Quote:A joint Louisiana state police and FBI task force is investigating allegations that the New Orleans Saints set up general manager Mickey Loomis' booth in the Superdome so he could listen in on opposing coaches.

State police Col. Mike Edmonson says the task force began work Tuesday, examining whether there were possible violations of state or federal wiretapping laws.

Loomis and the Saints have called the allegations "1000 percent false," and have said they are reviewing legal recourse following an ESPN report Monday in which anonymous sources described a setup that would have allowed the general manager to eavesdrop on opponents from 2002 to 2004. ESPN could not verify the system was used.

Still, the alleged actions would violate NFL rules, if not state and federal laws.

(04-24-2012 01:30 PM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  This legal expert begs to differ:

Analyst: ESPN reporter 'was on a mission' | wwltv.com New Orleans

Analyst: ESPN reporter 'was on a mission'

WWLTV.com
Email: "webteam@wwltv.com" | Twitter: [URL="http://www.twitter.com/wwltv"]@WWLTV[/URL]
Here's an interview with Eyewitness News legal analyst Donald "Chick" Foret on an ESPN report claiming GM Mickey Loomis could listen in on opponents during Saints games via an electronic device. Foret says the author of the ESPN report tried to interview him.

Foret: “They’re talking about two statutes, according to the ESPN report this afternoon. The federal statue is the electronic communication privacy act of 1986, and Louisiana law has a similar statute.
“But I have real trouble with this report. I have been told by some sources of mine that this is virtually impossible.
“The NFL has what’s called an NFL frequency coordinator who is at every game. He is controlled by the NFL, and he controls the frequency. I just don’t see that this happened.”
Angela Hill: “You had communicated with the reporter?”
Foret: “John Barr, the reporter on April 5 called me asking a lot of questions about the Saints. Obviously, everyone is piling on as a result of the bounty scandal. He called me on April 5 and he asked me some really crazy questions, and it was obvious to me that he was looking for dirt on the Saints. I felt terribly uncomfortable with the conversation. I reported it to the Saints.
“It’s obvious to me that John Barr had a mission, and it looks like he reported on that mission today.”
Karen Swensen: "Would you go so far as to say that might have included malice, and if so could Loomis potentially sue for defamation?"
Foret: "Certainly, as I think Doug Sunseri is going to talk about in a piece a little later. Certainly there is a possibility of a defamation of character lawsuit. There’s no question about that. You can’t go out and defame someone. If it’s false – I believe this report to be false, we’ll have to wait and see."
"Now it’s been turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Jim Letten is going to do his due diligence. He has turned it over to the FBI for investigation. We will find out whether or not this happened, because it looks like the FBI is gonna be put on notice. They’re going to investigate, so we’ll find out if it happened or not."
Hill: "But you know, I think people wonder. Where does this come from? Is it a disgruntled employee from the past. The Saints are sort of on their knees know, hit them when they’re vulnerable."
Foret: "John Barr in early April, as I say he called me on April 5, he was calling a number of ex employees. It seems to me he stumbled upon a disgruntled ex employee who gave him this information. I don’t know that anyone has been able to check this information out. There’s some report after Katrina.
"It just doesn’t make any sense to me, and I don’t believe it."

(04-24-2012 02:08 PM)ATLBound Wrote:  Its funny looking at the subsequent pages after guessing every move amd word that Guido would say. Check page 2 as the dialogue between me and Guido and then read the rest of the pages. It's actually pretty funny

(04-24-2012 02:18 PM)RFlagg Wrote:  State police, FBI probe Saints wiretap allegations

Quote:State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson said today his office is joining with the federal agents to investigate possible wiretapping violations by New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis. Edmonson said that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents will allow State Police to work with them to determine if there has been a violation.

Loomis and the Saints have adamantly denied the allegations, leveled in a report by ESPN on Monday.

Edmonson said one trooper who works with the FBI on a joint task force has been assigned to the investigation which got under way Tuesday morning.

"He is already reviewing it," Edmonson said. He did not put a time frame on the probe.

Edmonson said his office is working with the federal authorities but the FBI is looking at possible federal violations and State Police are looking at possible violations of Louisiana wiretapping laws.

"We want to see if there is any validity to the allegations and if it affects any state statutes," Edmonson said.

(04-24-2012 02:27 PM)JDaveG Wrote:  I'll rely on my own legal expertise. I've actually litigated libel and slander claims. I know what it takes to prove one. Against a media figure, it's nearly impossible.

(04-24-2012 02:30 PM)swanlee Wrote:  Yeah any dumbass Saints fan that thinks ESPN is going to get sued is in serious denial. These claims are valid enough to have been brought to the attention of State and federal government and there is no way ESPN is going to lose a lawsuit over this.

So quickly does the Saints fan turn against ESPN since there kissed your cheating teams butt for so many years.

(04-24-2012 10:09 AM)AsylumGuido Wrote:  The only thing Loomis is going to be looking at a huge lawsuit against ESPN. Regardless of what you here on ESPN Loomis remains one of the most respected GM's in the league.

And why the hell would I distance myself from my team?