Joe Judge was an unknown commodity when the Giants hired him, and still is in some ways. He had never been a head coach before, so how did he convince Giants ownership to pick him as Pat Shurmur’s replacement?

Talk to anyone who knows Judge — friends, coaches, players — and their answer starts with the same point.

The key phrases: Attention to detail. Detail-oriented. Over-prepared.

That’s Joe, they said.

So, for anyone wondering why Judge and the Giants haven’t decided what to do with their two players arrested recently, start there.

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Cornerback DeAndre Baker was arrested last month in Florida and charged with four counts of armed robbery and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. Kicker Aldrick Rosas was arrested in California earlier this week and was booked for a misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving on a suspended license.

Both remain on the roster.

Will they still be here when training camp starts at the end of July? Or for the season-opener against the Steelers on Sept. 14?

That’s a decision that won’t be coming just yet. Judge and the Giants still have work to do before any decisions are made. That’s what he’s doing — finding out all of the details before deciding what to do with these two players, both projected to be starters this season.

“The only thing I’m going to say about DeAndre at this point is he’s currently on our roster and I’m not gonna comment on any ongoing legal investigation or legal situation,” Judge told NJ Advance Media’s Matt Lombardo on Monday, before Rosas’ arrest came to light. “That’s going to be my standard answer for anyone in a similar situation.”

The details in the collision report from the scene of Rosas’ alleged hit-and-run don’t paint a pretty picture. Per the California Highway Patrol report, Rosas was driving erratically at 100 miles per hour when he sailed through a red light and T-boned a pickup truck. He attempted to flee the scene, per the report, when his car broke down, then he left on foot. Responding officers found him barefoot and bloody on his hands, leg and feet.

Alcohol impairment, per the report, was believed to be a “factor” in the incident.

The Giants have been in contact with authorities about Rosas’ alleged incident and are gathering all available information before making any decision, a person familiar with the team’s thinking told NJ Advance Media.

Rosas, 25, was arrested for a DUI in California in 2016, though that was before his NFL career had started. He’s due to make north of $3 million this season and the Giants wouldn’t lose any money by releasing him.

With the 22-year-old Baker, in the days after the troubling affidavit for his arrest was announced on May 14 — which involved him allegedly robbing multiple people at gunpoint of thousands of dollars and multiple expensive watches — other information came to light that cast doubt on some aspects of the case. Lawyers for both Baker and Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar, also charged, presented signed affidavits from alleged witnesses to the bail hearing judge. It worked, as Baker was released on a $200,000 bond.

Since, his legal team has publicly (and repeatedly) defended his innocence.

“This criminal case is going to eventually be dismissed,” Patrick Patel, a Jersey City-based attorney and Baker’s attorney on NFL matters, said last month.

That seems less likely the more time that passes, as it’s been more than 30 days since Baker was released from jail on May 17.

Baker’s lawyers had a motion approved to allow him to return to New Jersey for work-related purposes. That includes training camp, scheduled for the end of July.

After the arrest, the Giants told Baker to stay away from the team’s virtual meetings on Zoom — he had reportedly missed some meetings prior to the arrest — to focus on his legal situation.

The Giants finished team meetings for non-rookies last week.

In the meantime, Baker has been working out most mornings with a trainer in Miami.

“He’s handling it outstanding,” Patel told NJ Advance Media in May. “He wants to be Ray Lewis, not Ray Rice. That’s the key to this kid’s future. Asking for forgiveness and asking for an opportunity to prove himself. This is the first time he’s ever really done anything. He’s never been in trouble before, he has no history of anything like this.

“This kid is not the typical troubled person,” Patel continued. “I’ve seen a complete change in his attitude, facial expressions, exposure. The kid is scared straight as far as I’m concerned.”

Baker was drafted in the first round last year out of Georgia — before Judge was hired — and came into the league with questions about his maturity. Various reports, including from NJ Advance Media, about his first year indicated he struggled to pay attention in team meetings, and at one point even publicly admitted to his struggle for grasping the team’s playbook.

That ultimately might not factor into Judge’s decision.

When he arrived, Judge emphasized that everybody on the roster was starting with a clean slate. That includes Baker, though his arrest is a separate issue.

