Getty Quinton Dunbar has been in the Seahawks' virtual meetings.
Things continue to be murky in the legal battle of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar. Dunbar is changing lawyers after a New York Daily News report indicated his former attorney Michael Grieco was involved in paying witnesses to recount their initial statements regarding Dunbar’s involvement in a Florida robbery.
“JUST IN: Quinton Dunbar’s criminal defense attorneys withdraw from the case and are replaced by new counsel who immediately serves discovery requests on the Broward State Attorney’s Office. One of the attorneys (Michael Grieco) had been implicated in a scheme to bribe witnesses,” The Athletic’s legal analysis Daniel Wallach tweeted.
The change comes just days after New York Daily News’ Pat Leonard reported that there is evidence suggesting four men were paid $55,000 to recant their original statements.
“The explosive warrant, obtained as a public record from the Broward County (Fla.) Clerk of Courts, seeks access to iCloud accounts associated with Baker and Dunbar,’ Leonard noted. “The warrant cites evidence collected through previous warrants, which includes video footage and direct messages that allegedly show witness Dominic Johnson oversaw the payoff of Baker’s and Dunbar’s four alleged victims on May 15 at the office of Dunbar’s attorney, Michael Grieco.”
Dunbar’s Former Attorney Is Being Investigated for His Potential Involvement in Paying Witnesses
Grieco is being investigated for his potential involvement in paying witnesses. According to the Miami Herald, the payouts appeared to take place at Grieco’s office.
“The lawyer said, you know, I’m not supposed to be in any of this type of situation … so whatever you guys have going on … you know, that’s between you guys. I’m just here for the affidavit,” said the victim, an exchange echoed by other victims.
“He said that he was going to step out because he couldn’t take any part in it,” another victim said, according to a transcript of the interview included in the police report.
Miramar detective Mark Moretti noted “all five documents were exactly the same” when describing the new witness statements, per Miami Herald.
Grieco Refuted the Payment Scheme Accusations
Grieco confirmed to The Seattle Times that Dunbar is changing legal counsel. He noted that the changes were about “continued advocacy of Mr. Dunbar’s innocence” without any other distractions.
“Statement from Michael Grieco, attorney for Quinton Dunbar, on withdrawing from the case: ‘We agreed that new counsel would allow for continued advocacy of Mr. Dunbar’s innocence without any collateral distractions,'” The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta tweeted.
Prior to the recent changes, Grieco denied the report that he was involved in a payment scheme with witnesses.
“Law enforcement, both local and federal, was advised from day one and beyond that the alleged ‘victims’ in this case were actively extorting both Baker and Dunbar,” Grieco told The Seattle Times. “These men fabricated a robbery story after waiting an hour to call police and then immediately began contacting the players demanding money. My office obtained accurate and truthful affidavits consistent with the independent witness and my client’s account.”
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