Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Faces Biggest Test of His Power

Two Fridays back, Robert K. Kraft, the proprietor of the New England Patriots, was in Los Angeles, one of his homes from home.

He began the day at Nate and Al's, the Beverly Hills shop where he once in a while feasts with companions, including Larry King and Steve Tisch, the co-proprietor of the Giants. Soon thereafter, he should play golf with Al Michaels, the long-term host of "Sunday Night Football."

Kraft never made it to the primary tee at the Bel-Air Country Club. Amid the morning he got word that the police 2,600 miles away in Florida were accusing him of two checks of requesting a whore at a back rub parlor in Jupiter. From that point forward, experts have uncovered that Kraft is one of many men dealing with requesting indictments as a feature of a case that additionally incorporates suspected human dealing in South Florida.

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All of a sudden, Kraft's off-season, and maybe his status as a standout amongst the most powerful N.F.L. proprietors, had been flipped around.