Judge spoke about discipline at his introductory press conference in January.

“I would say when we spoke about discipline on the team, that’s something very important to me,” Judge said. “I think you need to have the fundamental foundation of discipline on your team, that you hold players accountable …

“It’s a family business for our ownership and it’s a family business for myself. My children have all been born in this business. Knowing that your passion is football, that your desire to win is what you truly love and that benefits your family and you’re representing something bigger than yourself.‘’

How will the Giants hold Baker and Rosas accountable for their (alleged) actions?

That remains to be seen, especially as the legal process plays out for both players. Rosas’ court date is scheduled for early September. Baker’s situation is still being considered by Broward County (Fla.) prosecutors.

This ultimately will be the first time Judge will have to … be the judge. It’s an important decision for the culture he’s trying to establish, and one he’s not taking lightly.

“He’s kind of a no-nonsense person when he handles players,” Ellis Johnson, one of Judge’s coaching mentors, told NJ Advance Media in January. “He ain’t going to put up with a bunch of bull crap.”

Looking at how the Patriots did things in Judge’s eight years on Bill Belichick’s staff, perhaps that can provide a clue as to how he’ll approach this Giants situation. In that time, seven players were arrested, the first being Aaron Hernandez in 2013.

Of the other six players, three were released shortly after their arrests: Brandon Spikes (hit-and-run), J.J. Worton (assault) and Montee Ball (domestic violence).

The three others stuck around: Alfonzo Dennard (DUI, charge dropped), Duron Harmon (drugs) and Patrick Chung, who was indicted for a felony cocaine possession last year.

At minimum, both Baker and Rosas could be subjected to punishment by the NFL for violating of the league’s code of conduct policy.

Whether that will occur with either player still on the Giants roster remains to be seen, as Judge is takes his time to, well, judge.

“It’s important,” Judge said in January, “to have good people in your locker room.”

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TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) — A 19-year-old man charged with the shooting death of one Washburn University football player and the wounding of a second player filed a motion in April seeking to replace his defense attorney.

Francisco A. Mendez is charged with offenses on April 28, 2019, of:
– Premeditated first-degree murder of Dwane Simmons, 23.
– Attempted first-degree murder of Corey Ballentine, who was wounded.
– Three counts of attempted first-degree murder of Channon Ross, Kevin Neal and James Letcher, who were with Simmons and Ballentine.

The five men were Washburn University football players. Of the 12 charges Mendez faces, five are tied to events on April 28, 2019.

Mendez is to appear before Shawnee County District Court Judge Cheryl Rios on Thursday when the judge will hear motions seeking the judge to appoint another defense attorney represent Mendez and to continue the Mendez case.

Mendez earlier has asked the judge to appoint a defense attorney to replace KiAnn Caprice, Mendez’ current attorney. The judge has denied it.

During a phone call played during another hearing, Mendez said Caprice hadn’t filed a lot of motions he wanted her to file, and he intended to fire Caprice in six months.

In a handwritten motion signed by Mendez, he asked the judge to replace Caprice “for failing to provide the defendant ‘effective’ assistance of counsel.”

Three areas “raise major concern,” Mendez wrote.

They are a “significant breakdown” in communication between Mendez and Caprice, including an “irrevocable breakdown” in the attorney-client relationship, Mendez wrote.

She has failed to investigate Mendez’ case in his best interest, Mendez said.

“She has the responsibility to investigate, including interviewing witnesses, testing physical evidence consulting with appropriate experts,” and investigating the credibility of prosecution wigtnesses, Mendez wrote.

Caprice also has failed to file meritorious motions on his behanlf, Mendez wrote.

The shootings occurred outside 1287 S.W. Lane, where Simmons was fatally wounded, and Ballentine suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks. Ballentine played the 2019-2020 season on the New York Giants football team.

Mendez’ nine-day trial has been scheduled to start on July 13, but it’s expected that no jury trials in Shawnee County District Court will be conducted before September 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The courthouse re-opened to the public on Monday after it was closed for three months since mid-March.

Of the 12 charges he faces, Mendez also is charged with two counts of two aggravated robberies on April 27, 2019, in what is referred to as the “Central Park robbery.”

