Jail interview
Schlichter blames addiction but never says ?gambling? in jail interview
Sunday, March 6, 2011
By Mike Wagner
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Some consider Art Schlichter a con man and a criminal who should be locked in prison for the rest of his life.
Others say he is an addict and a victim of compulsive gambling who should receive constant rehabilitation to fight off his demons.
The former Ohio State quarterback is once again behind bars and powerless to control public opinion, and once again said he is remorseful and regrets his latest legal trouble, which some say has cost others millions of dollars.
?I?m embarrassed that I have hurt anyone, and I would give anything to make it right,? Schlichter told The Dispatch from the Franklin County jail in an exclusive interview, his first public comments since surrendering to local authorities three weeks ago to face criminal charges.
?I want to make amends to the people that I have harmed in some way. I wanted to reach out and apologize to people before I came (to jail), but I was advised not to contact them. That was the hardest part for me.?
Schlichter, 50, an All-American at OSU more than 30 years ago, is being held without bond on a first-degree felony charge of theft alleging that he swindled a Dublin widow out of more than $1 million to fuel his well-known compulsion to gamble.
But that charge is only the beginning of Schlichter?s legal problems.
He?s likely to face many other charges stemming from local and federal investigations into a ticket-selling scheme that began at least 18 months ago.
Schlichter reportedly would tell people that he could make money by selling tickets to Ohio State football games and the Super Bowl. But in many cases, those who lent him money were never repaid, and others did not receive the tickets they were promised.
In a new development, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O?Brien said authorities have identified 20 victims. Nine of them have filed police reports, O?Brien said. The others have not because they have said they see no hope of recovering the money that was lost.
Before his arrest, Schlichter said, he was still trying to make restitution payments to people he had victimized in previous decades. The amount he owes is unknown.
O?Brien said investigators are trying to determine how much money is involved in the current theft case. That will determine how many charges will be pursued and, if Schlichter is convicted, how much prison time he could face.
O?Brien and Sam Shamansky, Schlichter?s Columbus attorney, both confirmed that they will continue discussing a plea agreement in hopes of avoiding a trial.
During an interview last week, Schlichter repeatedly acknowledged that he had hurt people who trusted him, and he continued to apologize for his actions.
He said he was clean and had his life back on track after he was released from a 12-year prison stay in 2006.
Sources familiar with the case say that Schlichter returned to his old ways at least in the past year. They say he was making bets ? six-figure bets at times ? on football games and other sporting events, as well as gambling on horse racing.
Schlichter wouldn?t say when he took up gambling again. He wouldn?t even use the word gambling during the interview.
But, as in the past, he blamed his gambling addiction for his latest trouble.
?It?s beyond tough,? Schlichter said. ?When you let your guard down a little bit, when you don?t have the proper support or you don?t use that support, you put yourself in these situations. Hopefully, I will have an opportunity to get some treatment, make things right with people and try to help others who struggle in the same way.?
He has made similar comments after previous scrapes with the law.
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