RALEIGH, N.C. _ Two of the key figures in the college basketball bribery scandal each attended an N.C. State home basketball game, as a guest of a former N.C. State assistant coach, during the 2015-16 season.
Jim Gatto, a former Adidas marketing executive, and T.J. Gassnola, a former Adidas grassroots consultant, were two of the notable names on the ticket logs released by N.C. State this week in response to a public records request by The News & Observer.
In March, Gatto was sentenced to nine months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a wide-ranging pay-for-play scandal which included an alleged payment to the family of former N.C. State basketball star Dennis Smith Jr.
Last October, Gassnola testified during Gatto's trial in a federal court in New York that he had asked Gatto for $40,000 to deliver to Smith's family during the recruiting process in 2015.
The NCAA sent N.C. State a Notice of Allegations in July with four violations in connection to Smith's recruitment and tenure at the school from Jan. 2016 through March 2017.
According to Gassnola's testimony, which the NCAA used to help build its case against N.C. State, former Wolfpack assistant coach Orlando Early was involved in the payment to Smith's family with Shawn Farmer, a personal trainer for Smith, as a "go between" for Adidas and Smith during the recruiting process.
N.C. State released the ticket records from the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons to the N&O on Tuesday night. The school redacted the names on the lists for the players and team managers but provided a reproduction of the guest list form, with hand-written signatures of those who attended each N.C. State basketball game with complimentary tickets and which member of the coaching staff provided them.
