Robert Kraft may have scored big in effort to keep massage parlor video private - New York Post

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Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s bid to keep his massage parlor sex video private scored a big boost on Wednesday when it was revealed that a judge in a neighboring county suppressed similar footage as part of the same overarching case.

Kraft’s lawyers are back in court in Palm Beach County fighting to keep the embarrassing footage under seal, arguing the video of his two visits to the Orchids of Asia spa in Jupiter was taken illegally and innocent people were taped.

A judge in neighboring Martin County — where more than 100 people were arrested visiting four other day spas in a sweeping investigation into an alleged prostitution ring — has ruled that the videos must not be made public to protect innocent people. The ruling includes customers getting legal massage services at the spas, who were caught on police surveillance.

Kraft’s legal team hopes this ruling will set a precedent, because the more than eight-month investigation into the sex trafficking ring, which snared Kraft when he visited the sister spa in Jupiter twice early this year, started in Martin County and was largely driven by investigators there.

County Court Judge Kathleen H. Roberts wrote in her ruling that “the blanket storing of all surveillance of all rooms at all times, regardless of the activities occurring within them falls far short of the … requirements required to protect innocent activity of innocent people who happen to come under the camera’s eye.

“The use of video surveillance and monitoring is an extraordinarily intrusive method of searching for evidence of criminal activity … Because of its highly intrusive nature, the requirements to curtail what can be captured must be scrutinized and high levels of responsibility must be met to avoid the intrusion on the activities of the innocent. These strict standards were simply not met in this case. There was no effort made to avoid capturing innocent activity behind the closed door of a massage room. There is no other remedy but to suppress the evidence gathered.”

Attorneys for Kraft could not be reached immediately because they were all in court, but a source close to the case said, “This is a key ruling that questions the legality of the warrant allowing the police video surveillance inside the spas, and could potentially result in the footage being ruled as inadmissible evidence in the cases against all the defendants, including Kraft.”

Last month, Palm Beach County prosecutors indicated that they were preparing to release the potentially embarrassing surveillance video from inside the Jupiter spa, including footage of Kraft, in response to public records requests in the cases of two women accused of operating and working at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter.

Under Florida’s so-called “sunshine” law, records made or received by any public agency as official business must be publicly available, unless the records are specifically sealed by the Florida Legislature.

Kraft’s lawyers are continuing to argue for the suppression of his tapes in Palm Beach, and have questioned how the police obtained the “sneak and peak” warrant that allowed Jupiter police to install the cameras. They argue the police trumped up a fake bomb scare to get the warrant. The Palm Beach judge is not expected to rule until later this week.

Kraft has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution, a case based in large part on what the cameras placed inside the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter captured on his two visits on consecutive days in January.

Reed Smith litigator Jordan Siev, who is representing those caught on surveillance getting lawful massages at the Jupiter day spa in a class-action suit, said the new ruling was significant for the cases in Palm Beach County as well. In those cases, the affected parties assert that the police warrant for video surveillance was improperly obtained based on a trumped-up human sex trafficking allegation.

It has since emerged that there was no sex trafficking, and that the police in Jupiter staged a fake bomb scare to clear the staff out of the spa in order to install the video cameras without their knowledge.

It is also alleged that police then staged a fake bomb scare to clear the staff out of the spas in order to install the video cameras without their knowledge.

Siev said, “The same constitutional principles are at work in the Martin County action and the Palm Beach County actions, including Robert Kraft’s case. This new decision in Martin County lays a framework for all the judges considering the suppression of the tapes of all those charged with a crime in the investigation into the day spa, as well as the people who were not charged, received lawful massages, and who were unwittingly caught on surveillance. The simple fact is, the police can’t use improperly obtained evidence.”

Attorney Richard Kibbey, who repped a dozen men charged in the Martin County case, told Page Six that Roberts’ ruling bodes well for Kraft and the Palm Beach defendants. Saying that the ruling in the conservative county is “courageous,” Kibbey added it would likely have a “big impact” on the Palm Beach case.

“Because of [Roberts’] stature and reputation, we believe [the ruling] will have a big impact on the judge in Palm Beach and strengthen the chances of Mr. Kraft and [other defendants] to receive a similar order,” he said. He added, “Without the videos, there is no case,” and, “the rule of law prevailed over splashy press conferences.” Last month, Palm Beach County prosecutors indicated they were prepping to release potentially embarrassing videos from inside the Jupiter spa, including footage of Kraft. He’s pleaded not guilty.

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