Police Investigate NY Giants Over Cover-Up in Burress Shooting Incident

Top bosses at the Giants admitted Wednesday that they knew Plaxico Burress had accidentally shot himself within minutes after it happened. The only trouble is, the team didn't report the incident to police for at least eight hours. And as team execs tried to distance themselves from the coverup of Saturday's nightclub shooting, investigators are turning up the pressure, indicating that they will subpoena cell phone records from Burress and teammate Antonio Pierce.

The teak acknowledged that Pierce, who was with Burress, called Ronnie Barnes, the team's vice president of medical services, just moments after Plaxico's illegal gun accidentally went off around 1:50am at the Latin Quarter.

Barnes reportedly told Pierce to have Burress rushed to the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center. He arrived there just after 2am, said the team in a statement. THe said that they wanted Burress near the Hospital for Special Surgery, which is next door to New York Presbyterian.

The Gians also said that Dr. Mark Drakos, an orthopedic fellow at HSS who has provided "support" for the team "happened to be" on call that night. He thus called Barnes "to make certain he was aware of the situation." The team said that Drakos examined Burress, and made recommendations.

Dr. Josyann Abisaab, and emergency room doctor who was not scheduled to work that night, showed up at the hopsital just minutes after Burress. She has since been suspended for not reporting the gunshot wound to police as required by law.

Giants officials said that they notified NFL Security about the shooting incident sometime after 10am, and that the league then told police. However, NYC Mayor Bloomberg said that police did not learn about the shooting until they saw television reports that afternoon.

Investigators now believe that Dr. Abisaab was called to the hospital, possibly by the Giants, and instructed to handle Burress "gently" since he was "frantic." The team has denied contacting her or asking her to keep the shooting from police.

According to police investigators, the receiver was registered at the hospital as "Harris Smith". Barnes noticed the discrepancy when he arrived at the hospital, said the Giants. The team denied requesting that he be given an alias, however.

Abisaab's signature is on hospital documents admitting Burress under the alias, even though she was briefed and knew his identity. She is not on the hospital staff, but is affiliated with the medical center and has privileges there.

Burress' legal troubles have only just begun, and already he has been suspended for the rest of the season.