A Boston attorney claimed on WEEI sports radio today that he knows of another case involving Ben Roethlisberger, a Las Vegas night club, and "identical" allegations to the ones he was just cleared of in Georgia. So this isn't over?
Harry Manion, a managing partner at the firm of Cooley Manion Jones, was invited on the Dennis & Callahan show to discuss Roethlisbeger's current legal situation and he began with the disclosure that six months ago, he was retained by a client to investigate accusations that were "absolutely identical to this Georgia girl's story." He says the woman did not want to proceed and the case was dropped before action was taken. But other than this vague unverifiable claim, he's not talking! (You can listen to the whole interview here.)
According to Manion, these allegations that Manion just brought up, unprompted, suggest a pattern of recklessness that will damage Big Ben's reputation. He told the media that he will not comment further, but the incident he's not commenting on allegedly took place in a public space and involved non-consensual "sexual touching." Manion said that once he explained to the alleged victim that her privacy would be destroyed by the all-consuming media, she decided not to pursue it. Thankfully, no one will be interested in finding out who she is now.
So basically, a high profile defense attorney just went on the radio hours before Ben Roethlisberger was to meet with the NFL commissioner and accused the quarterback of being a serial groper with no regard for the well-being of himself or any drunk woman aged 19-26. And if that wasn't bad enough, Big Ben's Beef Jerky no longer wants its jerked meat products to be associated with him. (Update: And a police dog he was tangentially connected to bit a 9-year-old!) It's been a busy week.
Harry Manion, Partner Cooley Manion Jones [WEEI]
Boston Attorney Claims He Was Hired To Investigate Similar Allegations Against Roethlisberger [KDKA]
'Big Ben's Beef Jerky' Drops Ben Roethlisberger [WTAE Pittsburgh]