Mendez is also charged with five aggravated robberies on April 30, 2019.

According to testimony during Mendez’s preliminary hearing, Ballentine, Simmons and three other members of the WU football team were standing at S.W. 13th and Lane celebrating Ballentine’s good fortune to be drafted into professional football on the New York Giants when Ballentine and Simmons were shot.

During his 13 season playing career, Michael Vick established himself as one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL, earning four Pro Bowl selections. Yet Vick will forever be remembered for his involvement in an illegal dogfighting scandal. In 2007, Vick plead guilty to charges and spent a total of 21 months locked up in federal prison.

Michael Vick isn’t the only member of his family to have an NFL career — or into legal trouble. His younger brother Marcus had a brief tenure with the Miami Dolphins. He’s also run into trouble with the law on several occasions. Here we recap Marcus Vick’s stalled football career and his various struggles staying on the right side of the law.

Marcus Vick’s college football career

RELATED: Michael Vick’s Best Season in the NFL Wasn’t With the Falcons

Marcus Vick established himself as a talented quarterback prospect while attending high school in Newport News, Virginia. He was good enough to earn himself an athletic scholarship to Virginia Tech — the same school that his older brother Michael had played quarterback for. Vick was redshirted during his freshman year in 2002, and showed flashes of promise during the following season.

By most accounts, Vick was primed for a breakout season in 2004. Instead, he was suspended for the entire year due to a variety of criminal convictions brought against him. The main case involved Vicks’ consensual sexual involvement of an underaged girl. Although he was ultimately cleared of sex charges, Vick received three guilty verdicts for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Later that year, Vick was also charged with possession of marijuana and reckless driving. He was reinstated the following year, and his strong play quickly moved him up from third-string to starting quarterback. Yet further legal troubles and on-field incidents finally led Virginia Tech to dismiss Vick from the football program in January 2006.

Marcus Vick’s brief NFL career

The day after his dismissal from Virginia Tech, Vick declared himself eligible for the 2006 NFL Draft. Although many analysts speculated that he could get picked as early as the third round, Vick ended up going undrafted. His various legal issues — and his questionable character and work ethic — likely played a large role, since he remained an intriguing talent.

Following the draft, Vick went to a Dolphins free agent minicamp, and was ultimately signed by the team to a league minimum free-agent contract. He spent one year with the team, only seeing game action on a single occasion. In that game, Vick came in as a wide receiver in the 4th quarter, but did not receive any passes. At the end of the season, the Dolphins chose not to resign him.

Continuing legal troubles

RELATED: Was the NFL Too Quick to Forgive Michael Vick?

Marcus Vick continued to find himself getting into legal and criminal trouble following his brief stint in the NFL. On one occasion, a drunken Vick was arrested on charges of DUI, fleeing the police, and reckless driving.

Although he received a 12-month jail sentence, a judge reduced it to a fine and a suspension of his license. Various parole violations and related fines followed.

In 2016, Vick was arrested on charges that included felony assault on a police officer, according to The Roanoke Times. At the time, the officer was attempting to serve Vick an arrest warrant for evading a 2013 civil court hearing.

Later in 2016, Vick was arrested again — this time on charges of drug possession, according to Bleacher Report. Vick once again was able to negotiate a plea deal that spared him any jail time.

Another drug arrest — and suspended sentence — followed in March 2017. Since then, Vick has managed to stay out of legal trouble. In July 2020, his period of supervised probation is set to end. Hopefully, Vick can celebrate that milestone by setting himself on a less troubled path through life. 

Brazilian tennis player Joao Souza has been slapped with a lifetime ban by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU).  He has been charged with multiple match-fixing and corruption offences.

In addition to the ban, a ban of $200,000 has also been imposed upon the Brazilian player.

What Has Joao Souza Been Charged For?

TIU conducted an investigation on the match-fixing allegations against Souza from the time period between 2015 and 2019. The said investigation established conclusively that Souza indulged in numerous breaches of the Tennis anti-corruption programme (TACP).

Know More- Longest Tennis Matches In The History Of The Sport

These included repeated incidents of match-fixing at ATP challenger and ITF Futures tournaments which were held in Brazil, Mexico, The United States and the Czech Republic.

