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Investigator's letter on Shapiro's behalf stricken

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By TIM REYNOLDS — AP Sports Writer

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — A former NCAA investigator told the convicted felon at the center of the Miami athletics scandal that he believed "upper levels" of the organization simply wanted the case against the Hurricanes over with, according to court records.

Emails that were apparently written by the former investigator, Ameen Najjar, to Nevin Shapiro last year were attached to court documents filed this week by Shapiro's attorney, Maria Elena Perez. In those emails, Najjar told Shapiro that he was fired on May 16, 2012 because the NCAA "did not like the way I was moving the Miami case along."

Another email five days later, again from Najjar to Shapiro - identified in the copies of emails attached to the documents by only his prisoner number - indicated that the former investigator thought the NCAA was essentially giving up on the Miami case.

"My belief is that they simply want to get the case done, even if it is half or only one quarter done," Najjar wrote. "I don't know if it is simply to meet some arbitrary timeline or the upper levels are trying to save Miami. I suspect it's the latter."

Attempts to reach Najjar by The Associated Press for the past several weeks have been unsuccessful. The NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The emails were attached to a motion Perez filed in U.S. District Court this week, one that successfully sought to have a letter that Najjar wrote on Shapiro's behalf before the former booster was sentenced for masterminding a $930 million Ponzi scheme stricken from court records.

On June 3, 2011, Najjar wrote to U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton and said that college sports' governing body could have utilized Shapiro "in the future as a consultant and/or speaker to educate our membership." It's unclear if Wigenton - who sentenced Shapiro to 20 years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $82 million in restitution, stiffer penalties than even the prosecution wanted - ever actually considered Najjar's letter.

The AP reported on Najjar's letter last month, and the NCAA said in response that Shapiro "has not been and will not be" a consultant for the organization.

Based on that, Perez said she felt "morally and ethically" compelled to tell the court that deception may have taken place with regard to the letter Najjar wrote on Shapiro's behalf, and filed the motion accordingly.

Court records show Perez's motion was granted Monday. It does not change Shapiro's 20-year sentence.

Miami received its notice of allegations from the NCAA in February and moved last week to have the case dismissed, citing massive impropriety by the NCAA and how it handled the investigation. At least four other Miami coaches - former head basketball coach Frank Haith and three former basketball and football assistants - have also asked the case be dropped.

The Miami case is still scheduled to go to a hearing that is to begin June 14. Shapiro has said he provided dozens of Miami athletes, coaches and recruits with benefits from 2002 through 2010, and that is largely why the Hurricanes will face the lack of "institutional control" charge in the upcoming NCAA hearing unless the case is settled beforehand.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/04/03/4466098/investigators-letter-on-shapiros.html#storylink=cpy
 
Pig Face is going to continue to bury the NCAA to save her own *** with the Florida Bar.

I Mean

WE SKATE!!!!!:quag:
 
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It also shows that the NCAA basically had nothing in their case against Miami at the time of his firing.

http://touch.sun-sentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-75189245/.



CORAL GABLES — An investigator since fired by the NCAA accused his former employer of trying to prematurely end the probe into University of Miami infractions, according to emails in new court filings in the Nevin Shapiro bankruptcy case.

Ameen Najjar, the NCAA enforcement director until his May 2012 firing, sent multiple emails to Shapiro's jail account to explain why the case against UM was crumbling, according to documents obtained by the Sun Sentinel. Najjar also criticized the NCAA's handling of Penn State's unprecedented sanctions relating to the Jerry Sandusky child *** scandal, but focused on the governing body's handling of the Miami case.

"My belief is that they simply want to get the case done, even if it is half or only one quarter done," Najjar wrote to Shapiro on May 21, 2012 — less than a week after his firing. "I don't know if it is simply to meet some arbitrary timeline or the upper levels are trying to save Miami. I suspect it's the latter."

In all, seven emails, an Associated Press article and a letter from Najjar to a New Jersey judge were entered as exhibits in the Tuesday filing. The letter, dated June 3, 2011, detailed the assistance Shapiro provided in the Miami investigation and suggested a future for the jailed former booster as a consultant for the NCAA.

