Alabama Recruiting Scandal Trial; Logan Young

[strohs]

Originally Posted by LightningRod

Let the games begin.

Guilty huh, what are the odds it actually appears on ESPN?
Maybe we should set up a vBet (I need to recoup my JG losses!)

[sandgk]

Originally Posted by strohs

Guilty huh, what are the odds it actually appears on ESPN?
Maybe we should set up a vBet (I need to recoup my JG losses!)

Hope they make the odds real long - Cal's Bowl loss, and JG's recruiting saga wiped all but a measly 25...

I'd make a prediction but my track record suggests you bet the other side of whatever I choose...

[jimotis4heisman]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

Young convicted in recruiting trial
Posted: Wednesday February 2, 2005 3:42PM; Updated: Wednesday February 2, 2005 10:10PM

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A federal jury convicted millionaire businessman Logan Young on Wednesday of paying $150,000 to get a top football recruit for Alabama.

The jury deliberated for about 5½ hours before returning the verdict.

Young, 64, was convicted of conspiracy to commit racketeering (by breaking state bribery laws), crossing state lines to commit racketeering and arranging bank withdrawals to hide a crime.

Young could receive prison time and a large fine. No date was scheduled for sentencing.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, but federal guidelines would call for a much lighter sentence.

While the jury convicted Young on three criminal charges it still was undecided on a "forfeiture count," common in racketeering convictions, that would require Young to pay the government $150,000, the amount of money used in the conspiracy.

The jury was told to return Thursday to make that decision. In the meantime, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Breen left a gag order he issued at the beginning of the trial in place, barring the prosecution and defense from talking with the media.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Godwin, the chief prosecutor for the trial, asked Breen to set a "substantial" cash bond for Young while he awaits sentencing.

Breen rejected that request, saying Young does not present a flight risk. Young has remained free awaiting trial without bond since his indictment in October 2003.

Defense lawyers described Young during the trial as a heavy drinker who boasted about Alabama football and routinely made large cash withdrawals from his bank accounts.

Godwin also asked Breen to order Young to refrain from drinking while awaiting sentencing, but the judge instead told him to avoid "excessive" alcohol use.

The highly publicized recruitment case coincidentally ended in jurors' hands on college football's National Signing Day.

Defense attorneys used closing arguments to highlight a history of lying by the government's chief witness.

But prosecutors said bank and phone records bolstered the testimony of former high school head coach Lynn Lang.

Lang testified that Young gave him a series of cash payments below the $10,000 threshold for IRS reporting to get highly recruited defensive lineman Albert Means to sign with Alabama in 2000.

Lang told jurors he received money from two other colleges, Georgia and Kentucky, and offers of cash, jobs or other incentives from Arkansas, Memphis, Mississippi, Michigan State and Tennessee.

Former coaches Rip Scherer of Memphis and Jim Donnan of Georgia, and former Alabama assistant Ivy Williams testified for the defense that Lang was lying.

Lang has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in Means' recruitment and is cooperating with prosecutors as he awaits sentencing.

Defense lawyer James Neal told the jury that Lang lied to the NCAA, Memphis school officials and others before testifying against Young.

Godwin introduced telephone records showing numerous calls between phones belonging to Lang and Young.

He also put on testimony about a series of cash withdrawals from Young's bank accounts, some only a day apart and totaling more than $270,000. Bank records also showed cash deposits by Lang of more than $47,000.

Means, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, also testified for the prosecution. He admitted that someone else took his college entrance exam for him, an idea that Lang said came from Williams, and that he let his high school coach pick his college for him.

Means spent a year at Alabama before transferring to Memphis when reports of payoffs to Lang became public.

Alabama's recruitment of Means became part of an NCAA investigation that led to sanctions in 2002, depriving the Crimson Tide of scholarships and bowl eligibility.

[LightningRod]

The high school coach receives probation with a small fine.

Feb 8, 5:48 PM EST

Former prep coach sentenced to probation

By WOODY BAIRD
Associated Press Writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A high school football coach who accepted $150,000 from an Alabama booster to steer his standout football player to the Crimson Tide was sentenced Tuesday to two years' supervised probation and 500 hours of community service.

Lynn Lang was also fined $2,500 after pleading guilty to conspiring to get defensive lineman Albert Means to sign with the Crimson Tide in 2000. He could have faced 30-37 months in federal prison and fines up to $60,000.

Lang, former head coach at Trezevant High in Memphis, said he took the money from wealthy businessman Logan Young to make sure Means went to Alabama.

Young, a longtime Alabama booster, was convicted last week on federal charges of conspiracy, bribery and money laundering. He is scheduled for sentencing in May.

Lang testified against Young as a condition of the guilty plea, which led to dismissal of extortion and bribery charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Godwin said in court that Lang's cooperation was key to convicting Young.

