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Saints' GM could eavesdrop
Updated: April 23, 2012, 3:41 PM ET
By John Barr | ESPN

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NEW ORLEANS -- The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana was told Friday that New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis had an electronic device in his Superdome suite that had been secretly re-wired to enable him to eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs for nearly three NFL seasons, "Outside the Lines" has learned.

[+] EnlargeMickey Loomis
AP Photo/Seth WenigMickey Loomis has been the Saints' general manager since 2002.

Sources familiar with Saints game-day operations told "Outside the Lines" that Loomis, who faces an eight-game suspension from the NFL for his role in the recent bounty scandal, had the ability to secretly listen for most of the 2002 season, his first as general manager of the Saints, and all of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The sources spoke with "Outside the Lines" under the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals from members of the Saints organization.

Jim Letten, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, acknowledged being told of the allegations Friday and has briefed the FBI in New Orleans about Loomis' alleged activity, according to sources. If proven, the allegations could be both a violation of NFL rules and potentially a federal crime, according to legal sources. The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 prohibits any person from intercepting communications from another person using an electronic or mechanical device.

"I can say that we were just made aware of that on Friday, at least of these allegations," Letten said. "Anything beyond that I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to comment."

Greg Bensel, Saints vice president of communications, said Monday afternoon on behalf of the Saints and Loomis: "This is 1,000 percent false. This is 1,000 percent inaccurate."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league was unaware of the allegations.

Sources told "Outside the Lines" the listening device was first installed in the general manager's suite in 2000, when Loomis' predecessor, Randy Mueller, served as Saints GM. At that time, according to sources, Mueller only had the ability to use the device to monitor the game-day communications of the Saints coaching staff, not the opposing coaches. Mueller, now a senior executive with the San Diego Chargers (he also was an ESPN.com NFL analyst from 2002-05), declined to comment when contacted by "Outside the Lines."

After the transition from Mueller to Loomis, the electronic device was re-wired to listen only to opposing coaches and could no longer be used to listen to any game-day communications between members of the Saints coaching staff, one source said.

"There was a switch, and the switch accessed offense and defense," said the source. "When Randy was there, it was the Saints offense or defense, and when Mickey was there it changed over so it was the visiting offense or defense," the source said.

"Outside the Lines" could not determine for certain whether Loomis ever made use of the electronic setup.

The sources said when Loomis took his seat during home games, then in the front row of box No. 4 in the 300 level of the Superdome's north side, he was able to plug an earpiece into a jack that was under the desk in front of him. The earpiece was not unlike those used to listen to inexpensive transistor radios, the sources said. With the earpiece in place, Loomis could then toggle back and forth with a switch that he controlled, enabling him to listen to either the game-day communications of the opposing offensive or defensive coaches.

Also underneath the desk in front of Loomis, said the sources, was a metal box that contained two belt packs similar to those worn around the waists of NFL head coaches during games. The packs powered the listening device available to Loomis, which was, according to sources, hard-wired to the audio feed of the opposing coaches.

The wiring setup was disabled sometime in September 2005 in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. The timing of the device's removal could prove significant for legal reasons. If Loomis used an electronic device to secretly listen to the opposing coaches without their consent, it would appear to be a violation of the federal ECPA statute, said Mike Emmick, a Los Angeles-based attorney.

Emmick worked for 25 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, serving for eight years as chief of the public corruption and government fraud section.

"The ECPA bars any person from intentionally intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications by using an electronic or mechanical device," Emmick said. "The ECPA doesn't make it illegal just to eavesdrop. You have to have used a device ... Intentional interception by using the device is the key."

But the statute of limitations, the window federal prosecutors have to pursue any criminal charges against Loomis or the Saints, would only extend for five years after the date of such an offense, Emmick said.

If Loomis no longer had the ability to eavesdrop on opposing coaches after the 2004 season, he would be free from any potential criminal prosecution for a violation of the ECPA, Emmick said.

Loomis' alleged activity also would be a violation of Louisiana state law, according to Danny Onorato, a former assistant U.S. attorney now in private practice in Washington, D.C., where he specializes in white-collar crime. The statute of limitations for the law governing electronic eavesdropping in Louisiana is six years, Onorato said.

"A prosecutor or law enforcement should conduct a thorough investigation to make sure these are the facts. Did these individuals re-connect this device in some way?" Onorato said.

"At a minimum, somebody somewhere has a duty to investigate it to ensure the integrity of the game of football," he said.

Emmick said that it's possible Loomis and others could still be prosecuted for taking part in a conspiracy to cover up the federal ECPA violation. The statute of limitations for prosecution of a conspiracy is also five years, Emmick said, but that period would begin with the last "overt act" of the parties involved in a conspiracy.

