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Richardson charged by FBI in federal fraud and corruption case

Arizona's Emanuel "Book" Richardson was named as one of four assistant coaches charged with fraud and corruption in a federal probe into college basketball that brought charges against 10 men in Manhattan federal court Tuesday morning.

Richardson was named along with Auburn assistant Chuck Person, Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State and USC assistant Tony Bland. The Arizona assistant coach, who has been with the team since 2009 when he came over from Xavier with Sean Miller, is currently being held in a Tucson jail according to GOAZCATS.com sources.

Arizona assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson was one of four college coaches charged Tuesday.
Arizona assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson was one of four college coaches charged Tuesday. (Rose Valenzuela/GOAZCATS.com)
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All four assistant coaches charged in the case have been arrested according to reports.

The investigation into the criminal influence of money on coaches and student-athletes in college basketball has been ongoing since 2015 and also includes managers, financial advisers and representatives of a major apparel company.

There will be a press conference at 9 a.m. MST to discuss further details of the case.

The probe centers around bribes paid to student-athlete advisers, college assistants and others who hold influence over student-athletes according to the Associated Press.

Richardson is in his 11th year as part of Miller's staff and has been a key element of Arizona's recruiting efforts during his time in Tucson leading the recruitments of many UA players from the East Coast including most recently Rawle Alkins and five-star point guard commit Jahvon Quinerly.

Arizona is scheduled to hold its annual local media day Wednesday afternoon which will give a chance for Miller and players to speak with the media.

This is a developing story so continue to follow up for more details. You can view the full report from the Justice Department here.

UPDATE (Tuesday afternoon)

The University of Arizona and Arizona Athletics have released a join statement acknowledging Tuesday's arrest of Richardson and commented on his future with the team.

The statements are below:

STATEMENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

"We were made aware of the Department of Justice’s investigation this morning and we are cooperating fully with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office. Assistant coach Emmanuel Richardson was immediately suspended and relieved of all duties.

"We were appalled to learn of the allegations as they do not reflect the standards we hold ourselves to and require from our colleagues. The University of Arizona has a strong culture of compliance and the expectation is we follow the rules."

STATEMENT FROM ARIZONA ATHLETICS

"We became aware of the situation involving one of our men's basketball coaches Emmanuel Richardson this morning. We have been working in conjunction with the University, and have confirmed that Richardson has been suspended effective immediately. We will cooperate fully with authorities as they move through their investigation.

"We work under the basic directive that all department personnel operate within applicable laws and NCAA rules. The behavior that Richardson is accused of is completely unacceptable and does not reflect the principles of this athletics department."

Arizona has also announced that it will postpone its media day originally scheduled to take place Wednesday afternoon.

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