Former pro wrestler to file lawsuit against NFL, 'Pacman' Jones

The NFL and the Tennessee Titans knew Adam "Pacman" Jones was trouble but refused to rein in the hard-partying cornerback until after Las Vegas strip club manager Tommy Urbanski was shot and paralyzed, according to a lawsuit the former professional wrestler is expected to file in Nevada court Friday.

"They knew Pacman Jones was bad news and their failure to discipline him was the proximate cause of Tommy's injuries," Urbanski's attorney Matthew Dushoff told the Daily News Thursday. "The fact is, they chose to do nothing to discipline Jones until after Tommy was paralyzed."

Dushoff has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning in Las Vegas to announce the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages and lists Urbanski and his wife Kathy as plaintiffs. The Titans, NFL and Jones, who was suspended for the season earlier this year by commissioner Roger Goodell, are among the defendants named in the suit.

"I think these people are liable for what happened to me," said Urbanski, a Long Island native who was a professional wrestler for years before moving to Las Vegas with his wife. "I'm worried about how Kathy and I are going to get by."

The News obtained a draft of the complaint, which says Jones started the melee at Minxx Gentleman's Club during the NBA All-Star Weekend that ended in a triple shooting.

According to the lawsuit and Las Vegas police accounts, Jones and his entourage were partying at the club early on Feb. 19, several hours after the NBA All-Star Game had been played in Las Vegas. Jones dumped a bag of money on the stage - "making it rain" in strip club slang - and he punched a dancer after she attempted to pick up the money.

Jones brawled with club employees when they tried to restrain him and threatened to kill them, the suit says.

Urbanski arrived at the strip club after Jones and his entourage had left; the suit alleges a member of Jones' group returned to Minxx and shot Jones and two other people. Jones knows the gunman but has refused to identify him, in violation of Nevada law, according to the lawsuit.

Spokesmen for the Titans and the NFL declined comment yesterday, saying they had not seen the lawsuit. Jones' attorney Worrick Robinson said he expected the lawsuit.

"Whatever they file doesn't change his account," Robinson said. "He had nothing to do with the tragic shooting that took place that night."

Clark County District Attorney David Roger charged the embattled Titans cornerback with two counts of felony coercion in June for his role in the fight that preceded the shooting.

Goodell suspended Jones for the 2007 in April, two months after Urbanski was paralyzed, telling Jones in a suspension letter that his conduct had "brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club and the NFL."

Jones had been arrested or cited by police for assault, vandalism, marijuana possession, obstructing police, disorderly conduct and public intoxication in a series of incidents since he was drafted more than two years ago.

Jones spoke to police in 10 separate incidents since the Titans selected him in the first round of the NFL draft in April 2005. He has not been convicted of charges stemming from any of the incidents.