In this case, any attempt to cover up the ECPA violation that extended into 2007 could constitute such an overt act and fall within the window of the statute of limitations, Emmick said.

Emmick and Onorato both said that any prosecution on the basis of a conspiracy to cover up an ECPA violation is unlikely. But there is another potentially far more costly aspect to Loomis' alleged behavior, according to Emmick and other legal sources contacted by ESPN.

"There's the potential for a lot of lawsuits filed by whoever was victimized by the electronic eavesdropping," Emmick said.

Under the civil laws that govern electronic eavesdropping, the victims of the eavesdropping would have two years from the time they had a "reasonable opportunity to discover the violation" in order to file lawsuits, Emmick said.

In other words, if an opposing team or individuals who were eavesdropped upon wanted to sue Loomis or the Saints, the clock would start ticking on their time frame to file a lawsuit when they discovered the alleged ECPA violation, not when the violation actually occurred.

Under Article No. 9 of the Constitution and Bylaws of the NFL, which lists "Prohibited Conduct," the league specifically bans the use of "...videotape machines, telephone tapping or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic device that might aid a team during the playing of a game."

"That would be a stupendous advantage if you had that," said Rick Venturi, who was the team's defensive coordinator during the period the sources said Loomis could eavesdrop on opposing coaches.

"That's shocking," Venturi said, when told of the allegations. "I can tell you if we did it, nobody told me about it. ... Nobody ever helped me during a game."

Venturi served in various capacities during a decade-long period with the Saints coaching staff, including a brief stint as interim head coach, and now hosts a radio program on an ESPN Radio affiliate in St. Louis.

Attempts to reach former Saints head coach Jim Haslett were not successful. Haslett served as the Saints head coach from 2000-05 and is now defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins. Sean Payton was named head coach of the Saints in 2006.

Rick Mueller, the brother of former Saints general manager Randy Mueller, was in the Saints front office from 2000-08 and was a regular in Loomis' booth during Saints home games.

"I sat right next to him most of the time," said Mueller, who now serves as a player personnel executive with the Philadelphia Eagles. Mueller said he vaguely recalled Loomis using an earpiece during games but he could not recall whether Loomis ever did so during the period in which sources allege Loomis had the ability to eavesdrop on opponents.

During Saints home games, Loomis typically sat in a seat next to the glass separating the Saints front office personnel from the Saints assistant coaches. When asked whether Loomis in any way signaled those Saints assistants on the other side of the glass during games, Mueller replied: "I didn't get any indication of that. ... There's no communication going on between Mickey and the coaches during a game I can tell you that. ... If it was just Mickey hearing it, I would see no way he could signal our coaches next door."

In 2002, the Saints compiled a 9-7 record. The team had an 8-8 record during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In those three seasons combined, the Saints were 12-12 in the Superdome.

The 2005 season remains the infamous one that the Saints never played a home game in the Superdome due to the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina. According to sources, that was also the first time Loomis would not have had the ability to listen in on the play calls of opposing teams. That year the Saints finished 3-13.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has an established a track record of issuing severe penalties when teams attempt to skirt those rules.

When it was discovered that the New England Patriots videotaped the New York Jets coaches' signals during a September 2007 game -- the so-called "Spygate" episode -- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 by the NFL, the maximum amount permitted under league rules.

The Patriots were also fined $250,000 by the NFL, and the team was forced to give up its first-round pick in 2008.

"This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field," Goodell wrote at the time in a letter to the Patriots.

Producer David Lubbers and production assistant Danielle DeSousa contributed to this report.

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Wow.

Rut-Roh...

Shocking stuff going on... allegedly.

We should do that! Our guys just have no creativity. "build through the draft" has gotten us nowhere. let's Cheat!

I wait to see if they prove it before actually condeming him, but damn,, if true... He'll be out of the game forever.. No way they can let him stay associated with the NFL... No way.

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had the ability to secretly listen for most of the 2002 season, his first as general manager of the Saints, and all of the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

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Damn, and they still couldn't get over .500?

I love how the damning evidence is that they went 3-13 in 2005 (as if the little thing like Hurricane Katrina wasn't the primary reason).

And also that they had such a big advantage that they went 12-12 at home (without directly noting they went 13-11 away).

no more draft picks for the "Saints."

Im not surprised. Rules get bent all the major sports. Lots of money on the line.

I don't think this counts as "bending the rules". This is pretty flagrant, malicious cheating (if true).

Bounties were one thing, in my opinion, in that I could see that going on in a number of locker rooms throughout the NFL. Spygate was pretty bad too, but if I remember correctly, wasn't there a bit of grey area there? Like, if they hadn't used a camera, and somebody was just memorizing the signals, then it wouldn't have been as big of a deal?

