Ex-NBA star charged with manslaughter

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Posted 7:24AM on Tuesday, February 26, 2002

FLEMINGTON, N.J. - Jayson Williams recklessly handled the shotgun that killed a limousine driver at his luxurious New Jersey mansion, a prosecutor said in announcing manslaughter charges against the former NBA star. Williams, 34, surrendered to state police Monday, nearly two weeks after the death of Costas Christofi. He was charged with second-degree manslaughter, and freed on $250,000 cash bail. If convicted, he could be sentenced to five to 15 years in prison. The details of the shooting are unclear. According to the criminal complaint, witnesses said Williams was the only person near Christofi when the shotgun went off in the master bedroom. Acting Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember said Williams was charged with manslaughter because of ``the way the weapon was being handled, or mishandled.'' ``I agree it was tragic and it may even have been an accident. But at base, every reckless manslaughter is an accident,'' Lember said. Williams' lawyer, Joseph Hayden, made a brief statement outside the police barracks, but answered no questions. ``The death of Mr. Christofi was a tragic accident, but it was an accident,'' Hayden said. He said once the facts come out, ``it will be clear that Mr. Williams is innocent of recklessness and innocent of any criminal conduct.'' A court appearance was scheduled for March 4. Williams does not have to enter a plea unless a grand jury hands down an indictment, Lember said Christofi's nephew, Chris Adams, said relatives were relieved that Williams surrendered as planned. ``Now they've charged him, so that means they believe he did it,'' Adams said. ``It puts us to ease a little bit that they have the person who shot my uncle. Now justice has to be served.'' Christofi, 55, of Washington Borough, was hired to drive several of Williams' friends from a Bethlehem, Pa., charity event featuring the Harlem Globetrotters to a restaurant, and then to the NBA All-Star's home about 30 miles northwest of Trenton. After arriving at the Alexandria Township estate, Williams gave his guests a tour of the 40-room mansion, which has a bowling alley, a movie theater and a skeet-shooting range. Lember said Williams' brother, Vincent, initially reported the shooting as a suicide, but investigators quickly ruled that out. An autopsy later classified it as a homicide. Williams' brother has not been charged. The prosecutor said some guests were not forthright with investigators early in the investigation, and he planned to have some re-interviewed. Lember would not say whether Williams submitted to alcohol testing, although he acknowledged authorities were looking into it. The 6-foot-10 Williams was once among the NBA's best rebounders, but leg injuries ended his career and he retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000. He now works for NBC Sports as an NBA studio analyst. In his 2000 autobiography, Williams freely admitted past mistakes. In 1992, he was accused of smashing a beer mug over a patron's head at a Chicago bar. Two years later, he was accused of firing a semiautomatic weapon into the parking lot at the Meadowlands sports complex. He wrote in his book that he almost shot New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet while firing a large handgun on his skeet-shooting range. And Williams faces a hearing this week on a charge that he pushed a police officer last November in a New Jersey bar.