U.S. Stung Again as Chuck Person Avoids Prison in Hoops Scandal
Former NBA Star Chuck Person Gets Probation in NCAA Bribe Case
(Bloomberg) -- Former basketball star Chuck Person avoided prison time in the U.S. college-hoops scandal, the latest rebuke to prosecutors seeking tough sentences after a sweeping crackdown on corruption in the sport.
Person, the National Basketball Association’s Rookie of the Year for the 1986-1987 season and the highest-profile defendant in the scandal, was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service, instead of the prison term as long as 30 months the government sought.
After taking thousands of dollars in bribes to steer National Collegiate Athletic Association players to a financial adviser when they turned pro, Person, 55, pleaded guilty in March to a single count of conspiracy to commit bribery while he was an assistant coach at Auburn University.
While judges have sentenced others convicted in the investigation to prison, they have declined to throw the book at them. Three defendants were sent to prison in March but got relatively lenient sentences on the basis that corruption is so common in the sport.
In seeking 24 to 30 months in prison for Person, the U.S. argued he was motivated by “insatiable greed” and should serve time to deter other coaches from corrupt behavior. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska didn’t buy it.
“I disagree vehemently with the government’s characterization,” said Preska, who read letters in support of Person from the bench in federal court in Manhattan. She not only commended him for charitable acts preceding his arrest, but also said the only reason he was able to accept $91,500 in bribes was that prosecutors “chose not to arrest him sooner.”
Person “has already suffered immeasurably,” Preska said, later telling him, “The worst thing you can say is that you were charitable to a fault.”
It was financial distress from years of large donations and bad business investments that drove Person to his crime, his lawyer, Theresa Trzaskoma, told the judge in asking for leniency. She described her client as someone who put others above himself but made a “terrible decision” in an attempt to make ends meet as he faced pressure from debt collectors.
“Money was never the motive,” she said.
Person told the judge he accepted responsibility for his role in the bribery scheme, lamenting his “selfish behavior.” He also apologized to Auburn, the NBA and the athletes “he failed.”
Answering questions outside the courtroom, Person said he wanted to make amends for his acts. Asked whether the probation sentence was a “feel-good story,” he said there’s “nothing good about it, because I did something wrong.”
Person was among 10 coaches, managers, financial advisers and representatives charged in 2017 following a three-year probe into corruption at the sport’s highest level. The scandal struck at the heart of college basketball and led to the ousting of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino.
Former Adidas AG executive James Gatto, Adidas consultant Merl Code and agent Christian Dawkins were convicted last year of funneling and then concealing illicit payments to relatives of hot prospects. Gatto was sentenced to nine months in prison, while Code and Dawkins each got six months.
--With assistance from Chris Dolmetsch.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gerald Porter Jr. in New York at gporter30@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Jeffrey
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