ESPN: Saints' GM could eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs

[Playoffs]

Sources: Saints' GM could eavesdrop
April 23, 2012, 3:46 PM ET
By John Barr | ESPN

NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana was told Friday that New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis had an electronic device in his Superdome suite that had been secretly re-wired to enable him to eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs for nearly three NFL seasons, "Outside the Lines" has learned.

Sources familiar with Saints game-day operations told "Outside the Lines" that Loomis, who faces an eight-game suspension from the NFL for his role in the recent bounty scandal, had the ability to secretly listen for most of the 2002 season, his first as general manager of the Saints, and all of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The sources spoke with "Outside the Lines" under the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals from members of the Saints organization.

Jim Letten, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, acknowledged being told of the allegations Friday and has briefed the FBI in New Orleans about Loomis' alleged activity, according to sources. If proven, the allegations could be both a violation of NFL rules and potentially a federal crime, according to legal sources. The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 prohibits any person from intercepting communications from another person using an electronic or mechanical device...

Greg Bensel, Saints vice president of communications, said Monday afternoon on behalf of the Saints and Loomis: "This is 1,000 percent false. This is 1,000 percent inaccurate."

read more: http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/...hes-home-games

[GlassHalfFull]

Oh boy, the hits just keep on coming for the Saints.

[badboy]

Holy poo poo. How do they spin this? If proven, I think one of the punishments would be to have the Super Bowl taken away.

[Fili]

They're in deep **** now....

[Playoffs]

Bill Polian is questioning, among other things, any competitive advantage that might realistically be gained.

[Yankee_In_TX]

Originally Posted by Playoffs

Bill Polian is questioning, among other things, any competitive advantage that might realistically be gained.

Personally, I'd be more worried about jail than a competitive advantage.....

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Playoffs

The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 prohibits any person from intercepting communications from another person using an electronic or mechanical device...

So the feds can do it but you can't in your own facility? j/k kind of.

Man the Saints are working hard on giving away their championship.

[El Tejano]

Originally Posted by GlassHalfFull

Oh boy, the hits just keep on coming for the Saints.

Noone and I mean noone, especially if your team is the Saints, messes with The NFL's chance to have Brett Favre and Peyton Manning playing against each other in a Super Bowl. NOONE!!!!!

[Wolf]

damn, if all this is true, the Patriots and Belicheat is looking like a choir boy compared to the Saints staff

[powda]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

So the feds can do it but you can't in your own facility.

A judge would have to sign a warrant 2 make it legal lol. Unless ofcourse the opposing coaching staff was in custody. Almost all of those laws go out the door if its applied 2 a person in custody.

You can now expect everyone 2 distance themselves from loomis as fast as possible. You thought the bonds/ clemens congresional hearings were a waste of tax dollars? Just wait. If theres any credibility 2 this claim its going 2 get real ugly real fast.

[disaacks3]

Originally Posted by Playoffs

Greg Bensel, Saints vice president of communications, said Monday afternoon on behalf of the Saints and Loomis: "This is 1,000 percent false. This is 1,000 percent inaccurate."
[/url]

...and if they'd been honest about the bounty system, they might even be believed. Today? Not a chance in ****.

[GP]

If this is true, then wowzers.

Listening to pre-game and halftime discussions by opposing teams is the lowest of lows in sportsmanship.

If true, that team is rotten to the core. I also think it might be somewhat ethical of the NFL to strip them of their Super Bowl title and give it to the Colts...and I hate the Colts, but I love the game itself more.

At the very least, put an asterisk beside the Saints' name...

*It is uncertain if the Saints won the Super Bowl legitimately or due to knowing what the other team was going to do on the field of play.

And dissacks is right: Can't cry wolf now--You weren't honest about the bounty system, so why would we believe you when you say you never eavesdropped???

[Playoffs]

Originally Posted by GP

Listening to pre-game and halftime discussions by opposing teams is the lowest of lows in sportsmanship.

