State Sen. Joe Abruzzo has jumped headfirst into the NCAA-versus-UM fracas.

Abruzzo, a Democrat, has sent a formal letter to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the NCAA for its tainted investigation of the University of Miami.

The letter notes how the NCAA enforcement staff violated its own rules by behaving in a corrupt manner while investigating The U, such as improper payments to Nevin Shapiro, the UM booster currently imprisoned for orchestrating a $930 million Ponzi scheme.

Shapiro has accused The U of violating NCAA rules involving more than 100 players.

The NCAA investigation has since been plagued by its own scandal -- it paid thousands of dollars to Shapiro's lawyer to, as Abruzzo's letter puts it, "gain subpoenaed witness testimony in a bankruptcy case, so that the forbidden information could be used in its investigation."

See Also:

- Nevin Shapiro Is the Caligula of South Florida's Ponzi Empire

- Adam Meyer, Florida's Gambling King, Shouldn't Have Bet on Nevin Shapiro

Abruzzo also cc'd U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in the letter.

Below is an excerpt:

Among other acts of wrongdoing, the NCAA was so desperate to gather evidence against the University of Miami that it made improper payments to a convicted con artist and his lawyer for information that it was not allowed to obtain. The NCAA, which does not have subpoena power, paid thousands of dollars to the con artist's lawyer to gain subpoenaed witness testimony in a bankruptcy case, so that the forbidden information could be used in its investigation. Not only does this abuse the bankruptcy process, but it clearly circumvented the limits of the NCAA's authority. All of these improper activities occurred in South Florida, within the jurisdiction of your economic crimes division.

You can read the full letter on the next page.

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