EX-COWBOY SUED IN TUINEI'S DRUG DEATH

A lawsuit filed Monday alleges that ex-Dallas Cowboy Nicky Sualua caused
former teammate Mark Tuinei's death two years ago by not calling 911 for
several hours after he passed out from a drug overdose.

Ponolani Tuinei, the wife of the former offensive lineman, filed the suit
against Mr. Sualua in district court.

"She is just not satisfied that the truth has become public, and she is
filing this lawsuit against who she thinks is directly responsible for
Mark's death," her lawyer, Larry Friedman, said Monday.

Mr. Sualua, 26, who was not charged with wrongdoing in the May 6, 1999,
death, could not be reached for comment Monday. A Dallas Cowboys spokesman
said the team had no comment on the case.

Mr. Tuinei retired from football after the 1997 season because of knee
injuries. Mr. Sualua was released from the team in June 1999.

The lawsuit alleges the following timeline of events before Mr. Tuinei, 39,
died from an overdose of heroin and a drug similar to "ecstasy":

• On the evening of May 5, Mr. Sualua and another man tried to perform CPR
on Mr. Tuinei after he stopped breathing at an apartment in Dallas.

Mr. Tuinei then began breathing but remained unconscious. An "extended
period of time later," Mr. Sualua and the other man dragged Mr. Tuinei's
body down the apartment stairs and placed him in his car.

• At 12:30 a.m. May 6, Mr. Sualua called someone affiliated with the Dallas
Cowboys. Sometime later, Mr. Sualua drove to Mr. Tuinei's home, parked the
car in the driveway and placed a blanket over the unconscious, but still
breathing, man.

• Between about 5:30 and 6 a.m., Mr. Sualua called 911 because Mr. Tuinei
was not breathing. Mr. Sualua called Mrs. Tuinei and said he had been
called to come get her husband. Mr. Tuinei was pronounced dead at 6:54 a.m.

In a July 1999 interview with The Dallas Morning News, Mr. Sualua said he
did not know the drug's effect. He had seen his friend passed out before
and thought he was sleeping.

Mr. Sualua woke up in the car around 5:30 a.m. and noticed Mr. Tuinei was
not breathing.

He called 911. The operator asked him to check for a heartbeat, but he
could not feel a pulse, he told The News.

Four Plano men who worked for drug rings that supplied Mr. Tuinei with the
lethal dose of heroin were sentenced to prison terms in March on charges of
conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine.

The lawsuit filed Monday seeks unspecified damages. But Mr. Friedman said
its purpose is to find the truth about what happened the night Mr. Tuinei died.

"The Tuinei family has not been able to rest without knowing the truth,"
Mr. Friedman said.