Fox announcers Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver got U.S. Marshalls escorts to games
Monday, January 12th 2009, 6:42 PM
A federal probe found that Fox announcers Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver have been getting chauffeured to extravaganzas like last year's Super Bowl and the 2007 World Series on the public's dime.
The blistering report released Monday by the Justice Department's inspector general zeroed in on lawyer Joseph Band, who worked in the U.S. marshals' Washington office and moonlighted as a Fox Sports statistician.
The report charged that Band pulled strings to get himself and the broadcasters to and from the play-by-play booth in a style reserved for federal judges and protected witnesses.
Band "regularly and inappropriately solicited and received assistance of [Marshal Service] resources for his personal activities, in violation of government ethical rules," the report concluded.
While the feds do not plan to prosecute Band, the report has prompted the U.S. marshals to beef up oversight of its services.
The inspector general was tipped off by a U.S. marshal who told investigators he thought giving rides to sportscasters was "silly" and "an inappropriate use of his time."
The report, obtained by thesmokinggun.com, contends Band, 68, had been reprimanded at least six times for conducting football business while on government duty.
Band, who has since retired from the agency, denied any wrongdoing and told investigators that his side job with Fox Sports was just "a hobby" he did on his private time.
Fox Sports spokesman Lou D'Ermilio said the network was "unaware" that the transportation Band arranged for its sportscasters was "in any way inappropriate."
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