'Pacman' pays $20,000 to settle debt with casino

Suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones paid $20,000 to a Las Vegas casino yesterday to settle a criminal bad-check case.

"We filed a criminal complaint. Within 24 hours, Mr. Jones found a way to make restitution," Clark County District Attorney David Roger said. "Case closed."

Jones paid $20,000 to cover three casino markers he received Sept. 3 at Caesars Palace, said Bernie Zadrowski, chief of the district attorney's bad-check unit. Jones also paid $1,675 in fees and penalties.

In Nevada, unpaid casino markers, or loans to gamblers, are treated as bad checks and are turned over to the district attorney for prosecution.

Zadrowski said another $3,000 penalty cited in court documents filed yesterday would have been added if a felony theft warrant had been issued. No such warrant was issued.

"It's unfortunate that a non-story became public," Jones' lawyer, Manny Arora, said after the money was paid.

Arora acknowledged Jones owed the debt to Caesars Palace, but said he had been quietly trying to arrange payment.

He accused Roger of filing the criminal complaint against Jones after a similar case involving retired NBA star Charles Barkley won widespread notoriety earlier in the week. Roger denied Arora's claim.

"In Mr. Jones' case, we were working with him since February to obtain restitution," Roger said. "We determined he was not acting in good faith, and we filed a criminal complaint."

Roger threatened to file criminal charges against Barkley before he settled his debt by paying $400,000 to reimburse the Wynn Las Vegas resort for four casino markers he received in October, Zadrowski said. Barkley also paid $40,000 in fees.

* Minnesota cut ties with 2005 first-round pick Erasmus James after he failed a physical. James twice injured his left knee.

* The Cleveland Browns signed veteran cornerback Terry Cousin to a 2-year contract. He played in 156 games (68 starts) with six teams during an 11-year NFL career. He played in all 16 games last season for Jacksonville.

* Former NFL player Rich Tylski reached a deal with Florida authorities to eventually drop child-abuse charges against him after he admitted hitting his adopted daughter. He will be in a program for first-time offenders for about a year or until his completes anger and parenting classes, said his lawyer, Robert Willis. *