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Getbig Main Boards => General Topics => Topic started by: BayGBM on August 17, 2011, 09:41:49 AM
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Fan or schmoe? You be the judge. Me? I see an undercurrent of homoeroticism here. :D
Renegade Miami football booster spells out illicit benefits to players
By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports
KEARNY, N.J. – A University of Miami booster, incarcerated for his role in a $930 million Ponzi scheme, has told Yahoo! Sports he provided thousands of impermissible benefits to at least 72 athletes from 2002 through 2010.
In 100 hours of jailhouse interviews during Yahoo! Sports’ 11-month investigation, Hurricanes booster Nevin Shapiro described a sustained, eight-year run of rampant NCAA rule-breaking, some of it with the knowledge or direct participation of at least seven coaches from the Miami football and basketball programs. At a cost that Shapiro estimates in the millions of dollars, he said his benefits to athletes included but were not limited to cash, prostitutes, entertainment in his multimillion-dollar homes and yacht, paid trips to high-end restaurants and nightclubs, jewelry, bounties for on-field play (including bounties for injuring opposing players), travel and, on one occasion, an abortion.
Also among the revelations were damning details of Shapiro’s co-ownership of a sports agency – Axcess Sports & Entertainment – for nearly his entire tenure as a Hurricanes booster. The same agency that signed two first-round picks from Miami, Vince Wilfork and Jon Beason, and recruited dozens of others while Shapiro was allegedly providing cash and benefits to players. In interviews with federal prosecutors, Shapiro said many of those same players were also being funneled cash and benefits by his partner at Axcess, then-NFL agent and current UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue. Shapiro said he also made payments on behalf of Axcess, including a $50,000 lump sum to Wilfork, as a recruiting tool for the agency.
In an effort to substantiate the booster’s claims, Yahoo! Sports audited approximately 20,000 pages of financial and business records from his bankruptcy case, more than 5,000 pages of cell phone records, multiple interview summaries tied to his federal Ponzi case, and more than 1,000 photos. Nearly 100 interviews were also conducted with individuals living in six different states. In the process, documents, photos and 21 human sources – including nine former Miami players or recruits, and one former coach – corroborated multiple parts of Shapiro’s rule-breaking.
While the NCAA declined comment, Miami associate AD for communications Chris Freet told Yahoo! Sports the school has been cooperating with an NCAA probe to unravel claims the booster has made to investigators. He added that the university unsuccessfully sought an interview with the booster last summer.
“When Shapiro made his allegations nearly a year ago, he and his attorneys refused to provide any facts to the university,” Freet said. “We notified the NCAA enforcement officials of these allegations. We are fully cooperating with the NCAA and are conducting a joint investigation. We take these matters very seriously.”
All told, the length, breadth and depth of the impropriety Shapiro has alleged would potentially breach multiple parts of at least four major NCAA bylaws – and possibly many more. Shapiro described acts that could include violations of multiple parts of bylaw 11, involving impermissible compensation to coaches; multiple parts of bylaw 12, involving amateurism of athletes; multiple parts of bylaw 13, involving improper recruiting activity; and multiple parts of bylaw 16, involving extra benefits to athletes.
Perhaps most troubling is Shapiro’s sustained impropriety could trigger the NCAA’s “willful violations” exception to its four-year statute of limitations. Under bylaw 36.2.3, an investigation can expand beyond the statute if information reveals that an individual tied to a university has engaged in “a pattern of willful violations” over a sustained period beyond the previous four years.
Some of Shapiro’s allegations were outlined in multiple recorded interviews with federal prosecutors – brought on by charges he misappropriated nearly $83 million in investor funds with a fraudulent grocery distribution business. And it was Shapiro’s cooperation in his Ponzi case – which encompassed both fraud and money laundering – which opened the door to his conduct at Miami.
“He agreed to cooperate with the government,” said Shapiro’s attorney, Maria Elena-Perez. “He had to be 100-percent truthful. And it has never been the government’s position that he lied about his conduct or the conduct of others in his discussions with the U.S. Attorney’s office.”
“Once Miami was on the table, it opened up everything in that realm. And his cooperation with the NCAA was another level of him coming clean about conduct that wasn’t above board with investor funds – specifically things he was doing with everyone in the UM athletic program.”
Ultimately, what documents show is a booster who broke NCAA rules while simultaneously making tens of thousands of dollars in annual contributions to Miami’s athletic program. All while incurring massive bills aligning himself socially with a stable of Miami players. A stable that features multiple elite players such as Wilfork, Beason, Andre Johnson, Devin Hester, Kellen Winslow Jr., Antrel Rolle and many more – including at least 12 players currently on the Hurricanes roster.
“Here’s the thing: Luther Campbell was the first uncle who took care of players before I got going,” Shapiro said, referring to the entertainer notorious for supplying cash to Miami players in the 1980s and 1990s. “His role was diminished by the NCAA and the school, and someone needed to pick up that mantle. That someone was me. He was ‘Uncle Luke’, and I became ‘Little Luke.’
“I became a booster in late 2001, and by early 2002, I was giving kids gifts. From the start, I wasn’t really challenged. And once I got going, it just got bigger and bigger. I just did what I wanted and didn’t pay much mind toward the potential repercussions.”
In 15 prison interviews with Yahoo! Sports and hundreds of telephone and email interactions, Shapiro laid out a multitude of reasons for blowing the whistle on his illicit booster activity. Chief is his feeling that after spending eight years forging what he thought were legitimate friendships with players, he was abandoned by many of the same Miami athletes he treated so well. He told Yahoo! Sports that following his incarceration, he asked multiple players for financial help – either with bail money, or assistance to individuals close to the booster. Shapiro admitted some of those inquiries included angry letters and phone calls to players whom he provided benefits.
“Some of those players – a lot of those players – we used to say we were a family,” Shapiro said. “Well, who do you go to for help when you need it? You go to your family. Why the hell wouldn’t I go to them?”
Now feeling outcast, the booster said his goal is to rip away the façade of ‘The U’, and reveal an ugly truth about one of the country’s most celebrated college football programs.
“Yeah, I’m guilty,” said Shapiro, whose plea to counts of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and money laundering resulted in a 20-year federal prison sentence. Shapiro also has one prior conviction on his record – an assault case from 1995 in which he pled guilty to punching a nightclub owner. Shapiro was sentenced to 18 months probation in that case.
“I’ve pled guilty to my crime,” the booster said. “I understand the public perception of me and that’s going to be what it’s going to be. My name has been dragged through the mud as much as it could be. But remember, when Jose Canseco told the truth about the steroid problems in baseball, he was considered a dirty rat. Everyone said he was bitter, he was out of baseball, he’s out of money, he was this and that. But he changed the face of the game. I don’t care if I change the face of the game. But I’m telling the truth about what happened at Miami. It’s the truth. And you tell me, why should the University of Miami be exempt from the truth?”