I think they were saying he was plugged into the opposing team's headsets, which would be more about play calls?

[welsh texan]

How serious is the threat of removing their Superbowl? I just can't imagine any sport doing such a thing. Is there any precedent for it in any American sports?

I know it happened in Italy with Juve's title but that was based on 100% proof that they were bribing referee's and it was done in the year that they won the title.

Its a bit different from listening in on a gameplan 5 years earlier or paying a bit extra for a nasty hit, in what is a violent sport anyway.

The Saints organisation is clearly rotten to the core, I wonder how rife this sort of thing is around the league, on the one hand, if everyone was doing it, you wouldn't expect it to come out like this, on the other, you've got evidence that one club has resorted to shady tactics of different kinds at two seperate points in its recent history, plus you've got the Pats spygate, were they just the unlucky ones in getting caught?

BTW, they posted records of 9-7, 8-8 & 8-8 in the seasons in question, if they had full knowledge of the opposing teams gameplan, that is some effort to be that poor whilst cheating.

[Speedy]

Quick, somebody dig up Kenesaw Mountain Landis. There's some people that could probably use some lifetime bans.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by welsh texan

How serious is the threat of removing their Superbowl? I just can't imagine any sport doing such a thing. Is there any precedent for it in any American sports?

I know it happened in Italy with Juve's title but that was based on 100% proof that they were bribing referee's and it was done in the year that they won the title.

Its a bit different from listening in on a gameplan 5 years earlier or paying a bit extra for a nasty hit, in what is a violent sport anyway.

The Saints organisation is clearly rotten to the core, I wonder how rife this sort of thing is around the league, on the one hand, if everyone was doing it, you wouldn't expect it to come out like this, on the other, you've got evidence that one club has resorted to shady tactics of different kinds at two seperate points in its recent history, plus you've got the Pats spygate, were they just the unlucky ones in getting caught?

BTW, they posted records of 9-7, 8-8 & 8-8 in the seasons in question, if they had full knowledge of the opposing teams gameplan, that is some effort to be that poor whilst cheating.

Well, they were so terrible for years that it took them a while to learn how to take advantage of cheating...

[GP]

Originally Posted by Playoffs

I think they were saying he was plugged into the opposing team's headsets, which would be more about play calls?

Cripes, I think you are RIGHT!

From the same article:

Sources told "Outside the Lines" the listening device was first installed in the general manager's suite in 2000, when Loomis' predecessor, Randy Mueller, served as Saints GM. At that time, according to sources, Mueller only had the ability to use the device to monitor the game-day communications of the Saints coaching staff, not the opposing coaches. Mueller, now a senior executive with the San Diego Chargers (he also was an ESPN.com NFL analyst from 2002-05), declined to comment when contacted by "Outside the Lines."

After the transition from Mueller to Loomis, the electronic device was re-wired to listen only to opposing coaches and could no longer be used to listen to any game-day communications between members of the Saints coaching staff, one source said.

"There was a switch, and the switch accessed offense and defense," said the source. "When Randy was there, it was the Saints offense or defense, and when Mickey was there it changed over so it was the visiting offense or defense," the source said.

"Outside the Lines" could not determine for certain whether Loomis ever made use of the electronic setup.

The sources said when Loomis took his seat during home games, then in the front row of box No. 4 in the 300 level of the Superdome's north side, he was able to plug an earpiece into a jack that was under the desk in front of him. The earpiece was not unlike those used to listen to inexpensive transistor radios, the sources said. With the earpiece in place, Loomis could then toggle back and forth with a switch that he controlled, enabling him to listen to either the game-day communications of the opposing offensive or defensive coaches.

Also underneath the desk in front of Loomis, said the sources, was a metal box that contained two belt packs similar to those worn around the waists of NFL head coaches during games. The packs powered the listening device available to Loomis, which was, according to sources, hard-wired to the audio feed of the opposing coaches.