There really is no grey area about this. Unless it's proven false, I don't see how this guy can keep his job. Like I said, crazy crazy stuff.

If he wasn't giving the information to the Saints coaches, then I don't see the problem (aside from the potential legal ramifications) and perception of the Saints franchise being dragged further into the mud.

Seriously, if it was just him listening.....who cares? Sure, if he was telling other people the content in realtime or at half.....I would get worked up over that the same as anyone would be. But, if he was listening to the playcalling like a NASCAR fans listens to all the different channels at a race....what difference is there?

I've always wondered what a GM really does during the game anyways. Once the ball is in the air, his work is done for the day. He can watch like the rest of us, take notes and scout the other teams FAs....but that's about what we do too.

It's odd, a buddy of mine who was a Buffalo sports fan would ask me if I would accept a championship for Cleveland if after a few years, the players and coaches were exposed as bad dudes, cheaters or other unsavory things. I would jump at the chance.....but asfter seeing what the Saints organization has gone through since their title....I'm not too sure I'd be so happy to accept a tainted title.

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Seriously, if it was just him listening.....who cares?

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Why in the world would he listen just to listen? Why take the time to listen and then do nothing with what he heard....

If he listened, he used that information... I have no doubt..

What an incredible story or allegation or whatever. Sadly defines win at any cost. One group would say, "How could they?", I suspect. Another group will wonder why they hadn't thought of it first. This really is a black eye for those involved if true. Wonder what kind of fine this entails if any. Thanks for the post.

At some point Tom Benson is going to have to step in and make some changes if this is true.

The record in those years indicates it didn't really help them, but none the less, this is a blemish.

Goodell can't keep taking picks from the team as that hurts the fans as much as anybody. He simply needs to expel people from the league.

I feel sorry for the fans. As I said, actions against the team in the way of picks hurts the fans of that team. They didn't do anything wrong.

I wonder what sort of system is set up to control owners?? Not that I think Tom Benson is involved in any of this, but I wonder if the Commish, or some committee on the owners executive board have the authority to revoke a owners license to operate a NFL team. Surely there is. It is a franchise and the owners enter in to an agreement with the NFL.


I can't remember his name right off, but the Eagles owner a decade or two ago, I think he was forced to sell the team due to his gambling problem. He was the guy who hired Dick Vermeil. Vermeil for years sent the guy tens of thousands of dollars a year to keep him from living under a bridge.


Thumbs up to Dick!

If true, if it can be proven...Loomis is toast as far as ever working in the NFL again.

It does not matter if it translated into a competitive advantage or not..it was wrong and will be viewed as attempting to gain a competitive advantage.

Caution...no named sources for this info...just ESPN outside the lines claiming they have a source who wants to remain anonymous.

Leonard Tose who i found (re Eagles owner at the time)

They should just give Benson what he paid for the team and take it away from him entirely.

What they did was criminal. It's not just 'football', it's criminal activity.

Wow!

Which city wants a team but doesn't have one? Los Angeles? Give them a team and re-arrange the division so that St. Louis goes to the NFC South.

It's time to implode that whole franchise, scatter the players to the winds and start anew.

i agree %110 peen..its not the citys fault. But could ownership be stripped? Like the Dodgers..I know its apples and oranges but wonder if its plausible

J/C...

To me, the record that the team had while doing it doesn't matter. So they were .500 - maybe they'd have been 0-16 or 1-15 every year if they weren't doing it.

Also, I doubt that any info caught by listening could be used immediately by the coaches/players on the field... but I have no doubt that it could be part of a halftime adjustment thing where the coaches are given the info that has been overheard upstairs to use.

This is a huge deal and as many have said - if true - this guy is gone forever.

Not SF....it was Philly...

In the posted story.. IMO Rick Mueller pretty much confirmed the story to my thinking. I believe that it is true.

Loomis is gone. Benson will fire him asap. Benson cannot cannot cannot risk having this contaminate himself. He's in the billionaires club known as "The NFL Owners." If he doesn't act and decisively he will get excommunicated from the club. None of the other owners is going to want to be within 200 feet of the guy.

Goodell will be on Mount Olympus again hurling thunderbolts. Back away from NOLA.

I find a hard time believing this story. I think it would be awfully hard to prove.
I hope they can get back to playing football soon.

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Benson cannot cannot cannot risk having this contaminate himself.

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saint.. I'm not sure what the seating arrangements are for the Saints brass watching their home games...but, if Benson and Loomis are watching the game in the same suite...that might be hard for an owner to explain that he had no idea what was going on.

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If I'm reading this right, The connection that Loomis was listening on was in HIS office.

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It says in his Superdome Suite.. I would take that to mean his suite where he watches the games.. (otherwise I think they would have called it his office) and if he is listening in during the game, why would he be in his office during the game and not watching?