It’s been known for years that any Broncos player or coach who needs legal help hires Harvey Steinberg. For the Steelers, the knee-jerk barrister has become Robert Del Greco Jr.
The son of a former Yankee whose possessions include a photo of himself as a baby being held by Mickey Mantle (maybe they should have named him Seven) now serves, via George Willis of the New York Post, the counsel of record for Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis following an incident last weekend in Pittsburgh.
“I know that whenever any of the Steelers get in trouble, he’s the guy they call,” an unnamed source at the Pittsburgh Municipal Court told Willis regarding Del Greco, who has represented players like Jerome Bettis, Le’Veon Bell, and Joey Porter.
It’s a smart move by Revis, who will benefit from the relationships and expertise that Del Greco has cultivated through years of maneuvering clients through the system. It’s also a smart move for Del Greco, since Revis is what those who run law firms like to call a “cost-insensitive client.”
So far, the evidence feels flimsy and the gravity of the charges doesn’t seem to match the fairy innocuous (relative to other crimes) facts of the case. It may be difficult if not impossible, based on the proof currently known, to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Revis committed aggravated assault by knocking out two youths on the South Side -- especially since the two youths don’t know what happened and there’s apparently no video.
Recently, Del Greco somehow managed to persuade the local D.A. to drop an aggravated assault charge against Porter, who now serves as the team’s linebackers coach, despite video evidence that appeared to be indisputable. With nothing like that apparently available in this case, it seems like only a matter of time before the charges are reduced and the case is quietly resolved with minimal criminal consequence for Revis.
Having Del Greco on the case serves only to make that outcome more likely.