Shapiro is currently serving a 20-year sentence for his role in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors. He blew the whistle on eight years of alleged NCAA violations at UM involving extra benefits to student athletes and recruits. Najjar also allegedly paid for a cell phone and prison phone use for Shapiro to contact him during the investigation.

The two-year probe is complete, allegations were delivered to UM in February, but there's controversy surrounding the findings.

Miami is fighting charges it lacked institutional control largely based on the actions of Najjar before his firing. The NCAA admits wrongdoing within the investigation when Najjar allegedly ignored denied requests to pay Shapiro's bankruptcy attorney to obtain testimony from witnesses under oath.

Since the NCAA does not have subpoena power, this was the only way to compel two witnesses in the Miami case to answer questions. The NCAA never indicated why Najjar was fired, but on a Feb. 18 teleconference said they learned of his misdeeds "after Mr. Najjar left the NCAA." An internal NCAA investigation revealed Najjar ignored general counsel orders not to pay Perez to ask questions pertinent to the NCAA while the deponents were under oath.

A short email from Najjar to Shapiro sent at 10:45 a.m. on May 16, 2012 had the subject line "Over."

"I was fired today," Najjar wrote. "Apparently because they did not like the way I was moving the Miami case along. The conditions I have been working under for the past year have been horrible and it has taken a toll on me and my family. I am sorry and do not know what this means for the investigation."

The probe continued through February when Miami received its official notice of allegations from the NCAA. UM president Donna Shalala called for an end to the matter and no further sanctions after Miami preemptively skipped two straight football postseasons.

The NCAA did not respond to messages seeking comment about Najjar's emails.

An Aug. 7 email from Najjar to Shapiro addressed the Penn State sanctions.

"The Penn State deal is a travesty," he wrote. "The NCAA did not impose anything. Penn State agreed to and self-imposed the penalties, waved all due process and waived any right to appeal. The NCAA had/has NO authority to impose any penalties in that situation and PSU's president sold the school down the river!"

The sanctions included a four-year bowl ban, massive scholarship reductions and a $60 million fine.

mcasagrande@tribune.com or @ByCasagrande on Twitter
 
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Consigliere said:
Problem2 said:
So.... Is this good or bad?
Click to expand...

The letter that the NCAA wrote on Shapiro's behalf?

It is irrelevant for our investigation as this is Shapiro v. ______ (DOJ, Bankruptcy Etc.) BS.
Click to expand...

The letter is completely relevant. Along with other things that have come out it shows a pattern of unethical behavior of taking a lying convicted felon's word as truth without being corroborated by anyone other than Shapiro himself. If it goes to court its very relevant.
 
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canestim said:
Consigliere said:
Problem2 said:
So.... Is this good or bad?
Click to expand...

The letter that the NCAA wrote on Shapiro's behalf?

It is irrelevant for our investigation as this is Shapiro v. ______ (DOJ, Bankruptcy Etc.) BS.
Click to expand...

The letter is completely relevant. Along with other things that have come out it shows a pattern of unethical behavior of taking a lying convicted felon's word as truth without being corroborated by anyone other than Shapiro himself. If it goes to court its very relevant.
Click to expand...

The fact that it is trying to be stricken doesn't change the fact that the letter still exists. A letter showing a "pattern of unethical behavior....." still can show the "pattern of unethical behavior....." even if it is being stricken from the record.

IMO, this letter being stricken from a court in which MIAMI HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH is kind of irrelevant.
 
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I continue to be awed by the facts coming out by this NCAA investigation. Najjar almost sounds like he's scared Shapiro will be disappointed in him. Why the **** is the NCAA keeping Shapiro updated on the status of the case?

"I was fired today," Najjar wrote. "Apparently because they did not like the way I was moving the Miami case along. The conditions I have been working under for the past year have been horrible and it has taken a toll on me and my family. I am sorry and do not know what this means for the investigation."
 
Don Caneleone said:
I continue to be awed by the facts coming out by this NCAA investigation. Najjar almost sounds like he's scared Shapiro will be disappointed in him. Why the **** is the NCAA keeping Shapiro updated on the status of the case?

"I was fired today," Najjar wrote. "Apparently because they did not like the way I was moving the Miami case along. The conditions I have been working under for the past year have been horrible and it has taken a toll on me and my family. I am sorry and do not know what this means for the investigation."
Click to expand...