Now, almost a decade after he officially became a University of Miami booster, Shapiro’s truth could potentially dismantle a program he says he has loved for much of his life. After initially threatening to write a tell-all book in August of 2010, Shapiro shelved the project and began cooperating with a Yahoo! Sports investigation in December. Four months later, in March, he said he opened a line of communication with NCAA investigators and began turning over materials to corroborate his claims.
“It’s all true,” said one of Shapiro’s ex-girlfriends, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals from former Miami players. “He took care of them. What does that mean? It has a lot of meanings. He took care of them by giving cash to make sure they had stuff. He took care of them whenever they wanted to go party. He took care of them by getting them laid. He took care of them if they needed a place to stay. Whatever they needed, at that moment they needed it, Nevin would provide it. Whether it was sex, money, meals, a new TV, if their mother needed something, if they needed a new ring or some jewelry – whatever they needed, Nevin would provide it.”
And Shapiro’s justification for his actions? He said it was simple.
“I did it because I could,” he said. “And because nobody stepped in to stop me.”
A Miami transplant in early childhood from his birthplace of Brooklyn, N.Y., Shapiro, 42, said he became a Hurricanes fan in the same manner of many over the last two decades. He fell in love with “The U” as a young boy living in Miami Beach, voraciously seeking tickets through the turbulent but successful tenures of Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson and Butch Davis. Like many, he was drawn to the mixture of grit, flash and swagger of Miami football, which seemed to mirror the soul of the city just north of Coral Gables.
While his financial records prior to 2003 have remained difficult to completely detail, sources told Yahoo! Sports that Shapiro made money the same way many did early in that decade – profiting from aggressive real estate deals in a robust and growing Miami Beach market. And that opened some financial doors, including the ability to afford a $12,000 price tag to become a Hurricanes booster in 2001. It was that season Shapiro became a “living scholar,” which was Miami’s way of pairing up a player who, in theory, was having his scholarship funded by his living scholar booster. The living scholar program is approved by the NCAA.
. . . Shapiro said he liked his three new friends instantly. And he never thought twice about whether he should continue – and deepen – his financial generosity. Particularly after he met Green, a large, charismatic defensive end who Shapiro said wasted little time laying the groundwork for the booster to become acquainted with his teammates. In turn, Shapiro said he quickly indulged the players’ interest to take whatever he was willing to provide – offerings that escalated quickly from basketball tickets and televisions to parties on entire floors of suites at South Beach’s Mercury Hotel where he said he made scores of prostitutes available.
“It really started with me developing a strong relationship with Corn,” Shapiro said. “He was really like a queen bee of the players. Through Cornelius it was like I was meeting every single guy – almost every guy on the roster – [and] specifically the frontline players, the star players.
“As word spread – and it spread fast – guys were just coming up to me. By the time the next season came around, I even recall Antrel Rolle and Sean Taylor, they were just coming off their freshman years and not really stars yet, just walking up and introducing themselves and wanting to get in on the party.
“I didn’t even have to push the situations. Once it started and guys knew they could come to me, it escalated quickly. . .
http://sports.yahoo.com/investigations/news?slug=cr-renegade_miami_booster_details_illicit_benefits_081611&print=1
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And the point of this is.....?
Why not post every news article related to anything hetero? ::)
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"He took care of them. What does that mean? It has a lot of meanings..."
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And the point of this is.....?
Why not post every news article related to anything hetero? ::)
Actually I posted the above without reading or even skimming the article....I read the bold text now still not the rest. So basically Bay is saying everyone is homo because some guy paid to help players get laid by women? lol
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All college programs run this way, that's the only way to recruit ghetto kids to play for that school, they don't care about degrees all they care bout is Money, hoes, and cloths
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Actually I posted the above without reading or even skimming the article....I read the bold text now still not the rest. So basically Bay is saying everyone is homo because some guy paid to help players get laid by women? lol
I think bay is saying College football had a Joe in miami
(http://homepage.mac.com/michaelacooper/blogpix/arnoldpumped.jpg)
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not gonna lie.. some undertones here
South beach
Always around the football team..
Invited guys to stay at his house
Get on his boats (buff shirtless guys)
paying for prostitute sex for the guys at his house..
Just seemed uncomfortable and awkward to me.
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"He took care of them. What does that mean? It has a lot of meanings..."
why didn't he get some roids from these dudes? he looks small.
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not gonna lie.. some undertones here
South beach
Always around the football team..
Invited guys to stay at his house
Get on his boats (buff shirtless guys)
paying for prostitute sex for the guys at his house..
Just seemed uncomfortable and awkward to me.
Perhaps with the "sponsor" himself, but the more significant undertone is Bay's in which he's using this to try to convince us yet again that everyone (including ourselves) are homo just because he and few others are. Sort of like uberman, interpreting everyone must have had a bad father growing up or are currently a bad father just because he had one.
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Perhaps with the "sponsor" himself, but the more significant undertone is Bay's in which he's using this to try to convince us yet again that everyone (including ourselves) are homo just because he and few others are. Sort of like uberman, interpreting everyone must have had a bad father growing up or are currently a bad father just because he had one.
You obviously have a bee in your bonnet since you took the time to post in this thread immediately, even as you admitted that you did so “without reading or even skimming the article.” Do you even have time to visit this thread? Aren't you be busy stalking Nasser? For what it's worth, I don't think it would take much convincing for anyone to conclude that you are homo. ::)
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You obviously have a bee in your bonnet since you took the time to post in this thread immediately, even as you admitted that you did so “without reading or even skimming the article.” Do you even have time to visit this thread? Aren't you be busy stalking Nasser? For what it's worth, I don't think it would take much convincing for anyone to conclude that you are homo. ::)
Didn't care to read the article (still haven't) and my two first posts show that. But yes I did care enough to click on an article from BayGBM because I knew it would provide me with some entertainment as I do find peoples' stupidity entertaining at times, just like your above post where you're suggesting a happily married man is a homo.
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not gonna lie.. some undertones here
South beach
Always around the football team..
Invited guys to stay at his house
Get on his boats (buff shirtless guys)
paying for prostitute sex for the guys at his house..
Just seemed uncomfortable and awkward to me.
