Michael’s Motel Mistake: Who’s Paying the Bills?

WHEN DALLAS COWBOYS receiver Michael Irvin goes to trial this month on drug charges stemming from the Residence Inn bust, he’ll he well represented by legal counsel in the form of criminal defense heavyweight Kevin Clancy. That’s what you’d expect from a guy who hauls down millions for hauling down Troy Aikman passes. What’s more curious, and has provoked courthouse whispers, is the bevy of attorneys surrounding the other three revelers in Room 624 that fateful night: former Cowboy Alfredo Roberts and “self-employed models” Jasmine Jennifer Nabwangu and Angela Beck, none of whom inhabit Irvin’s financial bracket.

Roberts, who was not indicted by the grand jury, was represented by Don Godwin, one of Jerry Jones’ personal attorneys, who also represents the Dallas Cowboys. Godwin was backstopped by criminal specialist Jerry Banks, who last year helped him mastermind the defense of Cowboys lineman Erik Williams when he and a buddy were accused of raping a 17-year-old stripper, Roberts also had his regular attorney, Don Tittle.

And the ladies? Kristin Cicar-relli, Clancy’s daughter and a recent refugee from the DA’s office, is representing Nabwangu. Counsel for Angela Beck, who claimed the drugs found in the room were hers, is James Rolfe, a former U.S. Attorney for North Texas.

This kind of legal help costs money. Civil court records indicate that Godwin charges between $300 and $400 an hour. The defense attorneys’ fees are more difficult to peg, since most charge flat rates and are famously reluctant to reveal their prices. “It might be $75,000,” says Vincent Perini, a former president of the Texas Criminal Trial Lawyers Association. “Or it might be wo or three times that. I just don’t know. But you don’t do it at a cut rate when you’re dealing with a Dallas Cowboy who’s been indiscreet.”

So who’s the anonymous sugar daddy? Jerry Jones admits that Godwin’s and Banks’ fees for representing Roberts “could have” come out of the retainer he pays Godwin, but he flatly denies that he’s paying for either girl’s defense. Clancy says Irvin isn’t either, but skeptics point out it makes sense for Irvin, Beck, and Nabwangu to agree on their story and present a joint defense. “It’s like Ben Franklin said when they signed the Declaration of Independence,” notes professor William Bridge, who teaches criminal law and ethics at SMU’s School of Law. “’Gentlemen, we must all hang together, or we will certainly hang separately.’”