Florida Tour Operator Flouts the Law Again

Soon after Wisconsin clinched a berth in the 1999 Rose Bowl, state authorities cruised the Internet and spotted a familiar name.

They knew Scott A. Smith from the last time the Badgers went to the Rose Bowl, in 1994, when he sold travel packages to fans but failed to deliver the promised tickets. The state won a judgment and permanent injunction against him back then.

Now he was back at it, his Tampa, Fla., company advertising Rose Bowl tours for Badger fans in violation of the injunction.

“From what we knew about this business, it didn’t surprise us,” said James E. Doyle, Wisconsin attorney general. “There’s a lot of money to be made in a hurry.”

Five years ago, Smith and other tour operators sold package deals to Wisconsin fans but left them stranded without tickets once they arrived in Pasadena. An estimated 1,000 Badger fans did not get into the game.

Operating under a new name, Sports America Travel, Smith was found in contempt of a court order and must pay a civil forfeiture of $2,865. He also agreed to pay $27,135 in restitution to 31 Wisconsin consumers who filed complaints against him in 1994. Those consumers will receive between $75 and $4,600 each, Doyle said.

The attorney general expressed satisfaction at bringing the 1994 case to a close but said “to prevent a repeat of that ticket fiasco, consumers must be very careful.”

His office has released an advisory that ends with the suggestion, in capital letters: “DO NOT GET ON A PLANE FOR CALIFORNIA WITHOUT YOUR GAME TICKET IN HAND.”