Teaser:
ALL OF COLLEGE basketball will be focused on a New York courtroom starting Monday, as the government argues its case in the biggest bribery and corruption scandal in the sport's history.
One year ago, FBI agents arrested 10 men after a clandestine two-year investigation. Three of the eight remaining defendants -- Adidas executive James Gatto, Adidas consultant Merl Code and Christian Dawkins, a former AAU director and runner for a well-known NBA agent -- are the first to be tried, on charges that they conspired to pay high school prospects and/or their families to sign with Adidas-sponsored schools Kansas, Louisville, Miami and North Carolina State.
James Gatto: Gatto, the director of global sports marketing for basketball at Adidas, is specifically accused of approving sham invoices to conceal illicit payments to players' families. The New York native has worked at Adidas since 1993; he was placed on leave shortly after his arrest. His father, Jim Gatto, was a longtime high school basketball coach in New York. Gatto is charged with six felony counts related to attempt and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is the only one of the three defendants accused of involvement in a scheme involving Kansas recruits.
Kansas: The government alleges that between October 2016 and November 2017, Gatto conspired with Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola and others to funnel at least $90,000 to Kansas prospect Billy Preston's mother. The complaint says money was funneled through an AAU team controlled by Gassnola and through sham invoices approved by Gatto.
The government says Gassnola facilitated the cash payments to Preston's mother, Nicole Player, including a $30,000 payment delivered in a New York hotel room on Oct. 31, 2016, and $20,000 paid in a Las Vegas hotel room on Jan. 19, 2017.
Gatto, Gassnola and others are also accused of conspiring to make cash payments to the guardian of Kansas prospect Silvio De Sousa to help him get "out from under" a deal to sign with a school sponsored by a different sneaker company. On Sept. 11, 2017, according to the complaint, Gassnola told Gatto during a telephone conversation that he would need to make "another $20,000 payment" to De Sousa's guardian, Fenny Falmagne. Falmagne has denied receiving any money.
In July, Kansas officials acknowledged that the university had received two federal subpoenas to produce materials and have school officials testify to a grand jury.
Silvio De Sousa: A native of Angola, De Sousa moved to the U.S. before his freshman year of high school. He transferred to IMG Academy in Florida in the summer of 2016, then reclassified and graduated early to join the Jayhawks in late December 2017. De Sousa, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 8.8 minutes in 20 games at Kansas last season. He scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds in 10 minutes in the national semifinal loss to Villanova.
Billy Preston: Preston, ranked 18th overall and fourth among power forwards in the 2017 ESPN Top 100, did not play in a game for the Jayhawks last season because of eligibility concerns. He was held out of 17 games while the university looked into the "financial picture" of a vehicle he wrecked on campus. He turned pro on Jan. 20 and signed a contract with BC Igokea of Bosnia. Preston wasn't selected in June's NBA draft but signed a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