Congratulations sir. You are not in denial. :)
This reminds me of an episode from the early 1990s when wrestling schmoe John duPont used his family fortune to create a wrestling camp for aspiring Olympic and pro wrestlers where they could live and train; he was in his mid to late 50s at the time. If my memory is correct the camp was located on his private estate and, of course, the price of admission was you had to "wrestle" with him—presumably as often as he wanted. :-\
Lots of guys signed on for this arrangement to mutual satisfaction; it went on for years… but it all came crashing down when DuPont murdered wrestler Dave Schultz. Was it a lover’s quarrel? A schmoe session gone bad? Who knows? DuPont was judged a paranoid schizophrenic and sentenced 13-30 years in prison for the murder. I recall news reports about this back in the late 1990s and at the time I remember thinking that it was schmoetastic—except for the way it all ended. Does anyone else remember this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eleuthère_du_Pont
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Congratulations sir. You are not in denial. :)
This reminds me of an episode from the early 1990s when wrestling schmoe John duPont used his family fortune to create a wrestling camp for aspiring Olympic and pro wrestlers where they could live and train; he was in his mid to late 50s at the time. If my memory is correct the camp was located on his private estate and, of course, the price of admission was you had to "wrestle" with him—presumably as often as he wanted. :-\
Lots of guys signed on for this arrangement to mutual satisfaction; it went on for years… but it all came crashing down when DuPont murdered wrestler Dave Schultz. Was it a lover’s quarrel? A schmoe session gone bad? Who knows? DuPont was judged a paranoid schizophrenic and sentenced 13-30 years in prison for the murder. I recall news reports about this back in the late 1990s and at the time I remember thinking that it was schmoetastic—except for the way it all ended. Does anyone else remember this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eleuthère_du_Pont
Live in LA. And i heard that some bodybuilding schmoe owned this apartment building in santa monica. Lots of aspiring young broke bodybuilders would stay there for reduced rent or free rent. In exchange for favors. Maybe true.. maybe not. This was in 80s and 90s i think
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not gonna lie.. some undertones here
South beach
Always around the football team..
Invited guys to stay at his house
Get on his boats (buff shirtless guys)
paying for prostitute sex for the guys at his house..
Just seemed uncomfortable and awkward to me.
Perhaps you should have let him buy you a drink first.... ;D
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Perhaps you should have let him buy you a drink first.... ;D
cuz ... you gay
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Look at the photos... and connect... the... dots... Even without knowing about all the money he spent to corral and seduce these guys, you do not need gaydar to see what's happening here. :-[
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Brutal fag - or maybe an extreme form of cuckold-ism nurtured by an athletically abusive stepfather.
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If you never experienced that "COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER" lifestyle you will never know how awesome it is, This guy had the cash to buy his way in to it....
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If you never experienced that "COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER" lifestyle you will never know how awesome it is, This guy had the cash to buy his way in to it....
Would it be "awesome" without the cash? It seems as if this schmoe brought more to the table. Just saying. :-\
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Would it be "awesome" without the cash? It seems as if this schmoe brought more to the table. Just saying. :-\
the cash made a big difference, private table at club mansion, blowjobs at club mango, private yachts, party buses with hookers from Cuba and the dominican
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The guy made the statement that he himself never had sex with the prostitutes he bought for the players. That's a very telling statement about his sexuality.
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The guy made the statement that he himself never had sex with the prostitutes he bought for the players. That's a very telling statement about his sexuality.
yes, he liked to watch.
as long as the guy was on top.
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The guy made the statement that he himself never had sex with the prostitutes he bought for the players. That's a very telling statement about his sexuality.
Another winner! Congratulations sir, you are not in denial! ;)
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The guy made the statement that he himself never had sex with the prostitutes he bought for the players. That's a very telling statement about his sexuality.
see thats what im saying.. he liked to be around sexual situations with his players..
cuz was 5'5 also.. not sure what relevance that holds..but thought id point that out
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Maybe he was buying them cheap $100 street hookers and didn't want his dick falling off
maybe he only fucks escorts
maybe he only fucks non mudskark hookers ( even thou i dont think those exist)
but all signs lead to .....
(http://www.gifbin.com/bin/1236241741_dr._house_peephole.gif)
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He's a jock sniffer not a schmoe!
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see thats what im saying.. he liked to be around sexual situations with his players..
cuz was 5'5 also.. not sure what relevance that holds..but thought id point that out
Been there. Done that. Trust me: lots of little guys want some big dark meat! I’m just saying… :D
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Miami's brewing NCAA scandal could tower over USC case
The NCAA slapped USC with harsh penalties over the Reggie Bush scandal as an example to other schools. Allegations of violations by a University of Miami booster make the USC case look minor.
by Chris Dufresne
The chairman of the NCAA committee on infractions said last year the case against USC was, literally, a "three-feet."
That's how high the paperwork would stack, he said, if you started a pile on the floor.
The chairman said the NCAA was going to make an example out of USC in the hope it would serve as a warning to other schools. USC football was slammed with a two-year bowl ban and the loss of 30 scholarships as the result of violations involving star running back Reggie Bush.
The chairman said the NCAA concluded that even if USC didn't know what was going on in San Diego, well, it should have. It was a powerful message.
"High-profile athletes demand high-profile compliance," the chairman said.
The chairman's name was Paul Dee. He was the former, long-time athletic director at the University of Miami.
As the Church Lady used to say, "Well, isn't that special?"
Miami made news Tuesday when Yahoo! Sports, the same outfit that broke the Bush story, detailed allegations of widespread abuses. The charges, if true, make USC's violations look like parking 30 minutes in a 20-minute zone. Miami, it seems, still has vices.
Nevin Shapiro, a booster who agreed to cooperate with the government and Yahoo! while he sits in jail for his role in a $930-million Ponzi scheme, is singing like a Hurricane canary.
Shapiro claims that from 2002 through 2010, while he was contributing money to Miami athletics, he also provided thousands of impermissible benefits for at least 72 athletes.
What kind of benefits did Shapiro allegedly provide?
Oh, stuff like prostitutes, bounty payouts to players for "hit of the game," and "big plays." Also: jewelry, clothing, travel, televisions, house/yacht privileges and strip clubs. Shapiro said he even paid for an abortion after a Miami player impregnated a strip-club dancer. He said the player didn't know of the payoff — as if that makes it OK.
Shapiro claims several Miami assistant coaches knew of the violations. These accusations aren't entirely new — they first surfaced last summer — and Miami has been cooperating with the NCAA.
"The University of Miami takes these matters very seriously," the school said in a statement.
Shapiro's credibility can certainly be challenged. However, the depth of detail and corroboration provided by Yahoo! is mind-boggling. People at Southern Methodist University are probably reading this and saying, "And we got the Death Penalty?" Shoot, SMU only had "a payroll to meet."
USC fans have to be incredulous — even while acknowledging what Reggie Bush did was wrong.
Dee was Miami's AD from 1993 through 2008. He was in charge when Miami was hit with major sanctions in the mid-1990s. Sports Illustrated, in a 1995 cover story, suggested Miami had become so corrupt it should drop football. Some people thought that idea was way over the top.
The Hurricanes recovered from probation and bounced back to win the Bowl Championship Series title in 2001. The next year, we're led to believe, Shapiro entered the room.
Sports Illustrated might want to reprint that 1995 cover with the headline, "Well…?"
Miami's case is the latest in a scandal-ridden off-season. It follows "Tattoo-U" in Columbus, which led to the resignation of Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel.
North Carolina, a school that heretofore embodied ethics through the teachings of basketball Coach Dean Smith, recently fired football Coach Butch Davis as the NCAA investigates an alleged academic scandal. Davis, you may recall, was the fresh-start coach hired to get Miami back on track after the mid-'90s sanctions.
The NCAA still has an open investigation on Auburn, last year's champion, and Oregon, the runner-up.
