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Ex-Jet Star Won't Face Jail Time


Mark Gastineau, former star defensive end for the New York Jets, has a plea deal that will get him out of jail and put him into drug, alcohol and violence counseling, his lawyers said Tuesday.

Lawyer Amelio Marino said Gastineau will be released Wednesday after he pleads guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault or contempt for violating an order of protection and for failing to show up for a court date.

Gastineau surrendered to police Monday after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. He had failed to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of assaulting Patricia Schorr, then his girlfriend, now his wife.

Mark Gastineau
Mark Gastineau and his lawyers worked out a plea bargain that will keep the former Jets star out of jail. (AP)

"I'm ecstatic," said Schorr, who said she had no intention of pressing charges against Gastineau. "I'm very happy."

Gastineau, 41, was arrested Sept. 2 on charges of hitting Schorr in her apartment on Aug. 25. A court complaint said he slapped her face four or five times, threw her against a wall, and choked her while threatening to kill her.

Gastineau was charged with misdemeanor assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. The court complaint said the weapon was a glass cocktail table with which he threatened to hit Schorr.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Belger asked Judge Troy K. Webber to sentence Gastineau to four months. She said he had been violent with the last four women he was involved with, including actress Brigitte Nielsen.

Marino said after Gastineau is released by Webber, he and Schorr will go to the Domestic Violence Program's offices to set up a counseling schedule for drugs, alcohol and violence.

Gastineau told the judge, "Patty and I want to get on with our lives." Pointing at the prosecutor, he said, "They have been the biggest impediment to our moving on."

Schorr, a former membership sales manager at a fitness club, said she and Gastineau married on Sept. 28. She said that for the near future they will live in her father's home in Forest Hills.

Gastineau set a record for sacks when he played for the Jets in the 1980s. Schorr said he now earns money from personal appearances.

© 1998 SportsLine USA, Inc. All rights reserved

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