Although Louisville coach Rick Pitino would prefer to focus on basketball, the evolving case against a woman accused of trying to extort him continues to generate headlines.
According to an Associated Press report, a federal grand jury added charges against Karen Cunagin Sypher for retaliating against Pitino by falsely claiming he raped her. The grand jury also added two more intent to extort charges and a second charge of lying to the FBI.
The retaliation charge relates to Sypher’s decision in June to file rape charges, “knowing it would be harmful to Pitino,” according to the AP report. Meanwhile, the grand jury decided that Sypher lied to the FBI when she said her relationship with Lester Goetzinger only involved business.
The FBI made a deal with Goetzinger in which he agreed to testify against Sypher. He said that in exchange for sexual favors from Sypher, he left threatening voice mails for Pitino in February. The grand jury qualified that as an intimate personal relationship.
Pitino told investigators that he had consensual sex with Sypher in 2003. Sypher has pleaded not guilty to charges that she subsequently tried to extort Pitino to the tune of $10 million, her mortgage and tuition for her children.