All these stories broke after new NCAA President Mark Emmert was hired and vowed massive reformation and hard-line resolutions. The NCAA, for sure, is great at retreats.
Emmert held one last week at which university presidents assured the world they were taking matters seriously. But the paint wasn't dry on Emmert's tough-talk poster before his grown-up message was undermined by a Texas A&M food-fight that likely will lead to the Aggies' defection to the Southeastern Conference.
Because …?
Texas A&M is really mad at Texas. ESPN and Texas are in business together on a Longhorn Network TV venture that proposed televising high school games. One hitch in the plan: The NCAA said that was against the rules.
College sports is broken, yet the people vowing to fix it have their hands in the same money jar.
The NCAA doesn't even control its most lucrative asset, football, because it once lost a game of monopoly to the Supreme Court. Everyone says the right things. "We don't have the luxury of acting as if it's business as usual," Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive said.
And then it's business as usual.
The New York Times reported that Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe had a heated discussion with Slive over the SEC's allegedly trying to poach Texas A&M. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany has seen his two pillars, Ohio State and Michigan, undercut by NCAA sanctions.
"That's embarrassing," Delany said.
The NCAA is an organization in which members govern themselves — and there's the ruinous rub. Everybody is an "in-house" hire. Emmert is well-meaning but also former president at Washington, Oregon's most hated rival.
This leads to potential conflicts of interests, cries of hypocrisy and the laughably ironic case of Dee leading an investigation against USC while his old school was allegedly doing things a thousand times worse.
Dee said USC should have known what was going on? The NCAA needs an independent grand jury to adjudicate matters of mischief.
The problem with setting the retribution bar so high for USC, of course, is it didn't leave any wiggle room for bounty payoffs and prostitution. If the allegations against Miami are true, the school may have to drop football as a conversation starter with the NCAA infractions committee.
If the case against USC was three feet high, Mr. Dee, how high will it be stacked against Miami?
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see thats what im saying.. he liked to be around sexual situations with his players..
cuz was 5'5 also.. not sure what relevance that holds..but thought id point that out
Bro. He didn't bang the pro's because he was into dudes. The girlfriend is a payed girlfriend. Payed to read a script. I think if he was to come out of the closet and really tell the truth, we would all see a couple of names from the U that played around with the dirty starfish. The only reason I think he didn't go down that road is because he knows he would probably be taken out for good.
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Bro. He didn't bang the pro's because he was into dudes. The girlfriend is a payed girlfriend. Payed to read a script. I think if he was to come out of the closet and really tell the truth, we would all see a couple of names from the U that played around with the dirty starfish. The only reason I think he didn't go down that road is because he knows he would probably be taken out for good.
LOL. He makes all these "boosters" look very suspect. Just think, dude is running a huge ponzi scheme and what does he do with the money? He becomes a patron and supporter of college football jocks... Plying them with money, gifts, booze, hookers, sleepovers at his house, and shirtless boat rides on his yacht. ;D
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LOL. He makes all these "boosters" look very suspect. Just think, dude is running a huge ponzi scheme and what does he do with the money? He becomes a patron and supporter of college football jocks... Plying them with money, gifts, booze, hookers, sleepovers at his house, and shirtless boat rides on his yacht. ;D
Ok.. heres the truth, Every team has homo jock sniffers. I played at a division 2 school. Morehouse College, an all male school in Atlanta. You have friends of the program and it is well known the ones who are friends of the program, and those that are friends of "players" in the program. Mostly, the friends of the programs are GUYS THAT PLAYED FOR THE PROGRAM and want to give back. Like ill do when i get some money. Then those that never had anything to do with the team coming up and liked to be around buff guys. The thing is, the whole team knows that guys motives. But when youre broke as hell and some little guy says "hey heres some money, oh by the way im having a cookout at my house, oh by the way here are some hookers, oh by the way lets get on my boat." dude it gets a little gay..
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Ok.. heres the truth, Every team has homo jock sniffers. I played at a division 2 school. Morehouse College, an all male school in Atlanta. You have friends of the program and it is well known the ones who are friends of the program, and those that are friends of "players" in the program. Mostly, the friends of the programs are GUYS THAT PLAYED FOR THE PROGRAM and want to give back. Like ill do when i get some money. Then those that never had anything to do with the team coming up and liked to be around buff guys. The thing is, the whole team knows that guys motives. But when youre broke as hell and some little guy says "hey heres some money, oh by the way im having a cookout at my house, oh by the way here are some hookers, oh by the way lets get on my boat." dude it gets a little gay..
In other words when you are broke buff jock you become G4P? :D
We have all seen this before in bodybuilding, but many guys here are too deep in denial to see or accept it. Perhaps seeing this dynamic played out in another sport (college football) will help our fellow getbiggers to finally face the truth: your athletic heroes are for sale, turning tricks, and getting gropped by male schmoes. Even schmoes that are 5'5" and 130lbs. ::)
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I other words when you are broke buff jock you become G4P? :D
We have all seen this before in bodybuilding, but many guys here are too deep in denial to see or accept it. Perhaps seeing this dynamic played out in another sport (college football) will help our fellow getbiggers to finally face the truth: your athletic heroes are for sale, turning tricks, and getting gropped by male schmoes. Even schmoes that are 5'5" and 130lbs. ::)
na.. not saying the full gayness happens.. but.. there is an aura of gayness when those types of guys show up.. and i wouldnt be suprised if a couple of needy players went there with some of the friends of the players of the program
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money is money and where it comes from when you really want it doesn't matter to some people no matter what type of string is attached
if little man was setting up "dates" with hookers .. I REFUSE to believe the strings attached did not include him watching from close by for his own pleasure
I also know that by the looks of how "close" he's allowed to stand next to these guys for some of the photos .. "lets" one understand that the lips wrapped around the pole feel the same as a hot chick and maybe even better when you get paid to close your eyes and shoot
it's pretty clear they didn't care what anyone would think about their "relationship" with little man .. just like Derek stripping and web-camming for men .. he's not gay because men touch him or watch him wank and pay for it ::)
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money is money and where it comes from when you really want it doesn't matter to some people no matter what type of string is attached
if little man was setting up 'dates" with hookers .. I REFUSE to believe the strings attached did not include him watching from close by for his own pleasure
I also know that by the looks of how "close" he's allowed to stand next to these guys for some of the photos .. "lets" one understand that the lips wrapped around the pole feel the same as a hot chick and maybe even better when you get paid to close your eyes and shoot
it's pretty clear they didn't care what anyone would think about their "relationship" with little man .. just like Derek stripping and web-camming for men .. he's not gay because men touch him or watch him wank and pay for it ::)
thats what i was trying to get at... in a round about way
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money is money and where it comes from when you really want it doesn't matter to some people no matter what type of string is attached
if little man was setting up "dates" with hookers .. I REFUSE to believe the strings attached did not include him watching from close by for his own pleasure
I also know that by the looks of how "close" he's allowed to stand next to these guys for some of the photos .. "lets" one understand that the lips wrapped around the pole feel the same as a hot chick and maybe even better when you get paid to close your eyes and shoot
it's pretty clear they didn't care what anyone would think about their "relationship" with little man .. just like Derek stripping and web-camming for men .. he's not gay because men touch him or watch him wank and pay for it ::)
You, sir, are not in denial! Congratulations! This is becoming a national story... I have seen several major news outlets picking up the NCAA violations in Miami's football program perpetrated by this little guy, but none of them will dare to go there when it comes to talking about what else is really going on. :-X
As I said, look at the pics and connect... the... dots. If you dare! ;D
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dude we know this little ni66a was gay, that isnt news.. well i thought it was pretty well known.. the rabbit hole (no pun) gets deeper.. thats why the players are so hush hush..
