Ok I know this is late in the game

[shutzhund]

but what tiny little crack did the FBI use to leverage their way into college sports. Did they just get tired of pretending to look for Hillary's transgressions and decide to branch off into something for more positive headlines.

This is a long stretch from tracking down John Dillinger to chasing shoe companies, coaches and parents selling out their kids.

I should know this but I don't. Wire tapping for crying out loud.

 

[KozmasAgain]

It is probably a training program for young FBI investigators.

 

[zipp]

I'm usually a fan of "don't they have bigger fish to fry" or "bigger criminals".

But I have no sympathy for the goons involved in pay-for-play. They're all scum from different walks of life, and they all deserve a little payback, including the NCAA.

If the FBI is delivering the goods, I'm OK with that...

 

[fredburgcard]

but what tiny little crack did the FBI use to leverage their way into college sports. Did they just get tired of pretending to look for Hillary's transgressions and decide to branch off into something for more positive headlines.

This is a long stretch from tracking down John Dillinger to chasing shoe companies, coaches and parents selling out their kids.

I should know this but I don't. Wire tapping for crying out loud.

There was no wire tap. All of the electronic monitoring involved a consenting party making the recording. Electronic monitoring where no party to the conversations is aware he or she is being recorded require a warrant and under federal law are only permitted in certain serious federal crimes. Simple wire and mail fraud which was charged in this case do not qualify.

Apparently the feds had one of the sports agents on money laundering charges. As often happens the agent's lawyer went to the federal attorneys and offered to have his client provide information on the payments to basketball recruits in exchange for a break on sentencing. The rest is history.

 

[Card1982]

The boston college point shaving scandal in 1978.

 

[SpamburgerHamburger]

From the Internet ---The discovery of corruption in basketball stemmed from an investigation of Pittsburgh-based financial planner Marty Blazer by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In 2016, the SEC charged Blazer with wire fraud and accused him of embezzling over $2 million from several professional athletes to invest in movie projects and finance Ponzi schemes. As part of a plea agreement with the Southern District U.S. Attorney's office, he agreed to become an FBI informant, and would later plead guilty to reduced charges.---

The FBI doesn't care about schools or shoe guys paying players. It was this guy and his plea deal to rat out all the Adidas guys and coaches steering players to this financial planner that started all this. All the schools and players they paid or tried to take advantage of is pertinent info and that's why it's all coming out in this trial. It's not the NCAA or any team on trial.