Amendment constraints agreed on by other courts.”
Before it will rule on the case, the appeals panel ordered the state to refile its argument because the paperwork it submitted is 13 pages too long.
The sting was part of a six-month investigation into 10 spas around the state. Kraft was among 300 suspected johns charged in the probe, along with owners and employees. About two dozen of the men were linked to the Orchids of Asia spa.