South beach (gay on its on)
Shit tons of money on south beach
Half naked guys on your boat
full naked guys in your house.. having sex that you paid for..
and you....are 5'5 135lbs...
gay as the day is long
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dude we know this little ni66a was gay, that isnt news.. well i thought it was pretty well known.. the rabbit hole (no pun) gets deeper.. thats why the players are so hush hush..
South beach (gay on its on)
Shit tons of money on south beach
Half naked guys on your boat
full naked guys in your house.. having sex that you paid for..
and you....are 5'5 135lbs...
gay as the day is long
How long before he starts posting on getbig?
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dude we know this little ni66a was gay, that isnt news.. well i thought it was pretty well known.. the rabbit hole (no pun) gets deeper.. thats why the players are so hush hush..
South beach (gay on its on)
Shit tons of money on south beach
Half naked guys on your boat
full naked guys in your house.. having sex that you paid for..
and you....are 5'5 135lbs...
gay as the day is long
It may be obvious to you, but the whole dynamic is not so obvious to everyone. Just look at how many people--including getbiggers--are clueless about the sport they ostensibly follow. :-[
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You, miss, are not in denial!
fixed .. I'm just as female as your Mom :)
this story is strange in the way it is keeping the "players" off the radar .. if ALL his shenanigans were revealed I bet heads would be shaking and women screaming .. and not in a good way
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It may be obvious to you, but the whole dynamic is not so obvious to everyone. Just look at how many people--including getbiggers--are clueless about the sport they ostensibly follow. :-[
I think "in denial" is more accurate than "clueless" about the Thong Wars.... :-X
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Jimmy Johnson calls Nevin Shapiro 'little scumbag,' 'parasite'
By Steve Svekis, Sun Sentinel
Saying he had had "better days," former University of Miami coach Jimmy Johnson was on Wednesday's Paul and Young Ron Show on 105.9 FM, discussing the NCAA investigation into the school's athletic department and its purported connection with jailed Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro.
"This kind of news is not good for University of Miami," Johnson said. "I love the University, I love the program, the people. I talked to Al Golden a few times. He was here in The Keys about a week or so ago. I hate it for him."
Terming former Hurricanes major booster Shapiro "this little scumbag who's in prison for bilking a billion dollars from a bunch of people," the former Hurricanes, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins coach said that, "I'm sure he took advantage of some of these kids, and I hate it for the program." He also called Shapiro a "jock-sniffer wannabe."
Johnson said Shapiro seemed to be embellishing parts of the story; "He talked about entertaining kids on his yacht. A million dollars, that's not a yacht, that's a boat."
Johnson said that people the likes of Shapiro cling to every major football program in the country.
"These parasites hang around every program. The players have got to be smart enough to know that they want something. They're not going to be giving out free drinks unless they're gonna get something in return, so they've got to avoid these parasites."
On Thursday morning, Johnson went on The Joe Rose Show on 560-WQAM.
About the possibility of the NCAA handing down the 'death penalty,' which would eliminate the sport of football for a full year, Johnson said, "Let's clear up this death penalty thing. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I think even the NCAA, after they did that to SMU, really decided that was the wrong move to make. And, really, I don't think anybody will ever receive that again."
He added that the only story that is out there has been generated by a convicted felon and that "when you find out the real facts of the matter, it may not be as bad as people are saying."
Rose then talked about how members of the national media have been writing how "the program has never changed. They've been rebellious since the days of Jimmy Johnson brought them out there in fatigues. What are people talking about?"
"Well, for one thing, they kind of point back at the years when I was at the university," Johnson said. "You know, we never had any sanctions of any sort from the NCAA. Now, we were kind of flamboyant on the field, but there's Miami haters out there around the country. There's a lot of people who hate the University of Miami. A lot of them who are jealous of the University of Miami."
Johnson also noted that former coach Randy Shannon had banned Shapiro from being around his teams.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/sfl-jimmy-johnson-nevin-shapiro-miami-hurricanes-20110818,0,7391084.story
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Miami case is a matter of greed, not need
There's no reason to pay student-athletes, who already receive room, board and a college education.
by Bill Plaschke
So, of course, in the wake of the latest college sports scandal, there echoes the latest college sports pablum.
Oh, those poor underprivileged children from the University of Miami. If only the NCAA allowed the football players to be paid, a sleazy booster wouldn't have been able to buy them. Oh, the hypocrisy, the unfairness, the shame.
In the words of a surely weeping Keith Jackson … whoa, Nellie.
Did you actually read the Yahoo Sports report on the many impermissible benefits alleged to have been doled out to the Miami football and basketball players by a Ponzi scheme crook named Nevin Shapiro?
Did you see how he provided starving linemen with free breakfast, homeless receivers with nightly shelter, and a threadbare running back with discount jeans?
Me neither.
This wasn't about feeding hungry kids, it was about getting them hookers. This wasn't about giving poor kids silver pocket change, it was about buying them diamond dog tags.
If you want to believe the argument that the Miami case illustrates a need to pay college athletes, then you must believe that, in addition to scholarships, athletes deserve NBA tickets, big-screen TVs and weekends in South Beach hotel suites.
This is all about entitled college athletes taking advantage of a sad sycophant, the same sort of kids who have currently landed Ohio State under the NCAA microscope. The benefit accepted by the Buckeyes? Tattoos. Oh, those poor unadorned waifs.
One of the purported stories of real woe in the Miami report involved a player who needed money to support his child. Another story involved a booster paying for an abortion. So I guess the wicked NCAA needs to be accountable not only for the athletes, but also for the results of their dalliances?
Although USC fans are properly claiming that their school's infractions are far less than those alleged to have occurred at Miami and Ohio State, the Trojans were struck down by the same sort of athlete. Really, like Reggie Bush needed to rent his parents a house?
The Miami case involves about 72 Reggie Bushes, and to think that paying players would have even made a dent in this number is to not understand the relationship between a booster with fat wallet and an athlete with an oversized sense of self. When a rich guy wants to buy a star athlete food and entertainment and women just for a chance to hang out with him, that athlete doesn't ask questions. He embraces it because he expects it. He expects it because, in different forms, this sort of star gazing has been surrounding him since he was 12.
