The Associated Press just lately broke the news that Louisville University men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino, 57, and former model Karen Sypher, 50, may have arrived at their final legal destination. Karen Sypher has been pronounced guilty on 3 counts of extortion, two counts of misleading the FBI and a single count of witness retaliation. The catalyst for the charges was Sypher’s series of tries to extort millions in hush money from Pitino after a 2003 sexual encounter. Sypher at first claimed that Pitino raped her, but Pitino denied the claim and was not charged. Sypher might be going away to prison for up to 26 years, although her actual sentence is expected to be shorter.
Pitino was harassed by calls and letters
According to reports, Rick Pitino received multiple phone calls and two letters. These messages asked for money and gifts for instance college tuition for Sypher’s son, in exchange for her silence over the affair. ”This was nothing more than a pure shakedown of Richard Pitino,” attorney Marisa Ford told jurors within the case. Attorney Marisa Ford said that “This was nothing more than a pure shakedown of Richard Pitino”. Sypher’s defense attorney complained that his client was being blackballed due to Pitino’s stature in the community.
Pitino and also the ‘unfortunate’ quarter-minute
During his six hours of testimony, Pitino reportedly held the attention of the jury as he responded to questions regarding his admitted sexual encounter with Sypher in an empty Italian restaurant after hours. The sex was consensual and ‘unfortunate,’ he said. Pitino held back tears when he described what it was like to confess his betrayal to his wife and family.
Karen Sypher didn’t come to the stand
The jury didn’t hear directly from Sypher, were allowed to view an unreleased television interview. That footage included Sypher’s allegation of rape by Pitino. She also corroborated Pitino’s story that he had later paid her future husband Tim Sypher – a one-time Pitino assistant – $ 3,000. A while following the original meeting, Tim Sypher and Karen Wise married. In the ensuing years, the couple bumped into Pitino numerous times at area functions. Pitino insisted that Karen Sypher had wanted the money for counseling and general medical needs, by Sypher claims she told Pitino she needed the money for an abortion.
Alleged rape, circa 2009
Pitino spoke of more troubling telephone calls he’d received in February 2009. As previous phone calls and letters had done, Pitino was confronted with exposure of his sexual encounter with Karen Sypher. According to the Louisville coach, “He mentioned the word rape. I got very sick to my stomach”. However, Pitino did not report these calls or the first event to the authorities for an additional two months, as he “tried to contain the damaging information”.
Find more details on this subject
Associated Press
nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38574025/ns/sports-college_basketball/
