Former Louisville men’s basketball assistant coach Dino Gaudio has been federally charged with extortion, according to multiple reports. Gaudio was fired by head coach Chris Mack in March after spending three seasons with the program.
Gaudio extorted money from UofL, threatening to tell the media about recruiting violations, according to the charging document.
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) May 18, 2021
Details are still emerging, but it appears that upon hearing that he would no longer be employed by the University of Louisville, Gaudio threatened to expose alleged recruiting violations that occurred while he was on staff.
Former UL assistant coach Dino Gaudio is facing federal extortion charges. In paperwork filed publicly, its alleged Gaudio threatened to report media allegations that the UL program violated NCAA rules in its production of recruiting videos for prospective student athletes. #WHAS
— Hayley Minogue (@HayleyMinogueTV) May 18, 2021
He also alleged UofLs MBB program violated NCAA rules in its use of graduate assistants in practices.
— Hayley Minogue (@HayleyMinogueTV) May 18, 2021
DEVELOPING: Former .@LouisvilleMBB asst. coach Dino Gaudio has been charged in federal court with extortion. @840WHAS @790KRD @KYNewsNet @TalkRadio1080 pic.twitter.com/AthyljjDxT
— Will Clark (@WClark840WHAS) May 18, 2021
Full Statement from Chris Mack:
To recap, Louisville decided to part ways with Dino Gaudio after the conclusion of the 2020-2021 season. Gaudio met with school officials in March and threatened to expose multiple NCAA recruiting violations that occurred during his three seasons with the program if UofL did not agree to pay his salary for 17 more months. The alleged violations were minor, revolving around recruiting videos, as well as the use of graduate assistants in team practices. According to U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett, Gaudio “knowingly transmitted in interstate commerce, with intent to extort money and other things of value from the University of Louisville, a threat to injure the reputation of the University of Louisville.”
More details will surely come up here, and we should expect to hear more from the school at some point. Considering Louisville’s reputation regarding the NCAA, this is a story that will definitely gain some traction online. All things considered though, this is hardly the major story that we were expecting as rumors started to float around on Tuesday afternoon.
The Louisville fanbase is accustomed to hearing bad news about its men’s basketball program at this point. For now though, it seems that Dino Gaudio has much more to worry about than anyone else. We will provide more updates on this story as they emerge.