Like most of the others, the Miami case is not only about a booster using a player, but also vice versa. In fact, the sight of players exploiting Shapiro was so disgustingly clear, one of his partners even testified his concern.
"Sometimes the things that players receive are more of a luxury than a necessity," acknowledged Teague Egan, the former USC student/agent who became infamous last fall when running back Dillon Baxter was ruled ineligible for a game after taking a ride across campus in Egan's golf cart.
Egan has since graduated and given up the agent dream after being decertified by the NFL Players Assn. His 1st Round company is involved strictly in music and apparel. I called him because he still has memories of hanging out with Trojans athletes, rich and poor, and how they all shared one thing in common.
"None of them would ever ask for anything," he said. "A lot of those players may have needed more than they were getting, but they would never ask."
Players don't approach boosters begging to stay in school because their enormous tuition is already paid. They don't beg for something to eat because their expensive dining hall privileges are already provided. And they don't beg to crash on a booster's couch because every scholarship athlete is essentially given a place to sleep.
If you still think players aren't paid, begging to differ is a country full of college parents writing a big check this month for students who are not nearly as blessed as these poor pitiable athletes.
Obviously, as with the entire student body, there are athletes who need financial assistance beyond the scope of a scholarship. And obviously, unlike other students, these athletes cannot take advantage of campus job programs offered those in their economic bracket.
You want to pay an athlete? Those are the kids you pay. You ferret through the financial statements and pay the kids who would have been eligible for these work-study programs.
You pay the minority of kids who need it. You don't pay the overwhelming majority of kids who think they deserve it.
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Jimmy Johnson calls Nevin Shapiro 'little scumbag,' 'parasite'
By Steve Svekis, Sun Sentinel
Saying he had had "better days," former University of Miami coach Jimmy Johnson was on Wednesday's Paul and Young Ron Show on 105.9 FM, discussing the NCAA investigation into the school's athletic department and its purported connection with jailed Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro.
"This kind of news is not good for University of Miami," Johnson said. "I love the University, I love the program, the people. I talked to Al Golden a few times. He was here in The Keys about a week or so ago. I hate it for him."
Terming former Hurricanes major booster Shapiro "this little scumbag who's in prison for bilking a billion dollars from a bunch of people," the former Hurricanes, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins coach said that, "I'm sure he took advantage of some of these kids, and I hate it for the program." He also called Shapiro a "jock-sniffer wannabe."
Johnson said Shapiro seemed to be embellishing parts of the story; "He talked about entertaining kids on his yacht. A million dollars, that's not a yacht, that's a boat."
Johnson said that people the likes of Shapiro cling to every major football program in the country.
"These parasites hang around every program. The players have got to be smart enough to know that they want something. They're not going to be giving out free drinks unless they're gonna get something in return, so they've got to avoid these parasites."
On Thursday morning, Johnson went on The Joe Rose Show on 560-WQAM.
About the possibility of the NCAA handing down the 'death penalty,' which would eliminate the sport of football for a full year, Johnson said, "Let's clear up this death penalty thing. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I think even the NCAA, after they did that to SMU, really decided that was the wrong move to make. And, really, I don't think anybody will ever receive that again."
He added that the only story that is out there has been generated by a convicted felon and that "when you find out the real facts of the matter, it may not be as bad as people are saying."
Rose then talked about how members of the national media have been writing how "the program has never changed. They've been rebellious since the days of Jimmy Johnson brought them out there in fatigues. What are people talking about?"
"Well, for one thing, they kind of point back at the years when I was at the university," Johnson said. "You know, we never had any sanctions of any sort from the NCAA. Now, we were kind of flamboyant on the field, but there's Miami haters out there around the country. There's a lot of people who hate the University of Miami. A lot of them who are jealous of the University of Miami."
Johnson also noted that former coach Randy Shannon had banned Shapiro from being around his teams.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/um-hurricanes/sfl-jimmy-johnson-nevin-shapiro-miami-hurricanes-20110818,0,7391084.story
Whats ironic is that Jimmy Johnson is now doing ads for extenze. The rabbit hole just keeps on going.
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At Miami, there's 1 big question: 'How?'
TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — A sports bar is packed with Hurricanes boosters, most of whom are wearing their team's orange and green colors. They spontaneously break into chanting their unofficial anthem, "It's great ... to be ... a Mi-a-mi Hurr-i-cane!"
As they sing, the sight of Nevin Shapiro running into an Orange Bowl end zone and getting chased off by a security guard pops onto nearby televisions.
Groans rise from the crowd.
For Miami football and its fans, there's just no getting away from The Scandal. The sports bar scene happened at a long-scheduled gathering in Palm Beach County, where Hurricanes fans tried generating enthusiasm for the new season. A few days ago, that would have been easy. Considering this get-together came two days after Yahoo Sports published its report that Shapiro — the mastermind of a $930 million Ponzi scheme — provided money, sex, cars and gifts to 72 players over a nine-year period ending in 2010, it's nearly impossible.
The NCAA is investigating what happened. There's plenty to sift through. How did this happen? Who let this happen? Why did Shapiro have such access? Did anyone check his background? And perhaps most important, how did these secrets, if true, remain secrets for so many years?
Simple questions, lacking simple answers.
"It was one guy with a lot of money," said former Miami quarterback Steve Walsh, who led the Hurricanes to the 1987 national title and is now a high school coach in West Palm Beach, Fla. "And it wasn't his, so he was going to spend it freely. That's the other part of it. It's so difficult for an athlete. If some guy wants to buy you drinks, 'Sure!' You're not going to say, 'Who are you?' And now the guy's sitting in prison. In there, he can allege all he wants."
Shapiro is serving a 20-year sentence for his crimes, with federal officials saying he is scheduled to be released in 2027. He already is serving his penalty. It could be months before Miami knows what penalty, if any, it will face for having a rogue booster first try to befriend, then bring down, dozens of Hurricanes over the span of nearly a decade.
"That's my school," said Maria Elena Perez, Shapiro's attorney. "I didn't want any of this to happen to my school."
The current Hurricanes implicated by Shapiro in the Yahoo Sports story are quarterback Jacory Harris, safeties Vaughn Telemaque and Ray Ray Armstrong, receivers Travis Benjamin and Aldarius Johnson, defensive linemen Marcus Forston, Olivier Vernon, Marcus Robinson and Adewale Ojomo, tight end Dyron Dye, defensive back JoJo Nicholas and linebacker Sean Spence.
They have not spoken publicly about the matter. Their teammates who are talking say they don't have the answer to that fundamental question — "How?" — either.
"It came out of nowhere," center Tyler Horn said. "I can't control it. And if I can't control it, there's no need to be worrying about it."
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Miami's Hurricane Club has nine levels of giving, and each step up the ladder means better gifts and greater access to the athletic department. The top levels ($30,000 or more) provide just about anything a fan would want — sideline passes, VIP passes, exclusive reception invitations, even interacting with a student-athlete.
