NEW YORK (AP) - Lawyers for former Auburn University assistant basketball coach Chuck Person say the 13-year NBA veteran was broke and financially desperate when he joined a bribery conspiracy that cheated young athletes.
They asked a judge in papers filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court to spare him from prison in the scandal that touched some of the biggest schools in college basketball.
Prosecutors say Person accepted $91,500 in bribes to steer top players to a financial adviser who hoped to continue representing them when they turned professional.
Person is scheduled to be sentenced next Tuesday. Sentencing guidelines call for him to serve about two years in prison though three other coaches who pleaded guilty to the same charge have received leniency.
Person accepted more money in bribes than the other coaches.
