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Memo to boosters: Fly
straight or else
By WOODY BAIRD
Associated Press Writer
MEMPHIS � Usually, when a
wealthy college booster gets caught up in a sports scandal, he could
lose his stadium skybox or his beloved university might face sanctions
from the NCAA.
But as Alabama booster
Logan Young has discovered, things can get much worse. He has the rare
distinction of facing a federal prison term.
Young was
convicted Wednesday of bribing
former high school coach Lynn Lang to persuade defensive lineman Albert
Means to sign with Alabama in 2000.
U.S. Attorney Terrell
Harris said he wasn't out to clean up college sports by prosecuting
Young, who was charged under federal laws generally used to go after
organized crime and drug dealers.
``But if it deters certain
types of criminal conduct by boosters or those associated with college
football, that's a good thing,'' Harris said.
Law professor Sandra
Guerra Thompson said Young's conviction for racketeering conspiracy
shows shady sports boosters are risking more than NCAA penalties.
``It's certainly the first
time I've heard of it,'' said Thompson, a specialist in federal criminal
law at the University of Houston.
``One of the interesting
features of federal white collar crime is that it can often apply in
situations that are not what we would traditionally consider criminal.
It's almost like being struck by lightning to a certain extent, whether
prosecutors decide to open an investigation and bring charges.''
Young's supporters
complained that dragging him into federal court was a heavy-handed use
of the law. But Harris disagreed.
``It's wrong to buy and
sell 18-year-old student-athletes; it's wrong to bribe high school
football coaches,'' Harris said.
Jim Haslam, a trustee with
the University of Tennessee, said he hopes Young's conviction would lead
sports boosters to think twice before breaking NCAA rules.
``One of the most
detrimental things to college athletics, obviously, are rogue
boosters,'' Haslam said.
Young was convicted of
conspiring to bribe a public official, money laundering and crossing
state lines to commit a crime.
Those offenses carry a
maximum prison term of 15 years, but federal sentencing guidelines call
for a much lighter punishment. Sentencing is scheduled for May 5, and
Young is free without bond and likely will remain free while appealing
the conviction.
It is also likely that
Young, who is 64 and in poor health, will seek punishment that doesn't
include jail time, though his lawyers refuse to discuss sentencing.
Harris will ask for
whatever is called for in a sentencing report prepared by the U.S.
Probation Office.
``Generally, the
guidelines do call for an amount of jail time,'' he said.
But Harris acknowledged
that most corruption in college sports is not a federal crime and should
be regulated by the NCAA.
If Young had given money
to Means, rather than to Lang, he couldn't have been charged with
racketeering or bribery, Harris said.
Means' recruitment became
part of an NCAA investigation that brought sanctions against Alabama in
2002, including scholarship reductions and lost bowl opportunities.
On appeal, Young likely
will argue that Lang, as a high school coach and teacher, was not a
public official, an argument his lawyers made unsuccessfully at his
trial.
Lang has pleaded guilty to
racketeering conspiracy in Means' recruitment and also is awaiting
sentencing. He testified against Young, saying the millionaire
businessman gave him $150,000 in a series of cash payments each below
the $10,000 threshold for IRS reporting.
Lang also said he got
small amounts of money from two colleges, Georgia and Kentucky, while
shopping Means around, and offers of cash or jobs from Arkansas,
Mississippi, Michigan State and Tennessee. He said he was offered a free
law school education for his wife at Memphis.
Former coaches
Rip Scherer of Memphis and Jim
Donnan of Georgia testified for the defense that Lang was lying.
Brad Lawing, now an assistant at
North Carolina, testified that Lang demanded $200,000 five years ago to
persuade Means to pick Michigan State, where Lawing was employed at the
time.
Means played one season at
Alabama before transferring to Memphis. He expects to graduate in the
fall. Authorities say Means was unaware of Lang's attempts to broker his
football talents to various colleges in 1999 and 2000.
Two former Alabama
assistants, Ivy Williams and Ronnie Cottrell, lost their jobs during the
investigation and are suing the NCAA for defamation.
02/23/07 10:42 AM
�2005
The Associated Press. All
rights rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bonesville.net contributed to this report.
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