Two sports agents charged with racketeering and extortion in their dealings with college athletes pleaded innocent Thursday and a defense lawyer said they would fight the allegations. New York-based agents Norby Walters, 56, and Lloyd Bloom, 29, entered their pleas before U.S. District Judge George Marovich, who released the defendants on their own recognizance and set trial for Feb. 27. ``We will defend this case extremely vigorously, you can count on that,'' said Walters' attorney, Robert Gold. Walters and Bloom refused to discuss the case.``In every movie I've ever seen, they say, `Anything you say can and will be used against you,' so I'm not saying anything,'' Walters said. Walters and Bloom were indicted Wednesday on charges of racketeering, mail fraud, wire fraud and extortion. They are accused of using money and gifts to entice dozens of players into signed agreements, some of them postdated, allowing the agents to represent them in professional contract negotiations. The National Collegiate Athletic Association prohibits college players from signing representation contracts or taking money while still eligible to compete. If the players tried to back out of the deals, they were warned that Walters and Bloom had friends who would visit them and break their legs, said U.S. Attorney Anton R. Valukas. An imprisoned mob figure was named as an unindicted co-conspirator. The indictment said Walters, who heads World Sports & Entertainment in New York, also used threats to sign acts in the music business, including the Jackson Five. Prosecutors said Walters and Bloom induced the athletes to defraud their schools by accepting cash and signing contracts in violation of NCAA rules, and then signing affidavits saying they had not broken any NCAA rules. If convicted, the two each would face up to 70 years in prison and $2 million in fines. Valukas said 43 college athletes who signed with Walters and Bloom avoided prosecution by signing pre-trial agreements to perform community service and to reimburse portions of their scholarships to their universities. Edward Bozik, athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh, said he was ``gratified'' by the indictments. ``This sends a strong message to the student athletes that they can be held accountable if they are involved in a fraud,'' he said. Three of the 43 athletes attended Pitt. The indictment named reputed organized crime figure Michael Franzese as an unindicted co-conspirator, alleging that Walters and Bloom used his reputation to coerce athletes into signing contracts. Franzese is serving a 10-year federal prison term in California for racketeering and tax violations. The indictment says Franzese was a silent partner in Walters' firm, and financed efforts by the two agents to sign college athletes. The Chicago Tribune, citing unidentified sources, said prosecutors obtained Franzese's cooperation in the 18-month investigation. In a related case, California-based sports agent Dave Lueddeke, 37, also was charged Wednesday along with Cris Carter, a 22-year-old wide receiver with the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles. Carter, who left Ohio State with a year of college eligibility remaining, was charged with obstruction of justice and mail fraud. Lueddeke was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from an alleged $5,000 payment to Carter. Lueddeke was indicted, while the charges against Carter were included in a criminal information filed by prosecutors. If convicted, Carter would face up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, while Lueddeke would face up to 15 years in jail and a $750,000 fine.