What Were The Other Charges On Souza?

However, this wasn’t all that Souza has been charged for. There are other serious allegations on the player.

TIU investigation has convicted him for three more offences. Firstly, he’s accused of failing to report his corrupt approaches.

Secondarily, he has failed to cooperate in the investigation conducted by TIU. This includes the extremely serious charge of destroying evidence. Thirdly, he has also been charged with motivating other players to underperform.

The case against Souza was heard by an anti-corruption hearing officer of the TIU named Prof Richard H. Mclaren. The disciplinary hearing against him was heard in London on 14 January 2020.

For those interested in understanding the implications of the ban, Joao Souza will be prevented from any sanctioned organized by any governing body in tennis.

Joao Souza hasn’t had much success as a tennis player. The Brazilian has reached as high as No 69 in the ATP men’s singles rankings. While in the doubles category, he has reached as high as no 70.

Currently, the player was ranked No 742 in ATP singles rankings.

What Is The Tennis Integrity Unit?

The Tennis Integrity Unit is the anti-corruption body responsible for enforcing zero tolerance to betting-related corruption. It is operationally independent and based in London.

However, it is jointly funded by the seven biggest stakeholders in tennis- International Tennis Federation, ATP, WTA, Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

The action by the TIU is commendable for the purpose of a sanitized sport in the future.

EAST LANSING, MI. (WILX) — After nearly six hours of deposing Michigan State University head football coach Mark Dantonio, attorneys for Curtis Blackwell filed a motion wanting more time with him.

Blackwell is suing Dantonio, along with MSU and others, for what Blackwell is claiming being wrongfully dismissed from his position as a recruiting coach.

According to court documents, Dantonio testified that there were three reasons he didn’t renew Blackwell’s contract.

He claimed one was a change in NCAA rules that prohibited satellite football camps.

Blackwell was known for his football camps in the Detroit area and Blackwell testified that that was why he was hired in 2013.

Dantonio also testified there was a disconnect between Blackwell and the rest of the football department.

He also said the hiring of Sheldon White helped in the decision making process of whether to keep Blackwell.

Blackwell claims he believed he was the scapegoat testifying, “I think when the Auston Robertson thing blew up, I think they wanted to pin that on me in the recruiting department. So, if I was cast out, scapegoated and when everything came out with Auston Robertson in that investigation, that it would be a part of the Curtis Blackwell era of recruiting and it wouldn’t reflect poorly on Mark Dantonio, Mark Hollis, and Lou Anna Simon as Larry Nassar did. So, at that point I felt like they kind of just let me go, so that way they can kind of sweep it all out the front door.”

Dantonio’s attorneys do not agree that he should be deposed for a second time, claiming Blackwell’s attorneys asked irrelevant questions the first time.

No decision has been made.

As for Dantonio specifically, Blackwell claims he ignored warnings from his assistant coaches about former player Auston Robertson, who was later convicted of sexual assault, according to court documents in Blackwell’s lawsuit.

Blackwell was suspended amid a sexual assault investigation involving three former players in early 2017. The investigation led to charges being filed against Donnie Corley, Demetric Vance and Josh King. All three took a plea deal in the case. MSU decided not to renew Blackwell’s contract in May of 2017.

Records, obtained by News 10 through a Freedom of Information Act request, show MSU Police wanted Blackwell to be charged with interfering with the sexual assault investigation. The documents show Blackwell admitted discussing the allegations with multiple players, football staff members and at least one player’s father. He was never charged with a crime.

The lawsuit alleges Blackwell was suspended in violation of his employment agreement and was never given the opportunity to give his side of the story.

“Had they, (Blackwell) would have explained that he did not provide cover for the student athletes or interfere with an investigation; rather, he was simply performing his job which required ‘mentoring student athletes'”, the lawsuit states.

This is a developing news story, WILX News 10 is working to get more details on this story, and will update the story as more information becomes available,

Stay with News 10 and WILX.com as we follow this situation. Refresh your page to make sure you are seeing the most current information.

Copyright 2020 WILX. All rights reserved.

EAST LANSING, MI. (WILX) — After nearly six hours of deposing Michigan State University head football coach Mark Dantonio, attorneys for Curtis Blackwell filed a motion wanting more time with him.