"Without Mr. Lang, this case could not have gone forward because there was no other witness to the bribe," he testified.

Lang told U.S. District Court Judge Bernice Donald he regretted the pain he caused Means, his family and those at his former school.

"I made a big mistake. ... I'm totally sorry for it," he said.

Means' recruitment became part of an NCAA investigation that led to sanctions against Alabama in 2002. Alabama lost scholarships and was banned from bowls for two years.

Means, who was not accused of wrongdoing, played one season at Alabama before transferring to Memphis, where he expects to graduate in the fall.

Former Tide assistants Ivy Williams and Ronnie Cottrell lost their jobs during the NCAA investigation and are suing the organization for defamation.

The crime to which Lang pleaded guilty, crossing state lines as part of racketeering conspiracy, does not demand forfeiture of the bribe money.

Lang was required to amend his income tax returns, however, and told the court he still owes the IRS more than $60,000 he is paying off in installments.

He testified at an earlier court appearance that he spent the money from Young.

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[BB73]

This should make the over-zealous major boosters take notice. Albert Means went to Alabama for 1 year, then transferred to Memphis and finished his college career last season. His recruitment was a big reason Bama got hit with a serious probation in 2002.

si.com

Young gets six months in prison
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A former Alabama football booster convicted of bribing a high school coach to get a top recruit for the Crimson Tide was sentenced Monday to six months in prison.

Logan Young, 64, also was sentenced to six months home confinement after his release from prison and two years' supervised release.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Breen is allowing Young to remain free pending appeal.

Young said he was not upset that his chief accuser, former high school football coach Lynn Lang, pleaded guilty and avoided a jail term.

"I don't have a problem with that," Young said as he left the federal courthouse. "I'm happy with what I got."

Young said he believes his lawyers have a good chance of overturning the conviction on appeal.

Defense lawyers have argued since Young's trial began that he was wrongly charged for violating a state law. They said a high school coach has no official authority to tell an athlete where to attend college, meaning Young could not have bribed Lang.

Young's lawyers contended he needs a kidney transplant and could not get proper medical care in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Godwin said the government wanted a prison term for Young of 24 to 30 months.

Defense lawyer James Neal said Young could have been sentenced to a fine, probation, house arrest or a combination of alternatives other than prison.

Defense lawyers gained some ground Monday with Breen declining to find that the player at the center of the scandal was a "vulnerable victim," a status that could have meant a longer prison term for Young.

Breen had continued the hearing Thursday after defense arguments focused on an interview by The Commercial Appeal in which Lang claimed the family of the player, defensive lineman Albert Means, got part of the payoff money.

Defense attorney Robert Hutton argued Monday that Means wasn't hurt by the scheme.

Pointing to the player's testimony that his coach arranged for another person to take his college entrance exams, Hutton said, "As a result of this conspiracy, he was able to attend college."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Godwin told the judge that even if Means' family got some money, "that doesn't change Albert Means age, it doesn't change that he was a senior in high school."

Breen had given defense attorneys permission to subpoena Lang for the hearing, but they didn't and the former coach wasn't in court.

Lang said Young paid $150,000 to get Means to sign with Alabama five years ago. In the newspaper article, Lang said the Means family got about $60,000.

The NCAA has said Means was unaware his football talents were being brokered. Means refuses to talk about Lang's allegations.

Young was convicted in February of racketeering conspiracy and bribing a "public servant." He also was convicted of structuring bank withdrawals to hide a crime, a conviction for which his jury ordered a forfeiture of $96,100.

Lang testified at Young's trial that other universities, including Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Memphis, Mississippi, Michigan State and Tennessee, offered him money or jobs to get Means.

No charges were filed against anyone with those schools. Three former coaches, Rip Scherer of Memphis, Jim Donnan of Georgia and Ivy Williams, an Alabama assistant, testified Lang was lying.

Means' recruitment became part of an NCAA investigation that led to sanctions against Alabama in 2002, costing the Crimson Tide scholarships and bowl appearances.

Lang, the former head coach at Trezevant High in Memphis, lost his job because of the recruiting scandal and now lives in Michigan.

He testified against Young while waiting to be sentenced on a guilty plea to crossing state lines as part of a racketeering conspiracy. Prosecutors supported Lang's request to avoid prison and he was sentenced to two years probation and 500 hours of community service.

Means transferred to Memphis after one season at Alabama and finished his college eligibility last season.

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[Misanthrope]

This needs to happen more often. All too frequently, there's little consequence to the moron offering the cash, but plenty for the school and/or players involved. All parties need to be held accountable.

[ohiobuck94]

Lang, the former head coach at Trezevant High in Memphis, lost his job because of the recruiting scandal and now lives in Michigan

I wonder if he is helping with Scum recruiting.