Shapiro promised plenty, including a $150,000 pledge for a student-athlete lounge that was supposed to bear his name. He made other donations as well, including $50,000 to men's basketball.
Things like that endeared him to Miami, a private school of more than 9,000 undergraduates and an endowment in the neighborhood of $600 million, although the athletic department has long said it lacks the deep pockets of many schools it competes against. Shapiro became a highly valued donor. When he wanted something like seeing practice, typically someone would at least listen.
"The way it would work is, someone from the Hurricane Club or whatever would walk him to the field and tell the security guards and the coaches who he was and why he was there," said an athletic department employee, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigations by both the NCAA and the university. "It didn't happen a lot. One day, I was out there and saw the guy trying to get into a huddle. Never saw that before by anyone."
That incident happened while Larry Coker coached the Hurricanes.
When asked about Shapiro on Friday, Coker told The Associated Press he knew about the former booster during his time at Miami but never interacted with him. He didn't elaborate further.
"He's a bad person," Coker said.
Coker's successor had the same sentiment.
When Randy Shannon took over as coach, Shapiro's access to practice stopped. Shannon played at Miami in the 1980s and told confidants that he had seen people like Shapiro around the program before, warning assistant coaches that if he ever learned they interacted with the booster, he would fire them personally.
"Randy told everyone, players and coaches," said a former football assistant coach, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he expects to be interviewed by the NCAA. "Deal with him at your own risk. He told me personally, 'The guy's poison. Bad news. Trouble.' And we listened. So then the guy started trying to reach out to players directly more and more. They would come to us and complain that they'd go bowling and he'd show up. It was a running joke around here. We'd ask, 'See your stalker last night?'"
Shannon, who was fired by Miami in November, declined comment when reached by The Associated Press. Another member of his staff, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Shannon was not an ally of Shapiro.
"Randy hated the guy," the second coach said.
But, according to Shapiro, some players hung out with him anyway — a thrill for someone who has described himself as a lifelong Hurricanes fan. He was even featured in 1992 by The Miami Herald, which detailed his antics as he sat in the stands watching Miami play rival Florida State in a particularly close game not decided until the final moments. He screamed, "We are the gods of college football!"
Whether he still feels that way is anyone's guess. This much is clear: He's gone from fan to pariah in a hurry.
"We've overcome many, many obstacles over the years," said former Miami player and longtime radio analyst Don Bailey Jr. "And we've proved five times, when people tell us something is impossible, it's only their opinion."
Until the scandal broke Tuesday, when Shapiro's accusations were detailed by Yahoo Sports, some around the Hurricanes never knew who the short, brash, aggressive man was. Others knew his name, but didn't know what he looked like until seeing images and videos that popped up in recent days. Many players denied knowing him whatsoever, even after they were accused by Shapiro of taking his money and gifts.
"I don't know about everybody else. I can only speak for myself," said one of those implicated, Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson. "I don't really know what it is he alluded to."
Shapiro's lifestyle began unraveling a couple years ago, when the money started running dry and investors began thinking they'd been had. He never paid for the lounge. He stopped paying for his tickets. He even asked for the $50,000 he donated to the men's basketball program back.
By then, the damage was done. Shapiro's claws were deeply within the Hurricanes.
"It makes me sick," said former Miami athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who now holds the same job at Texas Tech. "It makes me sick. I gave my being and every waking moment I had for three years to that program. So, yeah, it's sad. It's disappointing."
Hocutt became aware that Shapiro was making threats more than a year ago. While the university said it looked into those claims, it appeared few, if any, took him seriously.
"It was allegations that a convicted felon was making from prison," Hocutt said. "And we could not find any credible information. ... We didn't know what allegations he was making, how significant or insignificant they were. But from July or August (of 2010) through last Thursday, which was my understanding when the NCAA notified Miami, there was not another word about this spoken. It was a rogue booster and convicted felon saying things. There were more important things to focus on."
Hocutt hired Al Golden as Miami's football coach in December. Golden said he was unaware of the Shapiro story and threats until the Yahoo Sports piece was published, meaning he was not told of the looming problem during the interview process.
"There was no reason to," Hocutt said.
All the reasons they couldn't find then are staring them squarely in the face now, in the form of Shapiro's allegations. Miami joined a growing list of schools with major football programs to be investigated by the NCAA for rule-breaking in the past 18 months. Others include Southern California, Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and LSU.
And one of the principals involved in the USC matter, Reggie Bush — who lost his Heisman and saw his team stripped of a Bowl Championship Series title — even says something needs to change.
"Obviously a lot of things going on right now are terrible, moreso for the college players," said Bush, now with the Miami Dolphins. "It's tough when you can take a college player's career and dream away from him at the snap of a finger. Something needs to be done."
___
What remains baffling to many people, including some at Miami, is that when Shapiro was a big-wheel donor, anyone with a computer could have found that his background was not pristine.
Miami-Dade County court records show that not only was Shapiro guilty of felony aggravated battery against a club owner Peter Honerkamp in 1995, but ordered to pay $7,340 in a related civil case and serve 18 months' probation. Honerkamp said Shapiro suckerpunched him during a dispute about cover charges and nearly lost sight in one eye.
Shapiro's stepfather, Richard Adam, was indicted in Florida in the 1990s for allegedly helping operate a loan scheme that resulted in clients losing somewhere around $5 million in fees — a case with some obvious similarity to what Shapiro did years later, though on a much larger scale. After spending years in a Canadian prison while fighting extradition to the United States, Adam eventually reached a plea deal on a conspiracy charge.
Adam's lawyer at the time: Maria Elena Perez, who now represents his stepson.
"We all thought he was spending his father's money at first," said the Miami athletic department employee, referring to Shapiro. "That's what he said."
Shapiro had a yacht, a multimillion-dollar home, fancy cars, jewelry, all the toys suggesting success. He sat courtside at Miami Heat games, even getting to be around Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade in some social situations.
That, too, seemed to all be a facade. Shapiro promised to buy more than $700,000 worth of tickets from the Heat. He never paid.
"It's very unfortunate," Wade said when asked about the Miami situation and Shapiro's involvement with the Hurricanes. "I wish the best for Miami. I'm a big supporter of the university."
Wade said nothing surprises him anymore when it comes to scandals, and Jack Hulse would agree.
Hulse, who now lives in Indiana and still lists a second address in Sarasota, Fla., lost nearly $500,000 in Shapiro's scheme, thinking he invested in a grocery-distribution business. Instead, federal prosecutors said Hulse's money — and tens of millions more, including about $1 million from former Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez (a close friend of Miami President Donna Shalala) and his family — went toward paying off at least $5 million in illegal gambling debts and a lavish lifestyle filled with excess.
"Nevin Shapiro used other people's money to live a fantasy life built on false promises to unsuspecting victims," said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.
Hulse could not agree more.
"I met him one time at a birthday party," Hulse said. "He just kind of seemed like he was full of himself. Somebody pulled me in and introduced me and that was basically it. He introduced himself and he wasn't somebody I would be particularly thrilled to be around. A little cocky guy."
