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KEARNEY, N.J. – A former 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, former 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.(Special to Yahoo! Sports)
• Abortion: In one instance, Shapiro described taking a player to the Pink Pony strip club and paying for a dancer to engage in sex with the athlete. In the ensuing weeks, Shapiro said the dancer called one of his security providers and informed him that the player had gotten her pregnant during the incident. Shapiro said he gave the dancer $500 to have an abortion performed, without notifying the player of the incident.“I was doing him a favor,” the booster said. “That idiot might have wanted to keep [the baby].”Due to the sensitivity of the allegation, Yahoo! Sports has chosen not to name the player allegedly involved.
• Strip clubs/night clubs: Shapiro rotated through multiple strip clubs with players on a regular basis – Solid Gold, The Cheetah, Pink Pony and Tootsies Cabaret. Shapiro often arrived to the clubs with thick wads of cash to spend on the dancers. Despite that, his additional credit card charges for just Solid Gold from mid 2005 to 2010 totaled $32,683.25.
• Prostitution: Shapiro named 39 Miami players or prospective recruits who he says received prostitution paid for by the booster. Due to the sensitivity of the claims, Yahoo! Sports has chosen not to reveal the names of the players Shapiro claims were involved. However, two players confirmed the booster paid for sexual favors for themselves and others during their careers with the Hurricanes.
more recent stuff that is new to me.http://sports.yahoo.com/investigations/news?slug=cr-renegade_miami_booster_details_illicit_benefits_081611These tweets from the writer kinda sum up the article
Quote• Abortion: In one instance, Shapiro described taking a player to the Pink Pony strip club and paying for a dancer to engage in sex with the athlete. In the ensuing weeks, Shapiro said the dancer called one of his security providers and informed him that the player had gotten her pregnant during the incident. Shapiro said he gave the dancer $500 to have an abortion performed, without notifying the player of the incident.“I was doing him a favor,” the booster said. “That idiot might have wanted to keep [the baby].”Due to the sensitivity of the allegation, Yahoo! Sports has chosen not to name the player allegedly involved.
Shapiro alleges he paid $10,000 to help secure the commitment of basketball recruit DeQuan Jones and that Frank Haith, the coach at the time, was aware of the payment.Now at Missouri, Haith denied the charge to Yahoo! Sports.
@CharlesRobinson Charles Robinson More coming on individual allegations. Keep checking. Eventually you'll be able to click on names and view allegations for each player/coach3 minutes ago via web
“He enrolled at the University of Miami in January, a semester early. I was introduced to Arthur through Randy Phillips. We spent a lot of time together playing pool in my house, going to Lucky Strike bowling.”• “I gave him a few rides in my car. I gave him cash a few times – not significant amounts. Maybe $100 here [or] $50 here. He was a very quiet individual. We took him to a strip joint called The Cheetah in Hallandale.”• “He also wanted me to meet his brother, who was going to be the No. 1 recruited player coming out of high school that following year named Bryce Brown. I set up a trip for his mom, dad and spiritual adviser – which is another name for an agent – Brian Butler. They all came in from Kansas. I put them up at a hotel on Miami Beach.”
In Shapiro’s words• “I met with [him] one time. That was March 2008. He was on a [unofficial] visit, which I paid for the hotels in Miami Beach. The Continental, I think, was the name of the hotel at 1825 Collins Avenue. I put his parents up. I put his adviser up, Brian Butler.”• “I had lunch with Randy Phillips, [Bryce Brown], his brother Arthur, his parents and his adviser and a female companion to the tune of $500 at Smith & Wollenskys. He was at that time the No. 1 high school recruit in the country according to Rivals. He verbally committed to Miami. They were recruiting him very hard. He de-committed after his brother [Arthur] decided to transfer [out of Miami].”
