Murder For Hire? Jury To Decide -- Seahawk Connection To Be Excluded From Prosecutor's Arsenal In Blatt Trial

Mike Blatt believed he was on the verge of becoming the Seattle Seahawks' general manager because, it seemed, he had everything else.

He had power and money, with a net worth of about $50 million; he was a successful sports agent and developer; he possessed charm and good looks. And he talked of ``creating a dynasty'' with the Seahawks.

But Feb. 22, 1989, Tom Flores became the NFL team's general manager, and Blatt pulled out his $4.4 million minority investment in the team.

Less than a week later, Laurence Carnegie, a Stockton, Calif., realtor, was found dead in a remote Sonoma County ravine, shot through the heart with a bolt fired from a crossbow.

Monday, Blatt, 45, will go on trial in Oakland for allegedly hiring two men to kill Carnegie, a bitter business rival. If convicted, Blatt could face the death penalty.

Eaul Blansett, deputy district attorney in San Joaquin County, described Blatt and Carnegie, two aggressive Stockton businessmen who used to work together, as ``praying mantises locked in mortal combat.''

Blansett contends Blatt at least partially blamed Carnegie in his loss of the Seahawk GM job.

Ken Hofmann, a minority owner of the Seahawks, testified in a preliminary hearing that the many lawsuits filed against Blatt - the most bitter and public of which involved Carnegie - were factors for not hiring him.

However, it appears the Seahawks will stay on the sidelines during the four-month trial.

San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Frank Kim has refused to allow Blansett to introduce testimony about Blatt's connections to the Seahawks during the trial, ruling no direct link has been established between the hiring process and the slaying.

Blansett claims that shortly after he was rejected for the Seahawks' job, Blatt contracted with James Mackey and Carl Hancock Jr. to kill Carnegie.

Mackey testified in the pretrial hearing that he killed Carnegie as a favor and for a deal on a unit in a condominium development. Mackey, who had once been a client of Blatt's, testified he became a real-estate agent to get closer to the developer, whom he admired.

In exchange for their testimony, Mackey and Hancock are to receive plea-bargain status in which each will be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, with a recommendation of parole at 16 years, eight months.

Blatt has pleaded innocent.

His attorney, Michael Thorman, says the case is strictly circumstantial and based on the word of two confessed killers.

A multimillionaire such as Blatt would not kill anyone over lawsuits and would not entrust the deed to an amateur, argued Thorman.

``In order for Mr. Mackey to be making some sense,'' Thorman said, ``you have got to believe Mr. Blatt is going to trust his life and his fortune to this bumbling assassin, who can't keep his marriage together and is having financial difficulties.''

The prosecution also plans to parade before the seven-man, five-woman jury a series of canceled checks, telephone records and other documents.

The trial was moved from Stockton to Oakland because of extensive pretrial publicity. Jury selection took more than two months. The trial is expected to last through the summer.

Blatt came in contact with the Seahawks while representing quarterback Kelly Stouffer in 1988. He discovered the Nordstrom family was interested in selling the team and soon had the owners talking to Ken Behring. Blatt had tried to do business with Behring in the past.

After Behring purchased the Seahawks and fired General Manager Mike McCormack, Blatt campaigned for the job, which he held temporarily for about a month.

Blatt's strutting, aggressive style didn't play well in Seattle. His first executive decision was to raise ticket prices.

More than one member of the Seahawk management staff said Blatt alienated staff members and the public within a week.

``We didn't really know what his role was, but he walked in here like he owned the team,'' said a Seahawk employee. ``He severed some relationships overnight that we had worked hard over the years to build.''

Blatt's status as a sports agent also sent ripples of discontent among NFL owners who despised his militant style of negotiating. And once the lawsuits were discovered, Behring and Hofmann decided on Flores.