Jayson Williams Hit With More Charges

Prosecutors filed more charges Monday against Jayson Williams in the shooting death of a limousine driver at his mansion, alleging the former NBA star wiped his own fingerprints off the shotgun and told guests to tell police it was suicide.

Williams, 34, was already accused of manslaughter in the Feb. 14 shooting of Costas Christofi. Two of the guests at Williams' Alexandria Township home were charged Monday with helping him dispose of his clothes and fingerprints to cover up the shooting.

Williams surrendered at the courthouse and posted $20,000 bail before leaving. His attorney, Joseph Hayden, declined to answer questions about the new charges.

"When we have our day in court, we will address all relevant facts and allegations, and we are confident Mr. Williams will be cleared of all charges," Hayden said.

The new charges were hindering apprehension, evidence tampering, witness tampering and conspiracy to obstruct the law. The charges carry a combined penalty of more than 12 years in prison; manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

The house guests charged were Kent Culuko, 29, of Mahwah, and John W. Gordnick, 44, of Rochelle Park. Culuko, a former NBA player who was waived by the Nets in 1997, was also charged with witness tampering.

Culuko and Gordnick were told to surrender to state police barracks in Kingwood later Monday to face the charges or be arrested. Superior Court Judge Ann R. Bartlett set bail at $50,000 each for the two men.

Culuko's phone in Mahwah answered as "Culuko Basketball Services, the International Youth Basketball, the Jayson Williams Summer Basketball Camp and Player's Camp."

He did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Messages left at Gordnick's home Monday were also not immediately returned.

Williams, Christofi and a dozen other people were at the house when the shooting occurred, including Gordnick, Culuko, Williams' brother, two children and four members of the Globetrotters.

Acting Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember said several witnesses have come forward to offer information and are cooperating with authorities. Gordnick's lawyer called Lember's office two weeks ago and offered to turn over the clothes Williams was wearing the night of the shooting.

Lember said Culuko was either in the master bedroom or at the doorway when Christofi was shot. Gordnick came into the room a short time later, the prosecutor said.

Williams removed his clothes after shooting Christofi and told Culuko to dispose of them, the court documents say.

Culuko helped Williams to wipe the shotgun clean and also told witnesses to lie to investigators about how the shooting occurred, authorities said. Williams also tried to position the shotgun used to kill Christofi at an angle to make it seem like the limousine driver shot himself, the papers said.

Williams told guests to tell investigators that everyone in the home had been in a downstairs recreation area when Christofi was shot in a master bedroom upstairs, the court documents said.

"He pretty much convinced everyone there to engage in this behavior — not just these two," Lember said.

Williams was charged last month with manslaughter in the death of Christofi of Washington Borough, a limousine driver hired to drive the ex-New Jersey Net and his friends home from a Harlem Globetrotters game in Bethlehem, Pa.

Williams, a former All-Star who had to retire with a leg injury in 2000, made an initial appearance on the manslaughter charge last week and did not enter a plea.

A witness to the shooting told Sports Illustrated magazine in an article published last week that Williams tried to put Christofi's palm and fingerprints on the gun and disposed of bloody clothes he was wearing. The magazine did not identify the witness, but said that two members of the Harlem Globetrotters have been offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for detailed testimony.

Williams owns a lacrosse team and had been working as an NBC analyst before the shooting. The network has said that he will not appear on air until the charges against him are resolved.