Blackwell is suing Dantonio, along with MSU and others, for what Blackwell is claiming being wrongfully dismissed from his position as a recruiting coach.

According to court documents, Dantonio testified that there were three reasons he didn’t renew Blackwell’s contract.

He claimed one was a change in NCAA rules that prohibited satellite football camps.

Blackwell was known for his football camps in the Detroit area and Blackwell testified that that was why he was hired in 2013.

Dantonio also testified there was a disconnect between Blackwell and the rest of the football department.

He also said the hiring of Sheldon White helped in the decision making process of whether to keep Blackwell.

Blackwell claims he believed he was the scapegoat testifying, “I think when the Auston Robertson thing blew up, I think they wanted to pin that on me in the recruiting department. So, if I was cast out, scapegoated and when everything came out with Auston Robertson in that investigation, that it would be a part of the Curtis Blackwell era of recruiting and it wouldn’t reflect poorly on Mark Dantonio, Mark Hollis, and Lou Anna Simon as Larry Nassar did. So, at that point I felt like they kind of just let me go, so that way they can kind of sweep it all out the front door.”

Dantonio’s attorneys do not agree that he should be deposed for a second time, claiming Blackwell’s attorneys asked irrelevant questions the first time.

No decision has been made.

As for Dantonio specifically, Blackwell claims he ignored warnings from his assistant coaches about former player Auston Robertson, who was later convicted of sexual assault, according to court documents in Blackwell’s lawsuit.

Blackwell was suspended amid a sexual assault investigation involving three former players in early 2017. The investigation led to charges being filed against Donnie Corley, Demetric Vance and Josh King. All three took a plea deal in the case. MSU decided not to renew Blackwell’s contract in May of 2017.

Records, obtained by News 10 through a Freedom of Information Act request, show MSU Police wanted Blackwell to be charged with interfering with the sexual assault investigation. The documents show Blackwell admitted discussing the allegations with multiple players, football staff members and at least one player’s father. He was never charged with a crime.

The lawsuit alleges Blackwell was suspended in violation of his employment agreement and was never given the opportunity to give his side of the story.

“Had they, (Blackwell) would have explained that he did not provide cover for the student athletes or interfere with an investigation; rather, he was simply performing his job which required ‘mentoring student athletes'”, the lawsuit states.

This is a developing news story, WILX News 10 is working to get more details on this story, and will update the story as more information becomes available,

Stay with News 10 and WILX.com as we follow this situation. Refresh your page to make sure you are seeing the most current information.

Copyright 2020 WILX. All rights reserved.

In an interview, Mr. Taylor was careful not to confirm the scope of his involvement with the Ghosn escape or what he might have been paid, if anything. But he said Mr. Ghosn’s case resonated with him because of his own bitter experience with the U.S. judicial system that resulted in prison time.

“I learned about Carlos Ghosn’s plight, and felt very much like him, in the sense that we were both held hostage in an unfair legal system,” Mr. Taylor said.

The escape plan just before New Year’s Day involved months of preparation and a nail-biting episode where the fleeing executive was smuggled through Japanese airport security packed inside an audio-equipment case with breathing holes drilled into the bottom, details The Wall Street Journal first reported earlier this month.

Mr. Ghosn has claimed since escaping that he had no chance of a fair trial in Japan, and said he was particularly angry about being banned from having contact with his wife as part of his bail conditions. Japanese authorities have defended their system, saying he would have had a fair trial had he stayed. They said Mr. Ghosn was kept from his wife to prevent witness tampering.

The 59-year-old Mr. Taylor has bulging biceps, gray hair and a wide smile. He rarely drinks alcohol, but often has a wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek.

He remains emotional about his own prison stint in the U.S., after pleading guilty to two charges stemming from a federal bid-rigging probe. He has told friends he had agreed to the plea deal only because he had been held in what he described as a brutal Utah county jail for 14 months awaiting trial. Robert Lund, a Utah federal prosecutor involved in Mr. Taylor’s case, said “he definitely committed the crime,” noting that all of his fellow defendants also pleaded guilty.

