Ohio Supreme Court: 1-year suspension for OSU case lawyer

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended for a year the law license of an attorney whose emails to Ohio State University’s former football coach triggered an ongoing scandal and NCAA investigation that cost the coach his job.

At issue was whether Columbus attorney Christopher Cicero violated professional rules of conduct that prohibit revealing information from meetings with a client or a prospective client.

The court’s decision followed the recommendation of a disciplinary board that argued Cicero wrongly discussed interviews with tattoo parlor owner Edward Rife, a potential client.

Cicero sent emails to then-coach Jim Tressel in April 2010, warning him that players were selling memorabilia or trading them for tattoos.

The correspondences sparked the scandal and ended Tressel’s Ohio State career.