Ex-NY Giant admits trying to sell fentanyl-laced drugs

A troubled former New York Giants player admitted in court Thursday to trying to sell fentanyl-laced drugs outside his Manhattan apartment — while he was free on “compassionate release” in a financial fraud case.

Clyde “Peter” Hall, 84, — who briefly played for the Giants in the 1960s — brought up his past NFL career as he told a Manhattan federal court judge he knew what he was doing was wrong when he attempted to sling the drugs.

“I was a professional athlete. All my life, I have lived by the standards,” Hall, who appeared in a tan jumpsuit, told Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil. “So the answer is yes, I knew what I was doing against the law.”

Hall had been serving a 20-year prison sentence for financial fraud crimes when he was let out on compassionate release during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During that time, he was caught trying to sell six kilograms of cocaine outside his Harlem apartment on April 24, 2021, federal prosecutors said.

But Hall didn’t know the buyer was an informant working with the Drug Enforcement Administration — which had recorded phone calls between the canary and the former wideout before the drug deal was supposed to go down.

Hall went to meet the informant with a gray bag filled with a “condensed chunky white substance” that later tested positive for cocaine, the feds said.

Authorities then raided Hall’s apartment and recovered around seven kilos of cocaine, according to the criminal complaint against him.

Hall was facing the possibility of life in prison for the narcotics distribution charge before taking the plea deal on Thursday.

He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of intent to distribute 40 grams of a controlled substance containing fentanyl, and under federal sentencing guidelines, is looking at a possible sentence of 11 to 14 years in prison.

Hall now also has to serve the remainder of his 20-year sentence, which will end in 2026, according to his attorney Jason Goldman.

Goldman said that he hoped Hall would avoid spending the rest of his life behind bars after the guilty plea.

“Clyde accepted full responsibility for his role. Despite his age, we remain hopeful that he will not have to live out the rest of his life in prison,” Goldman said.

Hall thanked two family members for coming to his hearing before being shuffled back into handcuffs.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 5.

The Marquette graduate appeared in 12 games for the Giants in 1961, catching two passes for 22 yards in the only season he played in the NFL.