We all appreciate a good story with a Scarface vibe that includes gambling and drugs, but when you’re say, former NFL tight end Jeremy Shockey, when the FBI shows up at your front door drilling you with questions about some crazy shit that went down, it’s no time to be Tony Montana.
A few weeks ago, former University of Southern California tight end Owen Hanson was named as the No. 1 suspect in an international drug and gambling ring investigators have dubbed “ODOG Enterprise,” where, according to the indictment, millions of dollars in transactions are being reported.
Following Hanson’s involvement, FBI agents paid a visit to former Super Bowl winner Jeremy Shockey at his Miami, Fla. home, where, according to reports, he was cooperative and open to questioning.
Shockey denied any knowledge that Hanson was involved in any illegal activity, but it makes one wonder how many other athletes or celebrities the FBI is planning on questioning in regards to this case.
According to the indictment, 22 people have already been charged, including two-time Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl winner Derek Loville—who is being charged of distributing drugs in Arizona.
As for Hanson, who won a National Championship with the USC Trojans in 2004, he’s being accused of some pretty serious allegations, including sending threatening packages and videos to the home of a pro gambler. The threats were made in relation to a $2.5 million debt that carried repayment orders involving intercontinental transport of criminal profits from Australia to the United States.
Oh, it gets even crazier, though.
The ring, which was an expertly coordinated organization that included several tiers to execute operations, had roles that included an accountant who handled finances and money laundering, an individual who handled drug trafficking, a head of gambling operations and a private investigator who made, and enforced, threats. Under that chart were bookies in charge of recruiting college basketball and football bettors, runners for transporting drugs and collecting profits, and individual collectors to intimidate people who owed money.
To summarize, the organizational chart is certifiably bat shit crazy, and sounds like the work of Pacino himself.
Jeremy Shockey, who won two Super Bowls in 2007 with the New York Giants and in 2009 with the New Orleans Saints, gave Brad Hamilton of the New York Post some serious insight into what he thought was a legitimate business when he started working with Hanson.
Per that New York Post article, here’s what the former tight end had to say:
“I thought he was in the real-estate business like me. I’m a straight businessman. I don’t hang out with drug dealers or prostitutes. I’m here with my girlfriend making out, and I get a knock on my door from these agents. I said to them, ‘Come on in. I got nothing to hide.”
“We met when I passed out at a pool party in Vegas — from dehydration. He came to Miami all the time. I treated him like a friend. I let him stay at my house. He loved to surf. We’d go to the gym together. We went to the same parties together.”
“I thought he was a very smart, nice guy. He was single. He was so cool. He was on the phone all the time. He knew everybody — DJs, celebrities. Pete Carroll knows him. Reggie Bush knows him; they were teammates at USC. This guy had money. He had cash on him all the time. But I thought it was from his business. No one knew any of this shit was going on.”
Shockey faded out of the NFL limelight a few years ago after a spat with Warren Sapp, who cited Shockey as a snitch in the controversial Bountygate scandal.
In response to Sapp’s allegation, the former first-round NFL Draft pick said, “I’m a drunk, I’m Irish. I’ve never had anything to do with drugs. And I would never do anything illegal to jeopardize what I’ve worked for.” And how could one possibly question the word of a drunk Irishman?
At this point, I’d be shocked if Hollywood didn’t take this case to script sometime in the next few years, because it has all the makings of a Ballers meets Wolf of Wall Street blockbuster.