NEW YORK (AP) Three college basketball coaches charged in a bribery scheme were each freed on $100,000 bail on Tuesday after initial appearances in a federal court.
Chuck Person, an assistant coach at Auburn, declined to comment as he left the Manhattan courtroom. Attorney David Axelrod, representing Arizona assistant coach Emanuel Richardson, said the impact of the case on his client was devastating. And Tony Bland, an assistant at Southern California, declined to comment, but his attorney, Jeffrey Lichtman, called him a good man.
Those three coaches and Lamont Evans, an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, were arrested two weeks ago along with six other people in a massive college basketball scandal. Person and Evans have been suspended while Bland has been placed on administrative leave.
Federal authorities said the men helped to steer young athletes toward schools, shoe sponsors and agents using hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.
The men were arrested in the states where they reside, but they will be required to travel to New York as the case proceeds.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker ordered the men to relinquish their passports and to remain confined to their home districts and the New York area, unless they get prior permission to travel.
Person, associate head coach at Auburn, was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 1986 and played for five NBA teams over 13 seasons. Prosecutors said Person accepted about $91,500 in bribes last year to steer clients to a Pittsburgh-based financial adviser when they reached the NBA.
25% Bonus via Western Union
