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Rapper Marky Mark settles suit with accuser

BOSTON -- Rap star and underwear pitchman Marky Mark Wahlberg reached an out-of-court settlement just before he was about to go on trial Monday on assault and battery charges for allegedly breaking a man's jaw by kicking him in the face.

The settlement with Robert D. Crehan, 20, was disclosed when Crehan told the judge in Dorchester District Court that he had reached a satisfactory resolution of his civil suit against the pugnacious rapper, and asked that the criminal charges also be dropped. The judge agreed.

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Crehan immediately left the courtroom through a crush of reporters and photographers, but declined comment. His lawyer refused to disclose details of the settlement other than to say it involved a 'substantial' amount of money.

Crehan's attorney, Mark Breakstone, said the settlement included 'a monetary payment that will not be disclosed, but it's a settlement payment that we're quite satisfied with and it compensates Mr. Crehan for his injuries, inconvenience and pain.'

Breakstone also said that if the case had gone to trial, he would have called three witnesses who would have tesitfied that Wahlberg hit, kicked, and beat up Crehan.

Wahlberg said nothing during the court proceedings, arriving and leaving through a back door to avoid the media and a gaggle of groupies who had gathered to catch a glimpes of the beefed-up rapper.

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Charges against Wahlberg's bodyguard, Derek McCall, 20, were also dropped.

Wahlberg and McCall were accused of kicking and punching Crehan at a tennis court on Aug. 30, 1992. Crehan claimed McCall held him down while Wahlberg kicked him in the face, breaking his jaw.

Wahlberg, the babyfaced leader of the rap group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and McCall were both charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a shod foot, and assault and battery.

Wahlberg, 21, the younger brother of Donnie Wahlberg of the New Kids on the Block pop group, previously said he was brought into the criminal proceeding only because of his successful career.

Crehan had also filed a civil suit against Wahlberg and McCall in Suffolk Superior Court.

'People will do anything for money,' the rapper said, referring to Crehan's suit. 'I didn't have anything to do with the altercation. I was present, but I didn't take part.'

Wahlberg, who lives in Braintree, south of Boston, in February apologized for bias attacks he committed as a teenager, and promised to make public service television tapes telling fans it is not right 'to beat up people because your friends are doing it.'

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That action came after the Committee Against AntiAsian Violence and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation threatened to demonstrate against Wahlberg and Calvin Klein, for whom he models underwear in magazines and on billboards across the country.

Despite his troubles, speculation is that the photogenic rapper will soon be taking his tough-guy persona to Hollywood for his debut in a hip-hop theme movie.

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