Suspect in Bribe Case Quiet

The Cal State Fullerton student charged with offering a Fullerton basketball player $1,000 to throw a game remained in the Fullerton jail Tuesday, apparently without money to post the $25,000 bail.

“The people I know can’t put up the $2,500,” said Jack Oh, 21, of La Verne. He is scheduled to be arraigned today on one felony count in North Orange County Municipal Court in Fullerton.

Oh declined to say in an interview at the jail Tuesday how he will plead. “I know, but I won’t say now,” Oh said. “I’ll talk to the lawyer they appoint for me in the morning.”

Oh refused to comment on the case, and said he would not tell his side of the story while in jail.

Police allege Oh approached a Titan basketball player, who police and athletic department sources have refused to identify, and offered him a bribe to make sure Fullerton lost by more than the 10-point spread in its home game against Pacific on Thursday. Pacific won the game, 71-57.

Fullerton police Sgt. Dave Stanko said detectives believe the player approached was a random selection.

“We think [the suspect] had his eye on the team and recognized the player,” Stanko said. “We think it was a planned effort. The player immediately went to the coach [Bob Hawking], who notified the police. The coach told the other players what happened, and asked if anyone else had been approached, and they said no.”

Stanko said the player told detectives that the suspect had told the player that he “was a member of the Chinese Mafia.” Police records identify Oh as being Korean.

“I’m not a criminal,” Oh said. “Look at my demeanor. I’m a nice person. I’m not into the criminal life.” Oh, however, refused to comment when asked if he believed he is being wrongly accused.

University records identify Oh as a senior majoring in business administration, a spokesman said.

The basketball team Tuesday continued to prepare for its final two games of the regular season, Thursday at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Saturday at UC Santa Barbara. An athletic department spokesman, however, said the practice was closed, and that players had been told not to discuss the case. Hawking said he also has been asked to not comment.

Said Lt. Jess Lopez of the Cal State Fullerton, campus police department: “I’ve been here for 20 years, and it’s the first I’ve been aware of,” he said.