FLEMINGTON, N.J. (AP) – A police officer accused of aiding in the attempted cover-up of a fatal shooting at the home of former NBA star Jayson Williams is to go on trial Nov. 1. Bridgewater Township officer Eric Allena is charged with official misconduct and tampering with witnesses after a hired driver was slain at Williams’ mansion in 2002. Prosecutors allege Allena called in sick to work and then talked to several witnesses to the slaying the morning after Costas “Gus” Christofi was killed. Williams was holding a shotgun when it fired into Christofi’s chest and killed him. Williams was acquitted in April of aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon, but convicted of trying to cover up the shooting. First Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember said witnesses told Allena about the cover-up, but the officer never arrested them for making false statements or disclosed the information. Lember said he plans to call Williams as a witness during the trial of Allena, who has been described in court records as a friend of the former basketball standout. Williams’ jury in April deadlocked on a charge of reckless manslaughter, which has led prosecutors to decide to retry him. A tentative retrial date has been set for January. On Friday, Judge Roger Mahon ruled Allena can be tried before Williams is retried. Lember argued the officer’s trial could jeopardize Williams’ retrial because of publicity. The prosecutor also said Williams will likely invoke his right to not testify so he cannot say anything that could incriminate himself. Allena’s lawyer, Brian Neary, said Williams is not the only witness who could testify about his relationship with the officer. Testimony in Williams’ 12-week trial showed that he took a loaded shotgun from a cabinet in his bedroom, cracked it open, turned, uttered an obscenity at Christofi and snapped the weapon closed. It fired once. Five witnesses testified that Williams then wiped down the shotgun, and four said Williams placed it in the victim’s hands. Williams retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 due to leg injuries after playing a decade in the NBA.
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