A federal judge in Florida has ruled that videos recorded when New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft visited a massage parlor should be destroyed, according to court documents.
US District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II ruled Friday that footage of Kraft and other customers must be erased because they were filmed during unlawful surveillance, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The tapes had already been ruled inadmissible in Kraft’s case — and were the reason it got tossed in September.
However, attorneys for the 79-year-old billionaire fought to get them destroyed because they feared the footage could be leaked.
“Considering that the Videos never should have been created according to judicial rulings that are binding and conclusive, the Videos should be destroyed so that they can never be subject to any misuse, intentional or otherwise,” attorneys Frank A. Shepherd, William Burck and Alex Spiro wrote in court filings, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Al Johnson responded that his office “has no interest in maintaining possession of, or releasing to the public, any of the surveillance videos,” the report said.
A “neutral third party” is to be hired to watch over the destruction, according to the report.
Kraft and others were charged in February 2019 in a multi-county investigation of massage parlors that included the secret installation of video cameras in the spas’ lobbies and rooms.
Police say they recorded Kraft paying for sex acts at the Orchids of Asia spa on consecutive days in January 2019.
Kraft pleaded not guilty — but issued a groveling apology.
“I am truly sorry. 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,” he said in March 2019.
With Post wires