Often-in-trouble Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Adam “Pacman” Jones must pay $11 million in damages to two Las Vegas strip club employees injured in 2007 when a lone gunman claiming he was doing Jones’ bidding opened fire outside the club.
Tommy Urbanski, a club manager who was left paralyzed from the waist down, and Aaron Cudworth, a former bouncer who was wounded, stand to collect after the late Friday verdict. Urbanksi’s bones were shattered in the shooting that occurred after Jones and several other people were ejected from the club. The shooter later demanded $15,000 from Jones for “services rendered.”
Jones’ lawyer, Lisa Rasmussen, said there is no evidence Jones was behind the shooting. She said Jones, who has played five years in the NFL, didn’t have the cash to cover the award because he won’t receive his first paycheck of the season until September. Rasmussen plans to appeal the verdict.
“It’s obviously a devastating amount for him financially,” Rasmussen said. “He has really worked hard to make a comeback with his NFL career. He doesn’t make enough money to pay that judgment.”
She said the jury in the civil case likely was swayed by the sympathetic sight of Urbanski in his wheelchair and Jones’ celebrity.
“People perceive him as a person who is able to pay $11 million,” she said. “Adam doesn’t even get paid until he plays his first game.”
Cudworth’s lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, declared the verdict fair, saying the bouncer continues to grapple with “constant pain from being shot in the chest and arm.” Cudworth was awarded $1.3 million, including $300,000 in punitive damages.
“I am pleased that Mr. Jones has finally been held accountable,” Schonfeld said, adding that his client “is pleased to have closure.”
Schonfeld said he wasn’t worried about an appeal or Jones’ alleged inability to pay the award.
“If he is making money, I am going to be there trying to collect,” Schonfeld said.
Urbanski said by telephone Friday evening that he believes the verdict will send a message to athletes and celebrities that they can be held responsible for public “rampaging,” even if they escape criminal charges.
“They’ve got to clean up their acts,” he said. “All of them.”
