Rodman absent as trial begins

Kim Smith

Friday, Nov. 2, 2001 | 10:24 a.m.

Participants in the Dennis Rodman trial learned this morning that the former NBA star would not show up to defend himself against charges that he made unwanted sexual contact with a craps dealer at the Mirage.

Rodman is listed as a witness by the dealer, James Brasich, 55, and the ex-player's attorneys, but his participation in the trial was in question Thursday.

Brasich's attorney, Mike Koning, said that, because this is the first time Rodman has been brought to trial in a case in which he was accused of improperly touching another man, he isn't sure exactly what to expect. Complicating the issue is the fact Rodman couldn't be served with a subpoena outside Clark County.

Because of a prior commitment, Rodman wasn't in the courtroom Thursday to hear Brasich, a Henderson resident, describe the 20 minutes he spent at the craps table with Rodman and fellow NBA player Vernon Maxwell on Oct. 12, 1997.

Brasich told jurors he grew increasingly upset as Rodman that afternoon progressed from rubbing his balding head for luck to rubbing his chest to running his hand over the dealer's genitals.

Although he had been a dealer for more than 25 years at that point, Brasich said that "other than a pat on the back by a satisfied customer, I'd never been touched by a customer."

Brasich said he first tried giving Rodman a stern look, but then he went on to say he wasn't "that type of guy."

After one incident, Brasich said, "I backed away from him, and I thought I had to say something that he'd understand. So, I said, 'You're out of bounds.' " He thought that was pretty funny."

Particularly offensive was a sexual comment made by Maxwell when Rodman rubbed the dice against the man's genitals for the final time, Brasich said.

"I wanted to crawl into a shell. So many people were watching the activity," Brasich said of that afternoon. "I was trying to make believe it wasn't happening."

Brasich took a couple of days off after the incident, only to return to work to find himself the butt of "cruel" jokes and questions about whether he had found the incident arousing.

And the jokes didn't stop when he returned from a six-month family medical leave, so he eventually quit his job to take care of his father full-time, Brasich said.

The dealer attended one counseling session, Brasich said.

Brasich denied he sued Rodman because he was in dire financial straits at the time. Instead, he said, "Maybe he'll never do it again."

Brasich said that he wrote Rodman a letter nine days after the event, giving him three days to "resolve" the incident without a lawsuit. The dealer insisted that he merely wanted an apology.

Earlier, Rodman's attorney, Randall Jones, had told jurors the case was purely about money.

"The evidence will show that if my client's name is Dennis Smith we wouldn't be here," Jones said.

One of Brasich's co-workers, Rey Novero, was rubbed more often than Brasich and yet never filed a lawsuit, Jones said. Novero is expected to testify today.

"My client was absolutely goofing off," but never intended to embarrass or otherwise harm Brasich, Jones said.

Rodman was "playing to the crowd," but the situation escalated from there, Jones said.

Brasich became flustered on the stand at least twice during cross-examination. He became agitated when Jones pointed out that he has been inconsistent in the number of times he said Rodman touched his genitals.

"Does it matter how many times?" Brasich said, his voice rising.

Later, Brasich stumbled over his answer when asked if he believed Rodman intentionally tried to hurt him by his actions. Brasich said no, then went on to say that he thought Rodman was drunk.

A mostly middle-aged jury of four women and four men could hear closing arguments, and render a decision, as early as today.