http://www.al.com/sports/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/sports/107424826113040.xml
Lawyers: Fulmer a secret witness Attorneys for former Tide coaches say documents show Tennessee coach sought out NCAA to accuse Bama of violations 01/16/04 By THOMAS MURPHY Sports Reporter Lawyers for former University of Alabama assistant football coaches Ronnie Cottrell and Ivy Williams say recently released documents show University of Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer was used as a confidential witness in the NCAA's case against Alabama. Cottrell and Williams have filed a $60 million lawsuit against the NCAA and other parties. "I've been saying, 'Look at Tennessee' all along," said Montgomery-based attorney Tommy Gallion. "It's amazing that an organization like the NCAA would not only cover up the dealings (of alleged NCAA infractions) with Tennessee but also, at the direction of (Fulmer), go after another program. "They buried everything at Tennessee and they went after Alabama based on what Phillip Fulmer said." Memphis-based attorney Phillip Shanks, co-counsel for Cottrell and Williams, said Fulmer and Tom Culpepper, a Birmingham recruiting analyst whom Shanks identified as another secret witness in the Alabama case, discussed ways to turn the NCAA loose on Alabama football to "vindicate each of their agendas." Documents obtained by the Register on Thursday show Fulmer initiated two phone conversations with NCAA investiga tor Rich Johanningmeier, on May 23, 2000 and Aug. 7, 2000, to discuss what Fulmer felt were potential NCAA rules violations at Alabama. During the Aug. 7 call, Fulmer told Johanningmeier that, with his lawyer's advice, Fulmer secretly recorded 90 minutes of an eight-hour conversation with Culpepper in Chattanooga during the summer of 2000 in which Culpepper discussed information he could provide regarding NCAA rules violations at Alabama. In Johanningmeier's interview summaries, the investigator wrote in all capital letters: "Fulmer should be regarded as a confidential source of information and this memorandum should not be included in any custodial arrangements that could be made in the future with the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa." Gallion and Shanks have been poring through more than 7,800 pages of documents and hundreds of hours of tapes related to the NCAA's investigation of Alabama, including interviews between Johanningmeier and Fulmer. The documents, which the NCAA had argued to keep sealed, became available through a motion by Jim Neal, the former Watergate prosecutor and lead counsel for former Alabama booster Logan Young in his federal conspiracy case. The documents and tapes offer a glimpse into the NCAA's lengthy investigation into Alabama football and the role Fulmer played. "The government has to know now, with this information that has been released ... there is no case against Logan, no case against Ronnie and no case against Ivy," Shanks said. "They were the wild imaginations from the diseased mind of Tom Culpepper with help from Fulmer." Fulmer did not immediately return a phone message left by the Register Thursday evening. According to Johanningmeier's interview summaries, Fulmer said a friend of his who worked with Game Day Centers, a group out of Opelika that developed condominiums near college football stadiums, had information pertaining to former Alabama running back Shaun Alexander and a Dr. Porch. The friend, according to Fulmer, said Porch's daughter told him "that her family was looking forward to being assigned another Alabama football student-athlete" after enjoying a close relationship with Alexander. Sandra Porch Nesmith, an elementary school teacher in Arab and the daughter of Arab physician and long-time Alabama supporter Dr. Ellis Porch Sr., called Fulmer's statement "absolutely absurd." "My daddy has always been very active in the First Baptist Church and our pastor was always looking for ways to get the youth more involved in church," Nesmith said Thursday. " Daddy went through the university to get some players to come speak to our church. "Shaun came up with (former Alabama quarterback) John David Phillips and spoke. Shaun spoke a couple of times, including at our fifth-grade D.A.R.E. graduation, and he would come to our house when he did. But daddy was always very careful to ask the people at the university to make sure nothing was against the rules. "I never said anything about a player being assigned because nothing like that ever happened. That's just a bold-face lie." Fulmer also told Johanningmeier that Culpepper could provide information to the NCAA on several fronts against Alabama. To wit: -- Arrangements were made to pay Alexander to play his senior season of 1999; -- Arrangements were made to obtain a fraudulent ACT score for former Tide player Harold James; -- A person who monitored standardized tests was paid by Cottrell to ensure that prospects being recruited by Alabama would receive qualifying scores; -- Young paid part of the cost of Cottrell's home and was providing Cottrell with cash payments; -- Arrangements were made to pay for Santonio Beard, a former Tide player, and Mac Tyler, a former Alabama signee, to attend Milford Academy. -- Young used casinos in Tunica, Miss., to withdraw sums of untraceable cash to buy football prospects; -- Young had made payments for seven years to Memphis Melrose High School coach Tim Thompson to deliver football prospects to Alabama; -- Cottrell was involved in helping obtain Tide signee Michael Gaines' fraudulent ACT score. -- Arrangements were made to provide a loan to Terri White, the mother of Alabama football player Justin Smiley. Alabama's NCAA case eventually centered on Young's involvement in an alleged scheme to sell the services of Memphis schoolboy star Albert Means to Alabama during the recruiting season of 1999-2000. A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Young last October, accusing the prominent Memphis businessman of conspiracy, crossing state lines to commit racketeering and arranging bank withdrawals to cover up a crime. The case concluded with a Feb. 1, 2002 NCAA Committee on Infractions report in which chairman Thomas Yeager said Alabama was "staring down the barrel of a gun" at the death penalty. The committee imposed a two-year bowl ban on the Crimson Tide, which concluded in December, and placed severe scholarship limitations on the football program that end next month. Just last week, the NCAA sent a letter to the University of Alabama stating that no further sanctions would be forthcoming concerning the Memphis case. "(The NCAA) had to know the case was built on malicious falsehoods," Shanks said. Cottrell's lawsuit is asking for $15 million in compensatory damages and $45 million in punitive damages. (Sports Editor Randy Kennedy contributed to this report.) ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net
