NY Giants owner's nephew arrested in CT

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) -- The 22-year-old nephew of New York Giants owner John Mara has been charged with felony assault in Connecticut for allegedly hitting a person in the head with a bottle during a New Year's Eve party.

The nephew, also named John Mara, was arrested by Fairfield police Friday and posted $150,000 bail. The Mount Kisco, N.Y., resident is scheduled to be arraigned on first-degree assault and breach of peace charges on March 8 in Bridgeport Superior Court.

The victim, who hasn't been publicly identified, suffered life-threatening injuries that required immediate surgery, police said.

The ordeal happened last New Year's Eve on Fairfield Beach Road, a neighborhood along Long Island Sound where many Fairfield University students live, police said.

Mara is a senior anthropology and sociology major at the Jesuit School who lives in the beachfront neighborhood where the assault allegedly occurred, university spokeswoman Martha Milcarek said. The neighborhood is about 3 miles from campus.

Mara's lawyer, William Dow, said Monday that Mara will plead not guilty. He declined to comment on details of the allegations.

"We're confident a jury will find him not guilty," Dow told The Associated Press.

A message seeking comment was left Monday at a phone listing for a John Mara in Mount Kisco.

Police say the arrest was the result of a two-month investigation and Mara turned himself in after learning that authorities had obtained an arrest warrant for him. First-degree assault carries one to 20 years in prison upon conviction.

Mara also may face sanctions by the university, Milcarek said.

"In a situation like this, not only is a student subject to any civil action but there would be an investigation from the standpoint of the school and, pending the outcome, the student would be subject to the disciplinary code of the university," she said.

A spokesman for the Giants said Monday that the team and John Mara, president and chief executive officer of the Giants, had no comment on the arrest.