Hulse doesn't expect to ever recover his money through the forced bankruptcy proceedings, or the court order than Shapiro repay his victims nearly $83 million.
"Pennies on the dollar," Hulse said. "If that."
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At the booster event, Walsh grabs the microphone and starts telling a story about the end of the 1985 season.
It's a few days before the Sugar Bowl, and he and some Miami teammates are in a New Orleans bar. Someone offered to buy the Hurricanes some drinks and they accepted, never thinking twice about checking out who the man was.
"We didn't care," Walsh says. These were the big, bad Jimmy Johnson Hurricanes, after all. A team full of swagger that had just closed the regular season by embarrassing Notre Dame 58-7 and were just starting a run of what would become an NCAA-record 58 straight wins at home.
So on some of the things Shapiro alleges — the most minor claims — Walsh almost apologetically can understand how difficult it would be for anyone to turn the freebies down.
"I've never met Nevin Shapiro," Walsh says, before adding, tongue in cheek, "he never bought me dinner, never bought me drinks. I'm jealous."
A few people laugh.
"But in all seriousness," Walsh continues, "you look at the source. The guy made a living, almost a billion-dollar living, by telling lies. ... If the money went from his account to a player's account, we've got problems. If the money went from his account to a player who signed with his agent, Miami's got problems. That all remains to come out. Some people don't have the best intentions. They want to be closer to the program and will do anything to get closer."
And in this case, no one at Miami pieced together the entire Nevin Shapiro story in time to avoid maybe the biggest mess in program history.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/At-Miami-there-s-1-big-question-How-2133785.php#ixzz1VbEcgEkH
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This dude just can't enough chocolate! ;D
"Shaquille O'Neal presses former Miami booster Nevin Shapiro. O'Neal told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Shapiro was just an associate."
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Former UM booster Shapiro’s bankruptcy case heats up over legal fees, yacht
For nearly two years, a Miami bankruptcy lawyer has methodically tried to recover as much money as possible for victims of convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, who took them for $83 million.
So far, trustee Joel Tabas has recovered about $19 million, but he has struggled to collect from one particular party: the lawyers who once defended Shapiro, the rogue University of Miami booster who reportedly gave cash and other gifts to Hurricane athletes.
A real sore point in the bankruptcy battle has been Tabas’ claim to recover the value of a 58-foot Riviera yacht that Shapiro used not only to party with UM football players, but also to pay his lawyers, Guy Lewis and Michael Tein, when he ran short of money in 2008.
The trustee has sued Lewis, a one-time U.S. attorney, and Tein, a former federal prosecutor, claiming they should return their legal fees totaling $912,536 because their firm was only representing Shapiro -- not his bankrupt company, Capitol Investments USA, which Tabas now controls. Tabas claims Shapiro improperly used the company’s money to pay his personal legal bills.
Capitol Investments was not charged as part of Shapiro’s $930 million Ponzi scheme, though it was the business vehicle he used to swindle roughly 60 investors in Florida, the Midwest and Northeast.
At his plea hearing last fall, Shapiro admitted he ripped off new investors to pay back earlier ones, pocketing at least $35 million himself. His crime, one of the biggest financial frauds in Florida, left Tabas with the challenge of recovering and redistributing any left over money to his victims.
As the National Collegiate Athletic Association delves into Shapiro’s allegations about doling out thousands of dollars to dozens of UM football and basketball players, the bankruptcy case has generated its share of buzz as well.
After Shapiro went public in Yahoo!Sports this summer about his misdeeds on the UM campus, Tabas’ legal team said it would go after current and former Hurricane players who may have received substantial gifts from Shapiro. For example, Shapiro alleges he gave former UM lineman Vince Wilfork $50,000 and two Cadillac Escalades before he was drafted by the New England Patriots.
But the conflict now drawing the most attention in the federal bankruptcy court is between the trustee and the Lewis Tein law firm.
Tabas maintains that Shapiro’s legal payments to Lewis and Tein were “fraudulent transfers” from his company, Capitol Investments, which operated under the guise of a brokerage business that bought bulk groceries in one part of the country and sold them in another part between 2005 and 2009, according to court papers. For much of that period, the firm generated no actual income.
In heated depositions taken in May and September, the law partners called the trustee’s lawsuit “frivolous,” saying they represented both Shapiro and his company. The lawyers testified that Shapiro assured them his legal payments were clean and that his business was legitimate.
“There is no allegation that Lewis and Tein engaged in any fraudulent or improper conduct in this lawsuit,” said their attorney, Chuck Throckmorton. “The issue in the case is whether Capitol paid Lewis and Tein’s legal bills without receiving the benefit of their legal services. The evidence will show Lewis and Tein represented and benefited both Shapiro and Capitol.”
The trustee is not only trying to recover Shapiro’s legal payments, but also the value of the sport-fishing yacht he sold to Lewis and Tein.
According to court papers, Shapiro sold them the yacht for $850,000 -- $150,000 less than its fair market value, according to an appraisal commissioned by Lewis.
As part of the deal, the lawyers, who set up a company called LT Nautical to buy it, gave Shapiro a $200,000 credit toward his legal fees.
Tein called the deal a “very good compromise” in his deposition. Tein maintained that the 2003 Riviera yacht was in “horrible shape” because Shapiro had not maintained it.
He said the carpet “stank,” the deck was “pitted,” a propeller was “bent,” and that the wood interior had been “trashed.”
“Nevin had taken pictures of himself and all these sports figures ... and he glued them onto this beautiful wood, polished wood wall paneling,” Tein said.
Lewis and Tein, who renamed the vessel Knot Guilty, sold it for $640,000 to an Australian in April of last year when their client was indicted by a federal grand jury in Newark, according to court records. Shapiro, 42, eventually pleaded guilty to securities fraud and money laundering charges, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The two former federal prosecutors also had defended Shapiro in an earlier criminal case involving money laundering by a Miami-based check-cashing company.
Back in 2007, Shapiro was running up large debts betting on football and basketball games in offshore, online gambling. Shapiro, who would later admit his debts totaled between $5 million and $8 million, met a local businessman named Juan Rene Caro. They happened to sit next to each other in courtside seats at Miami Heat games.
As luck would have it, Caro owned a check-cashing business that did hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions.
Shapiro borrowed more than $400,000 in cash from Caro’s company, La Bamba -- which was a Heat sponsor -- and wrote seven checks to repay most of the loans through sham construction companies, according to court records.
Shapiro’s repayments for purported construction work would soon make him a target of a federal investigation into banking violations.
After Caro and others in his company were indicted in January 2008 on charges of filing false currency transaction reports, IRS agents searched his business and discovered Shapiro’s check payments.
Shapiro, represented by Lewis and Tein, soon cut a cooperation deal to avoid prosecution and testified in late 2008 against Caro, who was found guilty and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
“I was in a bad financial situation at the time,” Shapiro testified that December. “The people I was dealing with required to be paid in cash. And it’s not a typical amount that you go to the bank for.”