Columbus tattoo shop owner pleads guilty

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Tattoo parlor-owner Edward Rife had a lucrative side business selling hundreds of pounds of marijuana in Columbus, a second job that federal prosecutors say allowed him to pay $21,500 for a luxury SUV.

But Rife’s guilty plea to drug trafficking and money laundering charges Tuesday might have gone unnoticed had federal investigators not stumbled on another of Rife’s sidelines: buying Ohio State memorabilia from football players or giving them discounts on tattoos for the items.

That discovery triggered an NCAA investigation into the school, led to coach Jim Tressel’s forced resignation, the departure of quarterback Terrelle Pryor and the suspension of four players for the first five games of the upcoming season and one game for a fifth player.

The university is still wrestling with the scandal’s fallout, which could include a variety of NCAA penalties.

Rife pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost to one count of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 200 pounds of marijuana.

Afterward, attorney Stephen Palmer tried to distance his client from the scandal.

“He was an unfortunate cog in the wheel,” Palmer said. “He had no intention of harming anyone in the [OSU] program.”