The wiring setup was disabled sometime in September 2005 in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. The timing of the device's removal could prove significant for legal reasons. If Loomis used an electronic device to secretly listen to the opposing coaches without their consent, it would appear to be a violation of the federal ECPA statute, said Mike Emmick, a Los Angeles-based attorney.

Emmick worked for 25 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, serving for eight years as chief of the public corruption and government fraud section.

"The ECPA bars any person from intentionally intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications by using an electronic or mechanical device," Emmick said. "The ECPA doesn't make it illegal just to eavesdrop. You have to have used a device ... Intentional interception by using the device is the key."

But the statute of limitations, the window federal prosecutors have to pursue any criminal charges against Loomis or the Saints, would only extend for five years after the date of such an offense, Emmick said.

If Loomis no longer had the ability to eavesdrop on opposing coaches after the 2004 season, he would be free from any potential criminal prosecution for a violation of the ECPA, Emmick said.

Loomis' alleged activity also would be a violation of Louisiana state law, according to Danny Onorato, a former assistant U.S. attorney now in private practice in Washington, D.C., where he specializes in white-collar crime. The statute of limitations for the law governing electronic eavesdropping in Louisiana is six years, Onorato said.

So at first, before Loomis was the GM, the device was to listen to their own coaches on game day.

Then, Loomis comes in as GM and has that device re-wired so he could hear OPPOSING teams' coaches. He even had it to where he could flip a toggle switch and therefore listen to the opposing team's coaches on offense...then flip the switch and hear the opposing team's defense coaches talk to each other. He intentionally made it to where he could hear the opposing team discuss strategy and play calls.

Then, Hurricane Katrina happens....and Loomis SUPPOSEDLY does away with it. Saints won their SB after Katrina, so I think IF they can prove the device was not used after 2005, they can shed arguments about taking their SB title away. But still, IF he did this...then he is a snake no matter what. To consciously re-wire so you can hear your foe's communications??? That's the lowest of lows.

These guys were ordering Nancy Kerrigan-type hits on opponents, and now they allegedly were listening in on opponent's communications.

[Doppelganger]

The Saints became "America's Team" after Katrina as so many across the nation cheered for them. They are quickly losing all the goodwill they had built up.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Sorry, boss. But I'm leaving the country and disappearing. Needed the money. I sold our technology to my favorite Saints awhile back.........and now the Feds are onto me. Tell #99 I love her.

[BullNation4Life]

Originally Posted by GP

Cripes, I think you are RIGHT!

From the same article:



So at first, before Loomis was the GM, the device was to listen to their own coaches on game day.

Then, Loomis comes in as GM and has that device re-wired so he could hear OPPOSING teams' coaches. He even had it to where he could flip a toggle switch and therefore listen to the opposing team's coaches on offense...then flip the switch and hear the opposing team's defense coaches talk to each other. He intentionally made it to where he could hear the opposing team discuss strategy and play calls.

Then, Hurricane Katrina happens....and Loomis SUPPOSEDLY does away with it. Saints won their SB after Katrina, so I think IF they can prove the device was not used after 2005, they can shed arguments about taking their SB title away. But still, IF he did this...then he is a snake no matter what. To consciously re-wire so you can hear your foe's communications??? That's the lowest of lows.

These guys were ordering Nancy Kerrigan-type hits on opponents, and now they allegedly were listening in on opponent's communications.

Do you really believe they "did away with it?" No way in hell did he do away with it. I bet, and just mere speculation, it was working so well, he had it re-wired after the renovations. Would not surprise me in the least to find out that their 2009 Super Bowl and all the INTs and turnovers they were getting was a result in this...

Desperate men do desperate things...Sean Peyton maybe be far better at coaching than Gary Kubiak and for years everybody asked how the Saints turned it around so quickly...I think we are now finding out how...

At least if/when the Texans when it all, they will do it legit and go to bed with a clear conscience