No Quick Verdict in Agents’ Trial : Jury Completes a Day Deliberating Fate of Walters, Bloom

A federal jury completed its first day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict in the Justice Department’s racketeering, mail fraud and conspiracy case against sports and entertainment agents Norby Walters, 58, and Lloyd Bloom, 29.

They are charged with secretly signing college athletes to professional sports contracts before the athletes’ college eligibility expired, and with using an organized crime boss to intimidate athletes and entertainment figures who sought to end their business relationships.

If convicted, Walters and Bloom each could spend a maximum of 70 years in prison and pay up to $2 million in fines.

The eight-woman, four-man jury heard four weeks of testimony from professional football players, including Maurice Douglass of the Chicago Bears, Ronnie Harmon of the Buffalo Bills, and Robert Perryman of the New England Patriots; Bo Schembechler, University of Michigan athletic director and football coach; singer Dionne Warwick; entertainment agents, and Michael Franzese, a self-proclaimed organized crime “Capo” who is serving a 10-year prison sentence on federal charges. Neither Walters nor Bloom testified.

Douglass testified that Bloom threatened to “have somebody break my legs” if he stopped doing business with him without returning money and cars given him by the agents.

Schembechler said he would have expelled athletes from his football team had he known they signed contracts with the agents.

Franzese said he helped Walters and Bloom set up their business and used his influence to keep or line up clients.

The government claimed that Walters and Bloom defrauded seven universities when athletes, receiving a total of $50,000 in athletic scholarships, signed postdated professional contracts with the agents before graduation. With the knowledge of Walters and Bloom, the athletes also signed documents certifying they were amateurs eligible for scholarships.

“This case has never been about taking money early. It’s never been about breaking NCAA rules,” U.S. Atty. Anton Valukas said in his closing remarks. “It’s about fraud, nothing else.”

The defense, led by Dan Webb and New York attorney Robert Gold, conceded that National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rules prohibit such contracts but contended that no crime was committed.

“Breaking NCAA rules does not rise to the level of violating the law,” Gold argued.

Since the federal investigation of Walters and Bloom began two years ago, 43 former college football players have made agreements with the government to repay their scholarships to universities in order to avoid prosecution.

The investigation began after Kathe Clements, an employee of Chicago sports agent Steve Zucker, was “viciously beaten,” allegedly for signing athletes who at one time had signed with Walters and Bloom. The incident was not brought up during the trial.