Ex-OSU, NFL quaterback headed to prison

COLUMBUS (AP) — The painful saga of Art Schlichter, the ex-Ohio State and Indianapolis Colts quarterback, came to a close today when a federal judge sentenced him to nearly 11 years in prison for scamming participants in what authorities called a million-dollar sports ticket scheme.

Schlichter, 52, had been down this road before, spending time in prison in Indiana related to his gambling addiction, which he claimed to have overcome. But he continued to struggle, by his own admission, and his stumbles included testing positive for cocaine use while on house arrest after his guilty plea in the ticket case.

The 127-month sentence handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson in Columbus reflects both punishment for the ticket scheme and time for violating probation from Schlichter’s 1997 forgery and theft conviction in Indiana.

Schlichter’s original plea deal last year in federal court called for him to serve eight years in prison, to run at the same time as a 10-year state prison sentence on related charges.

But Marion Superior Court Judge Grant Hawkins in Indianapolis refused to cancel Schlichter’s arrest warrant in Indiana until the extra time was added.

The new deal, which Schlichter agreed to in the fall, increased the federal time by 27 months. Judge Watson signed off on the deal Friday before sentencing Schlichter.