What to Take Out of Lawrence Taylor Plea
When former Giants legend, Lawrence Taylor, was arrested his criminal defense team claimed that LT was "set-up" and that certain witnesses were lying. But by LT's own words we now know the truth, he engaged in a criminal act with an underaged girl.
Taylor claims he did not know the female prostitute was underage when he allegedly had sexual intercourse with her in an upstate NY hotel room. But that is not a defense under NY law. In this situation with strong evidence against LT, to get a misdemeanor plea deal (with no jail time), Taylor had to cooperate with the police in underage prostitution investigations.
We know that Taylor will be called upon to testify against the female's alleged brutal pimp, Rasheed Davis, in Davis' criminal case. We will learn, in time, whether Taylor has assisted by providing information on other underage prostitution rings.
As a former NYC prosecutor, I can say that it is somewhat rare that a defendant gets a plea deal in exchange for cooperation in other investigations. This is because the "cooperating defendant" usually will tell you something you already know or give you "information" that just isn't reliable.
Here, Taylor must have satisfied the prosecution that his testimony could deliver a criminal conviction against Davis and maybe even others like him.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.