IRS AGENT'S TESTIMONY MAY HELP DOLPHIN'S DEFENSE

In testimony that seemed to boost Miami Dolphin Tony Martin's defense,
an IRS agent said Friday that money allegedly laundered by the
football star for a convicted drug dealer might have come from a
legitimate source.

Agent Paul Robarge admitted on cross-examination in Martin's
money-laundering trial that Rickey Brownlee could have used money made
from one of his Opa-locka businesses to repay $100,000 in cash to
Martin after the NFL wide receiver wrote a $175,000 check to
Brownlee's attorney.

Martin's attorney Howard Srebnick suggested that Brownlee's cash might
have been clean money from his restaurant or convenience store.
Robarge's response: "Correct."

Brownlee's attorney, Peter Raben, asked Robarge whether he knew if the
money came from Brownlee's restaurant. His answer: "No, I do not."

While Robarge maintained the exchange was an illegal "swap," he
admitted he was unfamiliar with revenues from Brownlee's businesses.

Faces charges

Martin, 33, is charged with laundering money from Brownlee's alleged
drug operation. Brownlee, a twice-convicted drug dealer, faces charges
of money laundering, as well as distributing cocaine and heroine.

Martin's defense attorney strove to depict Martin as an innocent man
willing to help Brownlee with his legal pickle after he was arrested
early last year. Brownlee had given him a helping hand as a youngster
growing up in northwest Miami-Dade County, and Martin would have no
reason to believe the money came from Brownlee's drug transactions,
Srebnick said.

Robarge's testimony came at the end of the second week of the
high-profile trial in U.S. District Court. It might have given the 12
jurors the impression that Martin could have received clean money from
Brownlee to retain his attorney.

The IRS agent's testimony had another surprise: He said the federal
government was investigating the attorneys, Eric Cohen and Milton
Hirsch, originally hired by Martin on Brownlee's behalf.

Cohen allegedly received $25,000 in cash from Martin as a deposit to
represent Brownlee. Federal prosecutors say that money came from
Brownlee's alleged drug operations.

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Robarge volunteered the information when he was questioned by Srebnick
about the $25,000 given by Martin to Cohen.

Cohen and Hirsch, who have separate law firms, were working together
as Brownlee's first attorneys.

Robarge testified the attorneys did not report receiving the $25,000
in cash, in apparent violation of federal law. Businesses that receive
more than $10,000 in cash must report the transaction to the government.

Srebnick asked Robarge if the attorneys were charged, and the IRS
agent said they are part of an "ongoing investigation."

Hirsch, a prominent Miami attorney, later told The Herald, "If Mr.
Cohen took any of that cash, I never saw any of it."

Hirsch said he was unaware of any federal investigation into his role
in the money-laundering case against Martin and Brownlee. "It's the
first I'm hearing of it," he said on Friday. "They're welcome to do
so."

Cohen could not be reached for comment after two messages were left
with his Miami law office.

After Martin and Wilson gave the $25,000 in cash to Cohen, Martin
wrote a $175,000 check to Hirsch's law firm on Brownlee's behalf.
Hirsch insisted on the check from Martin because he said he was
concerned the government would try to confiscate any cash supplied by
Brownlee.

A promise to pay

After Martin wrote Hirsch's firm the check on March 4, 1998, Brownlee
gave him $100,000 in cash -- with a promise to pay him the rest.

But a week later, the feds seized Martin's bank records and he stopped
payment on the check to Hirsch's firm. Martin also returned the
$100,000 to Brownlee.

Hirsch ended up representing Brownlee for a while after he paid his
firm $100,000 in two cashiers' checks. The relationship soon soured,
with Hirsch suing Brownlee and Martin for breach of contract. That
suit has been dropped, Hirsch said.