Ragone
01-27-2005, 12:56 AM
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Donnan may be asked to testify at trial
By TONY BARNHART
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/27/05
MEMPHIS — A former Memphis high school football coach testified in federal court again Wednesday that several colleges offered him money and other favors to steer defensive lineman Albert Means to their schools.
One of those schools, Lynn Lang said, was the University of Georgia and its former head coach, Jim Donnan.
Lang, the star witness in the federal racketeering trial of Alabama booster Logan Young, said Donnan paid him $700 "out of his own pocket" and offered him a job if he would get Means to visit Georgia. Lang also said that Georgia booster Bill Harper, who lives in Memphis, gave him $100 in cash.
Contacted Wednesday, Donnan said he could not comment on Lang's charges on the advice of Georgia's legal counsel, Ed Tolley of Athens. Donnan would only say that "the NCAA looked into all those charges and we were completely exonerated."
In its response to the NCAA, Georgia claimed that Lang received that money for working at Donnan's camp and that the payment was documented. If that is the case, there is no NCAA violation.
A call to Tolley's office was not returned Wednesday.
Donnan, however, could become a witness in the trial, which began Tuesday with Lang leveling charges against Alabama, Georgia and other programs. The trial is expected to last through next week. Donnan has been subpoenaed as a rebuttal witness by Young's defense team and could take the stand as early as Friday.
Harper, a Georgia graduate, emphatically denied giving money to Lang.
"I didn't give the guy anything at all," Harper said. "And the money he got from Jim Donnan was for working in his camp. It was all legit. I know that for a fact."
Young, a wealthy Alabama booster who had strong ties to former coach Bear Bryant, has been charged with paying Lang $150,000 to make sure Means signed with the Crimson Tide. Young is being charged with four counts of racketeering. If convicted, he faces five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Lang, who coached Means at Trezevant High in Memphis, faced nine counts of extortion and a possible 135 years in prison when he was originally indicted in 2002.
Young's defense team, led by former Watergate prosecutor Jim Neal, maintains Lang has agreed to help the government with its case against Young in exchange for a lesser sentence.
To that end, Neal put Lang through a detailed, and sometimes contentious, cross-examination Wednesday.
Neal asked Lang to recount his testimony for NCAA investigators, in which he made specific charges against other schools. Specifically, Lang told the NCAA:
• Donnan offered him a job and money if he would "encourage" Means to visit Georgia.
• Former Memphis assistant coach Rip Scherer promised Lang he could get Lang's wife accepted at the Memphis law school and that all of her expenses would be paid.
• Two Arkansas assistants, Danny Nutt and Fitz Hill, promised him a two-part deal. If he could deliver Means to Arkansas, the school would hire Lang as a coach with a starting salary of at least $80,000. If he could deliver Means and his teammate, cornerback Leonard Burress, they would pay him $150,000 in cash. Burress enrolled at Kentucky.
"Were you telling the truth when you said those things to the NCAA?" Neal asked Wednesday.
"That's what I said," Lang said.
"But were you telling the truth?" Neal asked again.
"Yes," Lang responded.
Donnan may be asked to testify at trial
By TONY BARNHART
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/27/05
MEMPHIS — A former Memphis high school football coach testified in federal court again Wednesday that several colleges offered him money and other favors to steer defensive lineman Albert Means to their schools.
One of those schools, Lynn Lang said, was the University of Georgia and its former head coach, Jim Donnan.
Lang, the star witness in the federal racketeering trial of Alabama booster Logan Young, said Donnan paid him $700 "out of his own pocket" and offered him a job if he would get Means to visit Georgia. Lang also said that Georgia booster Bill Harper, who lives in Memphis, gave him $100 in cash.
Contacted Wednesday, Donnan said he could not comment on Lang's charges on the advice of Georgia's legal counsel, Ed Tolley of Athens. Donnan would only say that "the NCAA looked into all those charges and we were completely exonerated."
In its response to the NCAA, Georgia claimed that Lang received that money for working at Donnan's camp and that the payment was documented. If that is the case, there is no NCAA violation.
A call to Tolley's office was not returned Wednesday.
Donnan, however, could become a witness in the trial, which began Tuesday with Lang leveling charges against Alabama, Georgia and other programs. The trial is expected to last through next week. Donnan has been subpoenaed as a rebuttal witness by Young's defense team and could take the stand as early as Friday.
Harper, a Georgia graduate, emphatically denied giving money to Lang.
"I didn't give the guy anything at all," Harper said. "And the money he got from Jim Donnan was for working in his camp. It was all legit. I know that for a fact."
Young, a wealthy Alabama booster who had strong ties to former coach Bear Bryant, has been charged with paying Lang $150,000 to make sure Means signed with the Crimson Tide. Young is being charged with four counts of racketeering. If convicted, he faces five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Lang, who coached Means at Trezevant High in Memphis, faced nine counts of extortion and a possible 135 years in prison when he was originally indicted in 2002.
Young's defense team, led by former Watergate prosecutor Jim Neal, maintains Lang has agreed to help the government with its case against Young in exchange for a lesser sentence.
To that end, Neal put Lang through a detailed, and sometimes contentious, cross-examination Wednesday.
Neal asked Lang to recount his testimony for NCAA investigators, in which he made specific charges against other schools. Specifically, Lang told the NCAA:
• Donnan offered him a job and money if he would "encourage" Means to visit Georgia.
• Former Memphis assistant coach Rip Scherer promised Lang he could get Lang's wife accepted at the Memphis law school and that all of her expenses would be paid.
• Two Arkansas assistants, Danny Nutt and Fitz Hill, promised him a two-part deal. If he could deliver Means to Arkansas, the school would hire Lang as a coach with a starting salary of at least $80,000. If he could deliver Means and his teammate, cornerback Leonard Burress, they would pay him $150,000 in cash. Burress enrolled at Kentucky.
"Were you telling the truth when you said those things to the NCAA?" Neal asked Wednesday.
"That's what I said," Lang said.
"But were you telling the truth?" Neal asked again.
"Yes," Lang responded.