Six days have flown by since the Philadelphia Eagles clutched the Super Bowl LII title. The team’s road to victory was set to the tune of Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” song. While thousands joyously poured into the Philly streets, matching the track’s intense melody, the “City of Brotherly Love” native and rapper turned another page on his 95th day in prison. As Williams awaits his fate in a 8X9 cell, his lawyer, Joe Tacopina, reiterates that the fight for his client’s freedom will not falter despite Brinkley’s acquirement of criminal defense attorney, A. Charles Peruto Jr.
“We look forward to it because this will allow us to put her under oath and be deposed,” Tacopina says. “By the way, we weren’t surprised by this tactic to threaten a lawsuit.” The attorney, who has represented other high-profile celebrities like Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez, revealed that Brinkley has filed 29 personal lawsuits against establishments like Hershey Park for “trauma” and her tenants. “She’s tried to take advantage of her title as a judge to intimidate her tenants in these lawsuits,” Tacopina shares. “We have the evidence and we’re more than happy to put her under oath if she’d be so willing.”
Late last month, Brinkley hired Peruto to salvage her name which she claims Williams and his legal team continue to slander. She has cited instances of defamation and threatened a lawsuit if her credibility remains soiled. When asked how Williams responded to a possible lawsuit given that he’s in prison because of this judge’s ruling, Tacopina said “he doesn’t even blink,” but he believes this could work in their favor when cross-examining Brinkley in court.
Brinkley’s lawyer also seems to have had a previous interaction with Williams. According to Tacopina, Peruto visited the Roc Nation artist after his sentencing to reportedly offer him a legal counsel. But according to The Legal Intelligencer, Peruto states he was initially contacted by Williams. “I told him, you’re going about this the wrong way by laying these personal attacks. They’re not going to get anywhere on appeal,” Peruto said to the news site. “At first, he was all about it, and then Roc Nation was so hell-bent on attacking the judge that they changed Meek Mill’s mind.”
From Tacopina’s recollection, Peruto spoke with attorney Brian McMonagle, a member of Williams’ legal team, to possibly become a part of their defense assembly. McMonagle notified Peruto that his service was not needed and shortly thereafter, Peruto became Brinkley’s representative.
“I read a quote from him that he visited Meek Mill and he discussed a conversation he had with him,” Tacopina reveals. “There’s this little thing called attorney-client privilege. When he was visiting him as a lawyer, he shouldn’t be discussing the advice he gave to him publicly, but that’s what he did. The lawyer she hired is a criminal lawyer, which I think speaks volumes.”
Tacopina feels Brinkley’s decision to attain a criminal lawyer is alarming and probably due to the reported ongoing FBI investigation. Tacopina notes that Brinkley didn’t hire a defamation lawyer, which is the basis for her alleged lawsuit. Given the FBI’s alleged probe into Brinkley’s ethical conduct, Tacopina says “she can’t sit in fair judgment” of Williams’ case.
Another red flag that Williams’ team might use to their advantage concerns the matter of a sealed transcript that documents Williams’ in-chambers conference with Brinkley. Although his team asked to review the concealed document, Brinkley solely released it to Peruto, which Peruto confirmed in that same The Law Intelligencer interview. “She hired a criminal lawyer and this criminal lawyer just showed us that she continues to do things inappropriately,” Tacopina says. Given Brinkley’s reported actions, Tacopina believes this supports his team’s claims that the judge continues to violate “appropriate judicial conduct.”
The 2008 case that introduced Williams to Brinkley also came into question during Tacopina’s investigation. The attorney states they’ve discovered information on Williams’ initial arrest that is “rotten to the core” and can possibly support their case for the 30-year-old’s freedom. Ten years ago, Williams succumbed to the criminal justice system when he was caught in possession of a firearm outside of a local Philadelphia grocery store when he was apprehended and reportedly physically assaulted by police officers. The arrest placed him on a five-year probation that’s still relevant to this day.
In addition to drafting up paperwork to help further build their case, Williams’ team will file documents for a second bail hearing that should enter the court system next week. The first was denied by Brinkley, who claimed Williams posed as a flight risk. The follow-up request will go to the Supreme Court. Given the documents and evidence they’ve acquired of Brinkley’s misconduct, Tacopina believes Williams will be reunited with his family outside of the prison walls, but the pace of his possible release depends on how quickly the criminal justice system will act on their motion.
“There’s no way this injustice will stand,” Tacopina reiterates, “and the amount of information that’s going to come out on the Meek Mill case and people in the Meek Mill case is going to be absolutely astonishing.”