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The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: 04/27/12 04:41 PM ET  |  Updated: 04/27/12 05:28 PM ET

NBA Players Union Facing U.S. Attorney Investigation

The union that represents NBA players said Friday it is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan. The announcement from the National Basketball Players Association came on the heels of a Yahoo report that the union's executive director Billy Hunter had asked the organization to invest millions of dollars in a failing bank tied to his son.

Hunter was notified of the inquiry April 25 in a subpoena for union documents, according to anonymous sources in a Bloomberg story on Friday. The focus of the probe remains unclear.

The players union said in a statement it would fully cooperate, Bloomberg reported. When contacted by The Huffington Post on Friday, the NBA declined comment.

On Wednesday, Yahoo reported that Hunter had in 2009 tried to persuade the union's executive committee and player representatives to invest up to $9 million in Interstate Net Bank, a Cherry Hill, N.J., institution already peppered by cease and desist letters from regulators. Pat Garrity, then the union's treasurer, later discovered that Hunter's son, Todd Hunter, was on the bank's board of directors and confronted Hunter about why that wasn't disclosed, according to Yahoo!.

(Click here for the entire Yahoo! story.)

The investigation exacerbates an already tumultuous atmosphere at the players union. The executive committee last week asked union president Derek Fisher, who had called for an audit of finances conducted by Hunter and the union, to resign.

"I, along with many others, are extremely disappointed with the Executive Committee," Fisher said in a statement, according to ESPN. "Their demand for my resignation and their need to protect the NBPA management and their own best interests instead of protecting the players we were elected to serve is unfortunate."

According to reports, the union has paid Hunter family members and their businesses almost $4.8 million since 2001.

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08:59 AM on 04/30/2012
What?!?!?!?! A corrupt union boss? Say it ain't so Joe... Trumka you're next!!
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cjunkbond
Wearer of Many Hats
11:27 AM on 04/29/2012
What's so hard to grasp regarding the concept of "Full Disclosure"? ;)
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
chefacree
11:04 AM on 04/29/2012
The entire NBA is corrupt and the union is in bed with them. The union and players know a lot of games are fixed and they do nothing about it. I would hope the US attorney would stumble on that. I quit watching the NBA when the crooked referee spilled the beans and nothing happened. Watch how many fouls are called the last 60second of games. The refs are adjusting the point spread so certain teams win or certain teams pay off. Watch at the start of a game or the half and see if a marque player is called for a foul. Then maybe another one soon after and then he has to sit down. That's how they control the games. Just watch and be aware of what they are doing. Totally corrupt.
12:12 AM on 04/29/2012
All Unions should be under investigation, Bada Bing !
08:37 PM on 04/28/2012
Here is "The Situation".
Obvious Racism in the making!
Where is Al, Jesse, Louis, Van, and the old lady in the pink cowboy hat?
Did the attorney General hunt down the NBA union heads like Rabid Dogs?
Money corrupts!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Game Changer 88
08:31 PM on 04/28/2012
Once again a very long Definition of "Racketeering and Extortion", but one thing the Story didn't add is that the 2008 Banking Meltdown was based upon new Federal Banking System "Rules and Regulations" which state that "Only Non-Bank Consumers can suffer losses within the Federal Banking System", and "Only Non-Bank Consumers can File for Re-Credit or Re-Claim of Losses on any Accounts under the Federal Reserve System". This effectively cut 60+% of the "Racketeering and Extortion" out of the organized criminals in the Government and Corporations playbook. This sent all the crooks reeling, looking for the closest "Patsies" they could find, and that is the numerous Professional League Players whose "Money was already Burning".
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
realitytrumpsbull
Two 'alves of coconut!
07:50 PM on 04/28/2012
Ah, the Great American Sport of Basketpistol...
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
04:49 PM on 04/28/2012
Whatta ya expect. Most of the nba are thugs anyway.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
cameron d
Good Guys Win
04:04 PM on 04/28/2012
Billy Hunter and Derek Fisher have done awful jobs with this Union.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Aristarchy
Medicine left in a bottle cannot heal
02:39 PM on 04/28/2012
Fischer , please dont resign.
This nepotism stinks to High Heavens.
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cheaptrick00
socialism = spending OTHERS money!!!
01:50 PM on 04/28/2012
ah, I didn't know street gang members had unions....better get back to Iverson or "Worldpeace" on this one....BTW, I did hear that Barry and the O's will be blaming bush for this!
01:02 PM on 05/10/2012
And if O had a son, he'd look like these guys.
01:45 PM on 04/28/2012
No problem, not to worry. Sharpton and Jackson are on their way as we communicate. Rallies and marches will begin immediately.
01:18 PM on 04/28/2012
Let me get this right, Eric Holder is investigating corruption but yet he allowed 1000's of guns to be shipped to Mexico and claimed he knew nothing about it . Nice!
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cheaptrick00
socialism = spending OTHERS money!!!
01:48 PM on 04/28/2012
Holder is corrupt
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Aristarchy
Medicine left in a bottle cannot heal
02:36 PM on 04/28/2012
The program was started under George the 2nd Error Bush.
George Picard
Send lawyers, guns and money
09:43 AM on 04/29/2012
SO Holder is worried it might make Bush 43 look bad? Yeah ok then.
08:57 AM on 04/30/2012
tsk, tsk, tsk.... spin any way you want.. however everyone already knows that Holder and his buddies used steriods to put Bush's program into Fast & Furious mode. This is all Holder's doing.
01:18 PM on 04/28/2012
I really don't care what happens to the nba....ever.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
America Needs Help
09:42 AM on 05/27/2012
And yet you are READING and POSTING to this story for what reason.....it is about the "NBA".
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
eltito
12:38 PM on 04/28/2012
hahahahahaha, I wonder how many million of $$$$$$$$$$$$$ are unaccounted, luxurious traveling expenses, new cars, homes, risky investments, etc etc etc hahahahahahahahaha love it!!!!!