LSU’s Dale Brown Is Linked to Eavesdrop Plan

LSU Athletic Director Bob Brodhead pleaded guilty Friday in Baton Rouge, La., to conspiring to electronically eavesdrop on NCAA investigators and said that basketball Coach Dale Brown was in on the plan.

Brodhead was sentenced to 200 hours of community service work and fined the maximum $1,000 by U.S. District Judge John Parker, who scolded Brodhead for betraying his position of trust.

“Obeying the law--or to put it another way, playing by the rules of the game--is the minimum to be expected of a person in your position,” Parker said. “Obviously, you have set a wrong example for our young people.”

Brodhead said he has no intention of resigning. The LSU Athletic Council is scheduled to meet Monday to recommend whether action should be taken against him.

For the first time since FBI agents seized hidden microphones from his desk last Oct. 27, Brodhead admitted he had intended to listen in on NCAA investigators’ interviews with LSU players.

“I was aware that this procedure was questionable but decided that I would do it to protect our athletes and the university,” Brodhead said at a news conference after his court appearance.

Brodhead said he discussed his plans in advance with Brown, who put Brodhead in touch with a private investigator, Richard Barrios. Barrios put Brodhead in contact with George Davis, who Brodhead said agreed to install the equipment for about $400. Davis turned out to be an FBI informant.