I have seen very little mention of this anywhere.
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedi...,7239002.story
LI man wakes up after coma
BY COLLIN NASH
collin.nash@newsday.com
February 26, 2007
A Long Island native living in Las Vegas opened his eyes for the first time yesterday, after he was hit four times in a hail of bullets during a post NBA All-Star Weekend party at a strip club where he had been working for just two weeks.
Thomas Urbanski, 43, who received injuries to his arm, diaphragm and spleen, which had to be removed, and his spine, will be paralyzed from the waist down, his wife, Kathleen, said yesterday.
"I was so appreciative his eyes were open, and he recognized me," she said.
Her husband, a former professional wrestler, had been in a medically induced coma since he and two others were shot during the early hours of Feb. 18 at the Minxx Gentlemen's Club and Lounge.
According to Las Vegas police, the shooting erupted after cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones of the NFL Tennessee Titans tossed more than $3,000 in $1 bills into the air to make the strippers dance amid the shower of notes. Angry that one of the strippers took some money and did not dance, Jones allegedly grabbed the woman by her hair, slammed her head into the stage and punched her in the face.
As bouncer and martial arts pro Aaron Cudworth proceeded to throw Jones and his entourage out of the club, a gunman identified on surveillance tapes as a member of Jones' crew opened fire, striking Urbanski, Cudworth and a female patron, officials said.
Mark Mistretta, a retired New York City cop, said he became friends with Urbanski after moving to Vegas.
Mistretta said witnesses he spoke to at the club, who declined to identify themselves for fear or retaliation, told him that Jones, after Cudworth got the better of him in a brawl, pointed a finger at the martial artist and said, "You will be dead by the end of the night."
Mistretta said Las Vegas police rebuffed the information he tried to pass on.
Kathleen Urbanski, an elementary school teacher, said she feels guilty because her husband, a real-estate agent , was moonlighting to help finance her attending law school in a year or so.
"I fluctuate between being sad, angry and impatient for his recovery," she said. "I blame myself because he was doing this to make things better for me. At the same time, I'm grateful he's alive."
Matthew Dushoff, the attorney for the Urbanskis', said neither he nor his client have been contacted by representatives of the NFL or the NBA.
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