Re: ?Doug Archie has called me well over 50 times,? Kniffin said. ?This year alone, I?ve talked to him 25-30 times. You can print out your Verizon (phone) bills; his numbers are right there calling me.?
When asked why Archie, who did not immediately respond to voice mail messages, said he only spoke to Kniffin once and denied that the deals were approved by OSU compliance, Kniffin said, ?That?s something you?ll have to ask him. I?ve got records of it.?
Jim Lynch, of Ohio State media relations, told Sporting News: ?There was a misunderstanding with the original Dispatch story. While Doug Archie did in fact only speak to Aaron Kniffin once while he was at the first car dealership he worked at, they spoke often when Mr. Kniffin changed jobs and moved to the second dealership he worked at.?
Kniffin also says he also has a copy of an affidavit he signed for Archie detailing the sales process, and stating no NCAA violations occurred during the process. That affidavit, Kniffin says, was sent to him by Archie four days after the May 7 story appeared in The Dispatch outlining potential NCAA violations.
Kniffin says the Ohio State compliance department??either Doug Archie or Chris (Rogers)??approved every co-signer on every loan, and knew every person associated with the deals.
Sounds to me like the Dispatch misquoted (or misunderstood) the statement from the Ohio State compliance department. If the Ohio State compliance department was on top of (i.e. basically approved) every car deal then there should be no problem.
Regardless of what actually happened most people will believe until their dying day that Thaddeus Gibson paid $0 for a car because that was what was originally reported and that's what they want to believe.
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I have a question for you: Do you think that the Federal government ever paid $600 for something that looked like this?
If you answered yes, why do you think so? Ans: That's what the media reported.
Trust me on this, I worked at the Defense Construction Supply Center (here in Columbus) where the item was actually bought and (unfortunately :() was intimately involed with the situation. Here's what was reported later that never made the headlines and you probably never saw:
NAVY's $600 Toilet Seat
The P-3C Orion antisubmarine aircraft went into service in 1962. Twenty-five years later it was determined that the toilet shroud, the cover that fits over the toilet needed replacement. Since the airplane was out of production this would require new tooling to produce. These on-board toilets required a uniquely shaped, molded fiberglass shroud that had to satisfy specifications for the vibration resistance, weight, and durability. The molds had to be specially made as it had been decades since their original production. The price reflected the design work and the cost of the equipment to manufacture them. Lockheed Corp. charged $34,560 for 54 toilet covers or $640 each.
President Reagan held a televised news conference in 1987, where he held up one of these shrouds and stated: "We didn't buy any $600 toilet seat. We bought a $600 molded plastic cover for the entire toilet system." A Pentagon spokesman, Glenn Flood stated, "The original price we were charged was $640, not just for a toilet seat, but for the large molded plastic assembly covering the entire seat, tank and full toilet assembly. The seat itself cost $9 and some cents.? The supplier charged too much, and we had the amount corrected." The president of Lockheed at the time, Lawrence Kitchen, adjusted to the price to $100 each and returned $29,165. "This action is intended to put to rest an artificial issue," Kitchen stated.
And it isn't totally correct:
1. It wasn't 25 years later. it was right after the original news report.
2. It was out of production (i.e there was special setup costs for small quantity); however, Lockheed still had the tooling. They subcontracted production of the item out to a small business just outside of San Diego.
3. It wasn't molded plastic or fiberglass, it was a special polycarbinate material that could hold a mans weight and not give off toxic fumes in case of a fire, etc.
4. The P-3 lavatory shroud assembly does not cover a tank nor does it cover the seat. The seat fastens on to this assembly. This assembly basically just covers a holding bucket. The toilet on the P-3 orion does not flush.
5. This was bought "sole source" from Lockheed in accordance with an Air Force Basic Ordering Agreeement (BOA). i.e. a government procurement contract with Lockheed that established the price of anything we want to order from Lockheed based on a prenegiociated formula. After an audit Lockheed did admit that they over charged the govenment on this item. It should have cost a little over $200 (not $100) and they did refund the difference.
The bottom line is: You can't believe everything that you read in the papers or see on the news.
