Attorneys: Toss FBI-obtained phone evidence from Adidas executive who spoke to Rick Pitino
The FBI ordered a wiretap of a phone used by the Adidas executive who spoke to Rick Pitino on the calls at the center of the pay-for-play allegations that cost the former Louisville men’s basketball coach his job.
It is not clear whether the calls between Pitino and James Gatto, Adidas’ head of global marketing, detailed in court documents filed Friday, were recorded. But the documents for the first time confirm the FBI had tapped Gatto's phone during its investigation into corruption in college basketball recruiting.
The FBI complaint lists calls made between phones connected to Gatto and Pitino on May 27 and June 1 but does not say whether those calls were recorded or what those conversations may have been about.
Pitino confirmed to Courier Journal he was the Coach 2 described in the federal criminal complaint and spoke with Gatto on the dates listed in the complaint, but he said they were discussing Adidas' endorsement contract with Boston Celtics guard and former Louisville player Terry Rozier, not anything related to active college basketball players. Those calls took place May 27 and June 1, according to the FBI complaint. Pitino's account was recently strengthened by a source close to Rozier and by documents obtained by Courier Journal.
Read more: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/louisville/2018/02/09/attorneys-toss-phone-evidence-adidas-executive-who-spoke-rick-pitino/325507002/