So far, Mr. Taylor’s exact role in the Ghosn caper isn’t clear. Passport information reviewed by the Journal shows he and a longtime associate were on the plane that took Mr. Ghosn to Turkey, and newly released video footage shows them at an Istanbul airport after the plane landed.

Japanese authorities have said two foreign men accompanied Mr. Ghosn to an Osaka hotel, then wheeled the box through the lobby of the Osaka airport. The authorities said they believe the two men to be Mr. Taylor and the associate.

Tokyo prosecutors had charged Mr. Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co., with financial crimes, including allegedly causing the company to fail to report ¥9.2 billion ($84 million) in deferred compensation over eight years of its financial statements. Mr. Ghosn has denied the charges. After his escape, Japan issued a red notice through Interpol, the international police organization, saying Mr. Ghosn is wanted for extradition, and he has forfeited the nearly $14 million in bail money he paid. Mr. Taylor isn’t charged with any offense related to Mr. Ghosn’s escape, in Japan or elsewhere.

Mr. Taylor was brought in to help rescue New York Times reporter David Rohde from Taliban captivity in Afghanistan. He also worked with the U.S. government to rescue children who had been kidnapped overseas, according to a memo produced by his lawyers in his criminal case.

“The guy was clearly a black-ops type,” said a law-enforcement official who knows him. “He did the kind of things that law enforcement couldn’t do.”

Born in the New York City borough of Staten Island, Mr. Taylor was raised partly on a military base outside Boston. He joined the Army Special Forces after high school despite his stepfather, who served in the Army, telling him at the time he didn’t believe somebody so young could do the rigorous training, he has told friends.

He met his Lebanese-born wife during deployment in that country in the early 1980s and he learned some Arabic. The Taylors, who have three adult children, live outside Boston but own a residence in Beirut.

In 1994, he founded a small Boston-based security firm, American International Security Corp., now defunct, that did local work in the Boston area and also served as a vehicle for overseas assignments, including a rescue of a woman and her children from Syria, court records show.

In Boston, Mr. Taylor kept company with some infamous characters and had some run-ins with the law.

Mr. Taylor was friendly, for instance, with John J. Connolly Jr., a now-disgraced former FBI agent who secretly aided mobster Whitey Bulger and is serving time for his role in a mob murder. Mr. Taylor had no links to Mr. Bulger. But after he left the FBI and before his 1999 indictment, Mr. Connolly helped drum up business for Mr. Taylor’s security company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Taylor pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of breaking and entering and making a false police report in the 1990s, in a case related to planting marijuana in the car of a client’s estranged wife. In the early 2000s he was caught up in a federal investigation into a trucking-related shakedown that sent a Boston Teamsters union chief to prison. Mr. Taylor agreed to cooperate with investigators and was never charged.

Another close associate was the late Duane “Dewey” Clarridge, a legendary CIA official who was indicted in 1991 for his role in the Iran-Contra affair but pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. He and Mr. Taylor later worked on several projects in Afghanistan, including the Rohde rescue effort, and talked frequently, according to people familiar with them.

While a high-school football player, Mr. Taylor showed his fiercely competitive nature, according to a teammate, Joe Morris, who later won a Super Bowl ring playing for the New York Giants. “Mike would humiliate the guys he played, just beat them into the ground,” Mr. Morris recalls.

A decade ago, Mr. Taylor served three years as a football coach at a Boston-area private school, Lawrence Academy. Mr. Taylor brought in a half-dozen ex-NFL players or coaches to help with training and conditioning. The teams he fielded had multiple players who went on to Division I college teams, including several who weighed more than 300 pounds.

One year his team was so feared that a rival school forfeited rather than risk its players’ safety—an event that made national news.

After Mr. Taylor left as coach in 2011, the team was stripped of two titles it won when he was there, which the school said was partly due to violation of league rules related to financial aid and summer training. Mr. Taylor said many of the star players were already at the school when he arrived, financial aid was handled by school administrators, and he was never told why the team was disciplined.

In the mid-2000s, Mr. Taylor’s company was a security contractor working for the U.S. government in Iraq, helping ensure rebuilding supplies were safely delivered. Mr. Taylor “always executed in a very professional manner,” said Jack Holly, a retired Marine colonel who ran the Pentagon’s vast civilian logistics operation in Iraq.

