One of the few blemishes on Kobe Bryant's legacy was the rape allegation hurdles against him back in 2003. The Los Angeles Lakers star was accused of sexual assault, a claim which he vehemently denied, and later settled out of court.
But one even more shocking wrinkle in the saga was the murder-for-hire offer the Lakers star had received to get rid of his accuser. After 18 years, the FBI has now unsealed the court document detailing the harrowing proposal.
Scott Schwebke of The Orange County Register reports that the 17-page document was heavily redacted, but gave all the details surrounding the man involved, a 31-year-old Swiss national and known bodybuilder who staying in the United States on an expired visa at the time.
The names were redacted from the document as well, but matches the description of one Patrick Graber, who was previously convicted in 2004.
Graber had reportedly made the offer to murder Bryant's accuser in exchange for $3 million by sending a letter in an envelope via FedEx. The package was received by one of the Lakers star's bodyguards. But instead of responding, they went straight to the authorities.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department lured Graber in by having a detective go undercover and meet with him on a couple of occasions to arrange the plot. He was recorded as saying he could “execute Bryant’s accuser leaving no evidence,” according to the unsealed court document. Graber also went with the alias “Yuri” and claimed he had ties with the Russian mafia, which seemed unlikely given further investigations made.
The authorities eventually set up a fake drop-off for the money using studio prop cash. Once Graber reached for the bag filled with money, he was immediately surrounded.
Graber was said to have been working out at the same Venice gym that Kobe Bryant would also train in, but one witness testified that it was highly unlikely for him to have encountered the Lakers star.
Patrick Graber was eventually convicted for grand theft, after prosecution dropped the charges for solicitation to commit murder. He was sentenced to just three years in jail and later on deported.
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