While Robert Kraft’s lawyers pushed Friday to keep sex videos out of the billionaire’s upcoming prostitution trial, new details emerged about the massage parlor investigation in the case.
The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office said the New England Patriots owner showed off a Super Bowl ring to a Jupiter officer who pulled over his Bentley after he visited the Orchids of Asia Day Spa on Jan. 19.
Kraft also asked the cop if he was a Miami Dolphins fan. Kraft said he was going to Kansas City the next day, where his team was to play in the AFC Championship game, according to prosecutors.
“Robert Kraft was very polite and respectful during the whole process,” the prosecutors wrote, noting that he showed his Massachusetts driver’s license and said he owns the Patriots.
Police conducted the traffic stop “for the sole purpose of identification,” because the officers did not know the name of the man they had just watched on video engaging in a sex act, records show.
Kraft did not have any interaction with police after he returned to the same massage parlor the next day, on the morning before he flew to the game, records show.
But prosecutors noted that on the second visit Kraft appeared to be in a hurry and quickly “disrobed and got on the table face up nude.”
“Time was of the essence on this particular day so the sexual act began immediately,” they wrote.
Police opted to wait a month before filing charges against Kraft and others ensnared in the investigation.
Prosecutors also fought back against the Kraft defense’s claim that the Jupiter police used an unlawful sneak-and-peek warrant to plant secret cameras in the massage parlor.
Kraft’s challenge of the warrant was the focus of a daylong hearing Friday before Palm Beach County Judge Leonard Hanser. He will decide whether the warrant was proper and if the prosecution can use videos of Kraft apparently engaging in sexual acts.
The 77-year-old sports icon, who sometimes stays at a Palm Beach home, is charged with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution. Police also charged 24 other men and four women, including two accused of servicing Kraft.
Kraft’s legal team questioned lead Jupiter Detective Andrew Sharp about how he prepared and acted on the spying warrant, which allowed five days of videotaping.