When he heard Mr. Ghosn’s escape from Japan involved Lebanon, “I said, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Mike,” Col. Holly recalls. “He’s the type of guy who could do something like that.” Mr. Taylor’s 2015 sentencing memo quotes a grateful letter from the mother of one girl taken by her father to Lebanon who Mr. Taylor’s firm brought back in 1997 after a four-year effort.

“If one of my relatives was being held, I’d call Mike,” said Terry Sullivan, an ex-Navy SEAL who worked with Mr. Taylor on the 2009 operation to help rescue the Times reporter, Mr. Rohde, from the Taliban. Mr. Rohde didn’t respond to requests to comment.

Mr. Taylor was indicted in 2012 on charges that he fraudulently won $54 million in Pentagon contracts in Afghanistan by bribing a Pentagon official to obtain confidential bidding information, then allegedly bribed an FBI agent to try to derail the investigation.

He denied the allegations, but a federal judge decided he was a flight risk due in part to his overseas security contacts and Lebanon residency permit. He was confined to a county jail for more than 14 months while awaiting trial.

Mr. Taylor remains incensed that prosecutors at one point argued he shouldn’t get bail because he had a history of bribing overseas officials, citing a press article about alleged bribes paid to the Taliban in the course of his work trying to rescue Mr. Rohde.

“I’m working to save the life of an American citizen, a journalist, and they used that against me,” he said.

Mr. Taylor eventually pleaded guilty to two counts, down from more than 50 originally, and served a total of about 19 months. His security company closed down during this period and after emerging from prison in 2015 he started a small vitamin-water business.

He also wrote a memo about his legal experience, shared with a few people.

He wrote that he had been denied bail on “totally false claims” by prosecutors, and had pleaded guilty only to avoid a longer stay in the “brutal” jail, saying “he could not exercise, go outdoors or even see daylight. He could only meet his family through plexiglass or on a video screen, while shackled at the waist, feet and hands.”

Mr. Lund, the prosecutor involved in the case, said Mr. Taylor’s Green Beret career was “super impressive.” As for Mr. Taylor’s complaints about his incarceration, Mr. Lund said he wasn’t treated any more harshly than others. “It was just normal county jail time. Being in jail is an unpleasant experience.”

Write to Mark Maremont at mark.maremont@wsj.com and Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com

LINCOLN, Neb. —

Two former Nebraska football players arrested in connection with a sexual assault allegation faced a judge via video arraignment for the first time Wednesday.

According to the Lincoln Police Department, Katerian Legrone was arrested on suspicion of first-degree sexual assault. Lincoln police said Andre Hunt was arrested for aiding and abetting first-degree sexual assault.

Police tell KETV they are looking into if Legrone and Hunt are involved in other sex assault cases and if there are other victims.

When the two former players appeared in court on Wednesday, the Lancaster County Attorney did not press charges, but wanted more time to work on the case.

Legrone’s arraignment will continue Thursday at 2 p.m. He is being held on a $50,000 percentage bond.

“We look forward to fighting this case because we maintain his innocence right now,” said Mallory Hughes, Legrone’s attorney.

Hunt’s arraignment will continue on Dec. 20 and he is being held on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond.

“The Lincoln Police Department has conducted this investigation as we would any other, that is, we conduct objective, meticulous investigations, independent of outside influence or pressure,” said Officer Luke Bonkiewicz when asked about the handling of the case.

Hunt’s attorney had harsh words for investigators who made the arrest of his client during finals week.

“They wait until after 5 o’clock after our office is closed to go and arrest Mr. Hunt,” Carlos Monzon said. “I find it highly suspicious, their timing.”

Monzon would go on to question the victim’s motives.

“The intention of that young woman when she went to Mr. Hunt’s apartment was to have sex with him,” he said. “And now after she had sex with him, now she’s screaming rape. So buyer’s remorse.”

Both Legrone and Hunt were redshirt freshmen.

The two former players were suspended prior to the beginning of the season, but coaches did not provide any reason for the suspension.

Both Legrone and Hunt entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday and have been removed from Nebraska’s roster.

Stay with KETV NewsWatch 7 for updates on this developing story.