He thought he had layup to steal from the NBA’s players union – but was instead rejected by the feds.
A money manager who worked for the NBA Players Association and once employed the son of ex-players union chief Billy Hunter copped plea on Thursday to faking a dead lawyer’s signature to obtain a multimillion-dollar contract extension for himself.
Joseph Lombardo, 72, founder of Prim Capital in Cleveland, admitted to Manhattan federal Judge Jesse Furman that he forged the signature of late union lawyer Gary Hall to give himself a fat $3 million contract deal with the union.
Lombardo pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiring to obstruct justice by lying to federal grand jury.
Under his plea deal, he faces 51 months to 63 months behind bars, but his lawyer Michael Koenig said afterwards that he would seek a more lenient sentence based on his client’s age and previously clean criminal record.
“Joe made a series of bad decisions for which he is now paying a steep emotion and professional price,” Koenig said. “By admitting his conduct and fully accepting responsibility for his actions, he can now begin to repair and restore his reputation.”
The bogus five-year contract doubled Lombardo’s annual pay to $602,000, the feds say.The generous phony offer also included a provision that said it could not be canceled.
The money manager allegedly tried to pen the contract after he became embroiled in a scandal that ousted Hunter, executive director of the players union.
Lombardo allegedly produced the document in January after learning about the impending release of a scathing report that blasted Hunter for financial irregularities, including hiring family members and friends.
Hunter — whose son, Todd, previously worked at Lombardo’s firm — was unanimously voted out of his job as the union’s executive director in February after being slammed by the independent audit. He had held the job for 17 years.
Although Lombardo’s company is based in Ohio, he was indicted after a grand jury looked at the case in New York, where the union is headquartered.
One of his employees, Carolyn Kaufman,was also charged with obstruction for allegedly lying to a grand jury.
Neither Billy Hunter nor Todd Hunter have been charged with any crimes in the case.