The Scheme was about basketball, but because of the way it all played out, it belongs on this board. The first announcement came from the famed Southern District of New York. Whoever it was announced the widespread existence of corruption between shoe companies and coaches to steer players to various schools and pay them and/or their families. They named several coaches, including Rick Pitino, several other head coaches and assistants, and said this was just the beginning; that many, many programs and coaches would end up in the cross hairs. And over time, it all seemed to slide away. Rick Pitino was fired; other head coaches--Sean Miller of Arizona and Will Wade of LSU kept their jobs. A few assistants drew short jail sentences.
The guy who took whatever fall their was, was Christian Dawkins, an exceptionally bright and talented arranger. He forged relationships with the players, and wanted them to get paid for their play. He is black; son of a basketball player; and decided to do this instead of college. All of a sudden, a money man appeared--Jeff DiAngelo, a millionaire who wanted to fund his operation. Except Jeff wanted to get college coaches involved--that would get them the players. Except Jeff and his assistant, Jill Bailey, were undercover FBI agents conducting a sting. Dawkins says he was against involving coaches, but took money anyway, and the FBI spent uberlavishly on a suite in Las Vegas and a big blowout to attract coaches. Our money, of course. Anyway, it pretty much fizzled. Di Angelo, by the way, left the investigation in mid-stream--turns out he had been misappropriating FBI funds. Jill Bailey took over as the contact point. DiAngelo's true identity and his fate are unknown.
The real criminal in all this was a Marty Blazer, who paid DiAngelo's money, thousands at a time, to players and family. The FBI was so ticked at Dawkins for not giving them info on coaches that they gave immunity to Blazer to testify against him. In the end, Dawkins received a brief sentence and is now there is every indication he will be a successful agent in the music business. The brief sentences handed down by the Southern District for Dawkins and others was a rebuke to FBI misconduct. In the end, Dawkins was jailed for "defrauding" colleges.
My late friend, the successful prosecutor turned law professor, would have said this often happens. The FBI lets a major figure in the investigation plead, and gives him immunity if he testifies against a minor figure, so that the FBI gets something, anyway, to justify the expense to us taxpayers.
Look, coaches, boosters--you name it--have been paying players and their families since college sports began generating revenue. Thirty, forty years ago, Steve Fisher of Michigan was fired when sources outside the university found out he was doing it. The initial announcement from the Southern District of New York is reminiscent of Michael Avenatti's grand announcement that he would hold a press conference and blow the lid off a college recruiting scandal involving many of the premier programs.
The guy who took whatever fall their was, was Christian Dawkins, an exceptionally bright and talented arranger. He forged relationships with the players, and wanted them to get paid for their play. He is black; son of a basketball player; and decided to do this instead of college. All of a sudden, a money man appeared--Jeff DiAngelo, a millionaire who wanted to fund his operation. Except Jeff wanted to get college coaches involved--that would get them the players. Except Jeff and his assistant, Jill Bailey, were undercover FBI agents conducting a sting. Dawkins says he was against involving coaches, but took money anyway, and the FBI spent uberlavishly on a suite in Las Vegas and a big blowout to attract coaches. Our money, of course. Anyway, it pretty much fizzled. Di Angelo, by the way, left the investigation in mid-stream--turns out he had been misappropriating FBI funds. Jill Bailey took over as the contact point. DiAngelo's true identity and his fate are unknown.
The real criminal in all this was a Marty Blazer, who paid DiAngelo's money, thousands at a time, to players and family. The FBI was so ticked at Dawkins for not giving them info on coaches that they gave immunity to Blazer to testify against him. In the end, Dawkins received a brief sentence and is now there is every indication he will be a successful agent in the music business. The brief sentences handed down by the Southern District for Dawkins and others was a rebuke to FBI misconduct. In the end, Dawkins was jailed for "defrauding" colleges.
My late friend, the successful prosecutor turned law professor, would have said this often happens. The FBI lets a major figure in the investigation plead, and gives him immunity if he testifies against a minor figure, so that the FBI gets something, anyway, to justify the expense to us taxpayers.
Look, coaches, boosters--you name it--have been paying players and their families since college sports began generating revenue. Thirty, forty years ago, Steve Fisher of Michigan was fired when sources outside the university found out he was doing it. The initial announcement from the Southern District of New York is reminiscent of Michael Avenatti's grand announcement that he would hold a press conference and blow the lid off a college recruiting scandal involving many of the premier programs.