That's what jumps out at me. What kind of relationship did this investigator develop with a "key witness" who happened to be a felon convicted for engaging in massive fraud? It seems there is a loss of objectivity and a desire to please the informant, going so far as to suggest that he would help the NCAA in the future. It also suggests that the investigator bought into not only Shapiro's testimony, but into the motives behind that tesimony.

So, the question becomes . . . how else was the investigation slanted to prejudice UM? We know that the NCAA did not interview witnesses that UM asked to be interviewed. What questions should have been asked that were not asked. What information was slanted in reports? The investigator seems to have crossed a line in developing a relationship with Shapiro and now bias becomes a more supportable argument, IMO.
 
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NoahZach said:
Don Caneleone said:
I continue to be awed by the facts coming out by this NCAA investigation. Najjar almost sounds like he's scared Shapiro will be disappointed in him. Why the **** is the NCAA keeping Shapiro updated on the status of the case?

"I was fired today," Najjar wrote. "Apparently because they did not like the way I was moving the Miami case along. The conditions I have been working under for the past year have been horrible and it has taken a toll on me and my family. I am sorry and do not know what this means for the investigation."
Click to expand...

That's what jumps out at me. What kind of relationship did this investigator develop with a "key witness" who happened to be a felon convicted for engaging in massive fraud? It seems there is a loss of objectivity and a desire to please the informant, going so far as to suggest that he would help the NCAA in the future. It also suggests that the investigator bought into not only Shapiro's testimony, but into the motives behind that tesimony.

So, the question becomes . . . how else was the investigation slanted to prejudice UM? We know that the NCAA did not interview witnesses that UM asked to be interviewed. What questions should have been asked that were not asked. What information was slanted in reports? The investigator seems to have crossed a line in developing a relationship with Shapiro and now bias becomes a more supportable argument, IMO.
Click to expand...

ding ding ding
 
NoahZach said:
Don Caneleone said:
I continue to be awed by the facts coming out by this NCAA investigation. Najjar almost sounds like he's scared Shapiro will be disappointed in him. Why the **** is the NCAA keeping Shapiro updated on the status of the case?

"I was fired today," Najjar wrote. "Apparently because they did not like the way I was moving the Miami case along. The conditions I have been working under for the past year have been horrible and it has taken a toll on me and my family. I am sorry and do not know what this means for the investigation."
Click to expand...

That's what jumps out at me. What kind of relationship did this investigator develop with a "key witness" who happened to be a felon convicted for engaging in massive fraud? It seems there is a loss of objectivity and a desire to please the informant, going so far as to suggest that he would help the NCAA in the future. It also suggests that the investigator bought into not only Shapiro's testimony, but into the motives behind that tesimony.

So, the question becomes . . . how else was the investigation slanted to prejudice UM? We know that the NCAA did not interview witnesses that UM asked to be interviewed. What questions should have been asked that were not asked. What information was slanted in reports? The investigator seems to have crossed a line in developing a relationship with Shapiro and now bias becomes a more supportable argument, IMO.
Click to expand...

This. It read to me as an investigator that was conned into a relationship with the master con artist.
 
NoahZach said:
Don Caneleone said:
I continue to be awed by the facts coming out by this NCAA investigation. Najjar almost sounds like he's scared Shapiro will be disappointed in him. Why the **** is the NCAA keeping Shapiro updated on the status of the case?

"I was fired today," Najjar wrote. "Apparently because they did not like the way I was moving the Miami case along. The conditions I have been working under for the past year have been horrible and it has taken a toll on me and my family. I am sorry and do not know what this means for the investigation."
Click to expand...

That's what jumps out at me. What kind of relationship did this investigator develop with a "key witness" who happened to be a felon convicted for engaging in massive fraud? It seems there is a loss of objectivity and a desire to please the informant, going so far as to suggest that he would help the NCAA in the future. It also suggests that the investigator bought into not only Shapiro's testimony, but into the motives behind that tesimony.

So, the question becomes . . . how else was the investigation slanted to prejudice UM? We know that the NCAA did not interview witnesses that UM asked to be interviewed. What questions should have been asked that were not asked. What information was slanted in reports? The investigator seems to have crossed a line in developing a relationship with Shapiro and now bias becomes a more supportable argument, IMO.
Click to expand...

Este. Excellent points here.
 
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