Former NFL quarterback Art Schlichter is scheduled to be released soon from federal prison after doing eight years for a massive ticket scheme that saw him steal millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims — but he may spend even more time behind bars for gambling while in prison.
Schlichter was a college star at Ohio State University and the fourth pick in the 1982 NFL draft. He was expected to have a great pro career but it was immediately derailed by his gambling addiction, which led to him giving testimony for the FBI against bookies after he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. He was suspended by the NFL but kept gambling and was soon out of the league and has spent decades in trouble.
Schlichter was busted in March for placing bets from prison and now it has come back to haunt him. The ex-Colts player was first sentenced in 2012 for selling college and NFL tickets to buyers but failing to deliver them after being paid, USA Today.
He was sentenced to 11 years in a Florence, Colo., federal prison and 10 years in an Ohio penitentiary. The two sentences were to be served concurrently but after eight years a judge will now rule on Aug. 5 whether or not he has completed his sentences.
If he is released, Schlichter could find himself right back behind bars for placing bets while in prison.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien alleges Schlichter should still serve at least a year and a half remaining on his state sentence and pointed to the discipline he received for gambling in prison just months ago.
"He is a career criminal and he has stolen from people forever," said O'Brien. "He has not engaged in good behavior. He claims to be a gambling addict, which I believe to be true. He has continued to gamble in federal prison using some female acquaintances of his outside the prison."
O'Brien explained that prisoners are allocated pin numbers to make phone calls and Schlichter "uses other people's pin numbers in order to talk to women to get them to make gambles for him." Based on this, O'Brien said there is no reason to release Schlichter early from prison.
Defense attorney Stephen Palmer argued that, once released, Schlichter should not serve any additional time.
"We can only take so much pounds of flesh out of one human," Palmer said. "He did his crimes, he's served his time. Time to let him out."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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