Cicero (attorney who emailed Tressel) facing charges for sending emails

• LJ

  

  COLUMBUS, Ohio --
  The attorney who was at the center of the Ohio State scandal that eventually led to the resignation of head coach Jim Tressel is now facing charges of misconduct.
  
  NBC4 has learned that Chris Cicero is charged with violating the Professional Rules of Conduct that govern Ohio attorneys. Specifically, he is accused of violating attorney-client privilege.
  
  Cicero emailed Tressel in April 2010, saying that at least two current Buckeye players had sold signed OSU memorabilia to Edward Rife, who ran a local tattoo parlor. Cicero also said the players had received free tattoos.
  
  An attorney who has discussions with a prospective client cannot reveal any information learned in the consultation. It is alleged that Cicero violated that rule by sending emails to Tressel, telling him of information learned from Rife during a consultation.
  
  The Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline has filed a complaint against Cicero.
  
  Cicero, who was a former Ohio State walk-on and letterman in the 1980s, has 20 days in which to respond. He will face a hearing in front of a panel during which he will have the opportunity to defend himself. The panel has not yet been appointed.
  
  The panel will then make a recommendation to the Ohio Supreme Court who will decide if he loses his license.

  
  
  http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/jun/13/6/attorney-who-tipped-tressel-face-charges-ar-537370/
• sleeper

  

  Knew it. I've always maintained that Tressel lied to protect more than just Pryor, he tried to protect a former player too.
  
  Bottom line, may Tressel RIP.
• vball10set

  sleeper;800692 wrote: Bottom line, may Tressel RIP.

  
  good lord, when did he die?? :rolleyes:
• krambman

  

  When all of this first came out I wondered ho long it would be until this guy got in trouble for telling Tressel what he knew. I knew that had to be some sort of violation on his part.
• FatHobbit

  

  krambman;800914 wrote:When all of this first came out I wondered ho long it would be until this guy got in trouble for telling Tressel what he knew. I knew that had to be some sort of violation on his part.

  
  Yeah, I think he's probably ****ed in the ***.
• karen lotz

  

  ******!
• vball10set

  karen lotz;800931 wrote:******!

  
  fucking A!!!
• Little Danny

  

  Cicero has had numerous issues before. This Dispatch artile outlines some of his past incidents.
  http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/03/09/tressel-attorney-ncaa-violations.html
• Steel Valley Football

  Cicero is an idiot hothead and always has been. Did you know he put his father-in-law in the hospital at his own wedding reception?
• Big Gain

  Cicero is such a dunce he didn't know NCAA violations had occurred, he e-mailed Tressel only because he was horrified a player would trade gold pants for tattoos.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Big Gain;801840 wrote:Cicero is such a dunce he didn't know NCAA violations had occurred, he e-mailed Tressel only because he was horrified a player would trade gold pants for tattoos.

  
  Are you really that dumb?
• thedynasty1998

  

  Steel Valley Football;801758 wrote:Cicero is an idiot hothead and always has been. Did you know he put his father-in-law in the hospital at his own wedding reception?

  
  And that is relevant why?
• dwccrew

  

  Saw this one coming when this all started. I can't remember who it was that was debating with me on this when I said it was an ethical violation on Cicero's part and that he would get in trouble for it.
• HitsRus

  

  It also provides an insight into why Tressel tried to sweep this all under the rug. Most of this was confidential. He was worried about his players being involved with Rife. He was worried if he told anyone, he could be charged himself with compromising a federal investigation. Hindsight, of course, makes it appear to have been a bad decision, but it might not have seemed to be wrong at the time.
• 2kool4skool

  

  HitsRus;802667 wrote:It also provides an insight into why Tressel tried to sweep this all under the rug. Most of this was confidential. He was worried about his players being involved with Rife. He was worried if he told anyone, he could be charged himself with compromising a federal investigation.

  
  lol, come on man.
• HitsRus

  

  What ?....you don't think that this was supposed to be a very confidential tip off?
• krambman

  

  HitsRus;802667 wrote:It also provides an insight into why Tressel tried to sweep this all under the rug. Most of this was confidential. He was worried about his players being involved with Rife. He was worried if he told anyone, he could be charged himself with compromising a federal investigation. Hindsight, of course, makes it appear to have been a bad decision, but it might not have seemed to be wrong at the time.

  
  This reason < potentially losing some of your best players off a team ranked #2 in the preseason. You you said may be part of the reason he kept quiet about it, but to assume that was the whole reason and that it had nothing to do with potentially losing some of his best players then you're diluding yourself.
• HitsRus

  

  I am of course, only talking about the initial e-mails which this thread is about. There were other opportunities to 'comply'. All of which brings us back to the 400 page NCAA rule book and the disproportionate penalties levied for minor violations.
  
  I don't delude myself at all, especially about 'amateur athletics'. There are no shortage of 'bad people'( Rife, Gamblers, bookies, etc) , and no shortage of 'good people' and institutions( the universities themselves,well meaning boosters, the media, Las Vegas.) who will use these kids and their talents to make millions of dollars. But then overreact when some of these kids make mistakes with all the fame and attention thrown their way. Why are we so shocked and outraged?
• karen lotz

  

  So...if "most" of it was confidential (?), why did Tressel forward the email to Pryor's mentor but not tell anyone else about it?
• Steel Valley Football

  thedynasty1998;802100 wrote:And that is relevant why?

  
  
  It's relevant to this statement: "Cicero is an idiot hothead and always has been".
• thedynasty1998

  

  Who gives a shit about Cicero being a hothead. He was trying to help out Tressel but Tressel screwed it all up. Cicero isn't the bad guy here.
• LJ

  

  thedynasty1998;804513 wrote:Who gives a shit about Cicero being a hothead. He was trying to help out Tressel but Tressel screwed it all up. Cicero isn't the bad guy here.

  
  His intentions (Cicero) may have been good, but his actions were 100% wrong.
• vball10set

  thedynasty1998;804513 wrote:Who gives a **** about Cicero being a hothead. He was trying to help out Tressel but Tressel screwed it all up. Cicero isn't the bad guy here.

  
  you are correct, but unfortunately the bar association doesn't see it that way
• HitsRus

  

  So...if "most" of it was confidential (?), why did Tressel forward the email to Pryor's mentor but not tell anyone else about it?

  pretty simple....somebody had to get those boys out of there, and he couldn't do it without losing either plausible deniabilty or triggering the dog and pony show we have all been witness to. In the old days, it would have been handled with some discreet phone calls and nothing would have been the worse for wear. But what gets put on a computer stays around forever. Be careful what you post on facebook and myspace or your cell phone .
• HitsRus

  

  Cicero isn't the bad guy here.

  Nope. Not really very many bad guys here. Just some good people who were caught being human.