Rick Pitino expected to testify in extortion trial

Karen Cunagin Sypher, second from left, walks with two unidentified women and her attorney James Earhart as she leaves the federal courthouse in Louisville, Ky., Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010. Sypher was convicted of extortion for demanding millions of dollars from Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino to keep their tryst at a restaurant secret. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Story Topics

• Other
• Karen Cunagin Sypher
• Rick Pitino
• Vinnie Tatum
• Margaret Cameron

Follow Us On

Facebook

Follow @washtimes

Question of the Day

Do you think the Virginia Senate will pass the 'personhood' measure?

• Yes
• No
• Undecided
• Other

Login to Vote

View results

LOUISVILLE, KY. (AP) - Jurors in the case of Karen Cunagin Sypher have heard a lot about the night she met University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino at an Italian restaurant in Louisville. On Wednesday, they were expected to hear from Pitino himself.

Pitino’s attorney, Steve Pence, said the coach will likely testify on the third day of the trial of Sypher, who is charged with trying to extort cash, cars and a house to stay quiet about a sexual liaison. Sypher, 50, has pleaded not guilty.

Pitino aide Vinnie Tatum was also expected to testify Wednesday. Tatum was Pitino’s driver when the coach met Sypher the night of July 31, 2003.

On Tuesday, jurors heard from multiple people who were at the restaurant, Porcini, when Pitino and Sypher met. Pitino has said he had a consensual sexual encounter with Sypher that night on a table after the restaurant closed. Sypher claimed it was rape, a charge dismissed by police and prosecutors as lacking merit.

Jurors on Tuesday heard from multiple witnesses who described Sypher’s efforts to meet Pitino.

Margaret Cameron, a former professional golfer in Japan and Australia, testified she was having dinner with a friend at Porcini on July 31 when she ran into a group of men that included Pitino.

Cameron and her friend, who was not called to testify, began talking to Pitino’s entourage, which included former NBA player and Louisville assistant coach Reggie Theus, about golf. Then, Cameron said, Sypher barged into the group and thrust her cell phone at Pitino asking for the coach to talk to one of her sons.

Cameron described Sypher’s outfit as “flashy” and her attitude as persistent.

“She wasn’t going to give up,” Cameron said. “She wasn’t going to stop.”

Bartender Melissa Brent testified that Pitino’s group, whom she had dubbed “The Boys” on their restaurant bill, were regulars at the restaurant and appeared to be having a good time in a corner of the restaurant when Sypher _ wearing a white top with a short white skirt _ attempted to “edge herself into the scene.”

Brent said Sypher and Pitino were engaged in an animated conversation and were “enjoying each other’s company” when she left after midnight, leaving Pitino, Sypher and Tatum in the restaurant.

Brent called it “unusual” that Pitino remained at the restaurant after closing, something that she said hadn’t happened before or since. Brent said Sypher became a regular at the eatery with then-husband and Pitino aide Tim Sypher in the ensuing years.

Under questioning by Earhart, Brent could not recall what customers were in the restaurant on any other specific night, what they were wearing or what other nights Pitino and his associates dined at Porcini and stayed after the restaurant closed.

“That was probably the only time ever?” Earhart asked.

“Yes, sir,” Brent replied.

Story Continues →

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.