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Police: Bodybuilder offered to kill Bryant's accuserMan has criminal record in Switzerland, authorities say
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A bodybuilder who police say offered to kill the woman accusing basketball star Kobe Bryant of sexual assault in exchange for $3 million has a police record in his native Switzerland, authorities said Friday. Patrick Graber, 31, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of solicitation to commit murder, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. His record indicates a fraud arrest in Switzerland, police said. He told investigators that he was involved with "Russian organized crime," according to authorities. Graber said he would not commit the act himself, but he knew how to make it happen, police said, adding that he promised he could get the murder "done within a week." Investigators believe Graber acted alone but are searching for others possibly involved in the alleged plot, authorities told CNN. They also are trying to determine whether he had traveled to or had any other links to Eagle County, Colorado, where the alleged sexual assault was reported. Lt. Jim Taylor, lead investigator for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said Graber, who claims to have ties to the Russian mafia, was apprehended in a sting operation that was videotaped by undercover agents. "The suspect agreed to carry out the act in exchange for $1 million up front and $2 million after the deed," Sheriff Lee Baca said. Bryant, 25, is accused of raping a 19-year-old employee of a Colorado resort hotel June 30. He maintains the sex was consensual. A credible threatThe suspect also claimed to know the accuser and her family "quite well," but the family does not know him, officials said.
Graber is in the United States illegally; his visa expired six months ago, police said. Graber allegedly sent a letter to Bryant, saying that he wanted to meet with him because he "was going to help solve Kobe's problem" and could make Bryant's accuser "disappear," authorities said. The letter was intercepted by Bryant's security team, which then contacted the sheriff's department. At the request of the sheriff's department, Bryant's security agents met with Graber and tape-recorded the conversation. "We took the threat as credible and real," Taylor said. The safety of the accuser was "paramount," Taylor said, noting that investigators had traveled to Colorado to meet with the woman and her family. Setting up a stingAfter Graber's meeting with Bryant's security agents, investigators set up a sting operation in which they called Graber several times and engaged him in conversations about his intentions. Authorities then arranged to meet him in a parking lot where Graber thought he would receive the first payment. Graber was told his money was in an adjacent vehicle. He was arrested when he retrieved it. "Sadly, there are people who as criminals look to engage themselves with this case in a fashion that is not only deplorable, but tragic," Baca said. Graber, described by police as a bodybuilder coach who works at a gym, is being held on $1 million bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday. In a written statement, Bryant's attorneys said the three-time NBA champion took the threat very seriously and continues to cooperate with authorities. "In the two months since this case became public, there have been multiple threats against Mr. Bryant, his lawyers and accuser," the statement said. "There have been outrageously false stories claiming that Mr. Bryant has offered money to the accuser. We condemn these threats and these false stories. This atmosphere threatens not just Mr. Bryant, his lawyers and the accuser, but the fundamental right to a fair trial before an impartial jury." Bryant, who is recovering from shoulder and knee surgeries, is expected to report to the Lakers training camp in Hawaii next month. CNN correspondents Mike Brooks and Charles Feldman, and producer Stan Wilson, contributed to this report.
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