Paul Dee's Miami: The Cesspool of College Athletics

Bumped - P

Perhaps Paul Dee meant his unprecedented attack on USC to serve as a distraction, and it seemed to work well for a while. Well, well... Apparently The U's chickens are coming home to roost right under the Fat Man's nose in the form of a new benefits scandal.

From InsideTheU:

Multiple sources confirmed to InsideTheU Sunday that the NCAA is looking into comments made by former UM booster Nevin Shapiro regarding his involvement in NCAA violations.

The NCAA will be meeting with “a number” of people Monday to try to gain more knowledge of the situation and a possible wrongdoing.

Shapiro, who contributed $150,000 to the UM athletic program, pled guilty in June for running a $930 million Ponzi scheme and was given a 20-year sentence. He stated in April 2010 that he plans on writing a “tell-all book” about his involvement with former UM players.

His involvement with UM dates back to 2001 during the Larry Coker and Randy Shannon-coached teams.

"Larry Coker was blissfully ignorant (to Shapiro) and Randy Shannon hated that guy and didn't want anything to do with him," one source said.

During his time around the program, many players were suspicious of Shapiro.

“Obviously with a guy like that driving around, pulling up in an Escalade or a Range Rover, you ask questions, ‘who is it’. ‘Oh he’s a booster’. ‘What does he do?’ ‘I don’t really know, I think he’s a jeweler or something’,” one former player told InsideTheU. “You would get a different story every time.”

The player continued: “Nobody ever knew what he did. We heard he was in imports or exports. But we heard he had like 15 different jobs. We never got a straight answer.”

Well knock me over with a feather! Nah, it couldn't be, could it? Illicit money changing hands under the watchful eye of that (excuse the term) paragon of integrity Professor Paul Dee of the University of Miami?

NFL players Tavares Gooden, Devin Hester, Jon Beason, and Randy Phillips are mentioned by sources as being mentioned with Shapiro as well as “other household names” and former quarterback Kyle Wright.

Shapiro's attorney Ms. Maria Elena Perez has already started a conversation with the NCAA. Via the Miami Herald:

Perez said Monday she has been in contact with the NCAA, on Shapiro’s behalf, for several months and has conveyed Shapiro’s claims that well over a dozen former or current UM players have received gifts and other benefits that would constitute a violation of NCAA rules. Shapiro also has spoken to the NCAA directly, she said.

University officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

....

But Perez, asked Monday if Shapiro has evidence to support his allegations, said, “Absolutely. He has different photos, phone records, credit card statements and bills.”

Perez said she has given evidence to the NCAA but declined to elaborate. “They asked for proof, but I can’t say what I sent them,” she said. “But they obtained a lot of documentation.”

The NCAA told The Miami Herald last year that it considers evidence presented by anyone and does not dismiss tips given by convicted felons.

Better still, our pals at Yahoo! Sports are on the trail so the NCAA may not be able to sweep this under the rug, statute of limitations or not.

Jorge Milian @caneswatch tweets:

"Ponzi schemer, felon and general scuzzball Nevin Shapiro about to lay the hammer down on UM in a Yahoo story, so I am told."

Just to make it a bit more interesting, Shapiro has a bit of an axe to grind:

But Perez also said Shapiro is “upset with UM” because “they took a negative position toward him for no reason.

UM initially had named a lounge in Shapiro’s honor, but his name was removed from the lounge after his arrest in April 2010.

Perez confirmed an August 2010 Miami Herald report that Shapiro is writing a book detailing his involvement with UM players. She said she does not know if he has found a publisher.

Sound familiar? Grab some popcorn gentlemen, it's going to be a wonderful show!